Dept. of the Interior and Dept. of Defense to make available US$80M through competitive process for projects to preserve green space, protect military readiness; TPL says partnership could improve access to outdoor recreation for millions of Americans

Department Of the Interior and the Department of Defense Are Partnering to Allocate $80 Million Through A Combination of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) And Matching Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI) Funds from Department of Defense 

Yesterday, at the White House Conservation in Action Summit, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense [DoD] announced an innovative partnership to allocate $80 million through a combination of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and matching funds from DoD’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI) to preserve green space around military installations and improve access to outdoor recreation for millions of Americans. The Departments will make the funding available to states through a competitive process that could support projects on Tribal, private, state, or local lands. 

A statement from Bill Lee, Senior Vice President for Policy, Advocacy and Government Relations at Trust for Public Land, applauding the Biden Administration’s new partnership to further unlock LWCF funding for communities across the country.  

“As the Biden Administration takes sweeping action to protect some of the America’s most majestic landscapes across the Southwest by permanently protecting and designating Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range National Monuments, TPL is excited for another critical and forward-looking approach to protecting public lands in the future.

The Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense new partnership to allocate $80 million through a combination of the LWCF and matching funds from DoD’s REPI programs, will put previous LWCF appropriations back to work for communities and the places that communities care about — and will double those investments through an innovative partnership with DoD’s highly successful Readiness and Environmental Protection initiative.

With our strong support for, and deep experience with, both these programs, we are excited to see what they can accomplish together, and we thank the Biden Administration for its profound, creative commitment to conservation and access to the outdoors.”  

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