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ASLA Advocates Push Back as President's Budget Targets LWCF
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been one of America’s most important conservation programs for over 60 years.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been one of America’s most important conservation programs for over 60 years. It supports the parks, trails, and public lands that connect people with nature and strengthen communities. Landscape architects see the impact of LWCF every day, from local playgrounds to national parks. That’s why ASLA is deeply concerned about a major threat to the program’s future.
The administration’s proposed FY26 budget would roll back full funding for LWCF, funding that was guaranteed by the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act in 2020. That law promised $900 million a year for LWCF and does not use any taxpayer dollars. Now, just five years later, the administration is proposing to divert those funds elsewhere, breaking the promise that was made to the American people and putting critical conservation and recreation projects at risk.
If this proposal goes forward, it could mean fewer resources for public lands and parks, less access for hunting and fishing, fewer local green spaces, and serious harm to the $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation economy. Communities across the country, especially rural areas and underserved neighborhoods, stand to lose most.
In response, ASLA joined with national partners like the LWCF Coalition, the Trust for Public Land, and others to speak out and fight back. We’re calling on Congress to reject the proposed cuts and restore the full funding LWCF was promised. Many landscape architects have already started contacting lawmakers, and we’re encouraging everyone in the ASLA network to do the same.
As a landscape architect, I’ve seen firsthand how the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) empowers communities to create parks and public spaces that improve lives. This program isn’t just about conservation. It’s about community, access, and economic opportunity.
Many of our colleagues, landscape architects who are also small business owners, depend on LWCF to help communities imagine and realize healthier, more connected futures.
These proposed cuts would jeopardize that future, undermining one of the most successful bipartisan programs in American history. LWCF doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime, yet it pays off in the form of stronger neighborhoods, resilient landscapes, and growing local economies.
Cutting LWCF breaks trust, stifles innovation, and undermines the shared spaces that define us. Congress should restore the full $900 million in annual funding and protect the LWCF for this generation and the next.
LWCF helps make landscape architects’ projects possible. It improves lives, protects nature, and strengthens communities. Now it needs our support. Tell Congress to reject the LWCF cuts and protect the future of our parks and public lands.Together, we can help make sure this promise is kept.