Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program

The Highlands Conservation Act (H.R. 1964, 2004; 16 U.S.C. 3901) is designed to assist Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania in conserving land and natural resources in the Highlands Region through Federal assistance for land conservation projects in which a State entity acquires land or an interest in land from a willing seller to permanently protect resources of high conservation value. The USDA Forest Service (USFS) has identified lands that have high conservation value through the ⿿New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study: 2002 Update⿝ and the ⿿Highlands Regional Study: Connecticut and Pennsylvania 2010 Update.⿝ Subject to availability of funds through Federal appropriation, each year, Governors of the four Highlands States may submit proposals for up to 50 precent of the total cost of land conservation projects in the Highlands Region. Proposed projects must be consistent with areas identified in the Study and Update as having high resource value.