The Western PA Conservancy will start accepting applications for Canoe Access Development Grants on October 18.  The deadline for applications is November 19.

Watershed groups, conservation organizations, paddle clubs, agencies and other eligible parties are invited to submit applications to develop canoe and kayak access sites across Western Pennsylvania.

Grant awards range in amounts up to $4,000 per site and can be used in a variety of ways, including stabilizing access areas to rivers or streams, adding nearby parking areas or purchasing riverside access.

Projects in these counties would be eligible-- Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Somerset, Venango, Warren, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

Through its staff, WPC also provides hands-on assistance to grant recipients for planning and site preparation.

To date, the Canoe Access Development Fund has funded improvements at more than 81 locations across our region.  Click Here for a map of suggested paddling adventures.

Click Here for all the details.  Questions should be directed to Eli Long, WPC watershed manager, at elong@paconserve.org  or 724-471-7202, ext. 5105.

The Fund

Roy Weil and Mary Shaw, outdoor enthusiasts and Conservancy members since 1974, established the Canoe Access Development Fund in 2008 to help make the rivers and streams of Western Pennsylvania more accessible for recreation and encourage others to get outdoors.

More information is available on programs, initiatives and special events at the Western PA Conservancy website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Conservancy, Like them on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter, join them on Instagram, visit the Conservancy’s YouTube Channel or add them to your network on Linkedin.  Click Here to support their work.

The Conservancy has helped to establish 11 state parks, conserved more than 250,000 acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, maintains 132 community gardens and other green spaces that are planted with the help of more than 11,000 volunteers and the support of more than 9,000 members.

Related Article:

-- Western PA Conservancy: Protects 50 Acres Along Great Allegheny Passage Trail, Casselman River In Somerset County 

[Posted: October 1, 2021]

10/4/2021