The South Mountain Partnership is asking organizations to sign on to a letter urging Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York counties to invest federal American Rescue Plan funds in local conservation, outdoor recreation and place-based revitalization projects.

The Partnership is an alliance of citizens, businesses, nonprofits, economic development organizations, academic institutions, and local, county, state, and federal government agencies and officials working together on the vision of a future landscape of conserved resources and vibrant communities sharing a common sense of place and collaborating on well-planned growth and sustainable economic development.

The federal American Rescue Plan provided Pennsylvania counties, cities, boroughs, and townships with $6.15 billion in funding in March of 2021 and many have yet to decide how to invest the funding.

The General Assembly also has yet to decide how to invest approximately $5 billion in American Rescue Plan funds that were meant to be economic stimulus funding to counter the economic impacts of the pandemic.

Local conservation, outdoor recreation and environmental restoration projects clearly qualify for funding under the program.

The Partnership has put together a special webpage with all the resources and background groups and individuals need to understand the American Rescue Plan funds program.

They also are urging groups to sign on to a letter to each of the counties in the region to invest American Rescue Plan funds in conservation and outdoor recreation.

The Partnership is urging groups to act now to take advantage of this important resource.

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the South Mountain Partnership website.  Sign up for regular updates from the Partnership (bottom of the webpage).

Find out more about Friends of South Mountain Partnership.

Visit DCNR’s Conservation Landscape Initiatives webpage for more on similar programs around Pennsylvania.

Related Articles:

-- Gov. Wolf Proposes $450 Million Growing Greener III Initiative Funded By Federal American Rescue Plan; Bipartisan Support Building For Conservation Allocation  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA Urges Groups To Work With County, Local Govts. To Invest Federal Rescue Funds For Watershed Restoration, Land Conservation, Park & Trail Improvement Projects

-- WeConservePA: Water & Green Infrastructure - A Good Fit For PA American Rescue Plan Funding

-- $11 Billion In Federal American Rescue Plan Funding To PA State Government, Local Governments Has Yet To Be Invested.  What’s Your Community Doing?

-- Two Bipartisan Bills Just Sitting In Senate Waiting To Invest American Rescue Plan Funding In Recreation, Conservation And To Address The Record Number Of Water Quality Impaired Streams Reported In 2022

-- General Assembly Diverted $3.602 Billion From Environmental Infrastructure Projects And Programs Into State Budget Black Hole

-- The Center Square: IFO: Revised Economic Forecast Shows Higher Revenue Estimate For PA [State Revenue Estimate Increases $3.3 Billion]

-- Dept. Of Revenue: January State Revenue Collections $376.8 Million Over Estimate; $1.8 Billion Over Estimates Fiscal Year-To-Date 

-- Independent Fiscal Office: January Revenue Collections $440.6 Million Over Its Estimate; $2.2 Billion Over Fiscal Year-To-Date

[Posted: February 2, 2022]

2/7/2022