Indiana, Pa. – Oct. 16 – The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is seeking grant applicants for its Canoe Access Development Fund, which supports projects that will improve canoe and kayak access to the region’s waterways.

WPC’s Canoe Access Development Fund seeks to make the region’s rivers and streams more accessible for outdoor recreation by providing grants to watershed organizations or other community groups to develop access sites for canoers and kayakers. Currently, 56 CADF-supported projects are completed and open to the public.One of the WEstern Pennsylvania Conservancy's Canoe Access Development Fund sites on the Connoquenessing Creek in Butler Coutny, PA.

“The Canoe Access Development Fund has been instrumental in our organization’s shift from a project-based institution to an association of that supports recreation enthusiasts,” said Annie Quinn, executive director of the Jacobs Creek Watershed Association in Scottdale, Pa. “The two access ramps that we built using CADF funds have allowed us to introduce Jacobs Creek to hundreds of individuals.”

New access sites proposed for grant funding should be located along a stream or river featured in “Canoeing Guide to Western Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia” (located online at canoedraft.shaw-weil.com), a similar guidebook or resource, or be recognized as a paddling waterway in Western Pennsylvania.

Qualified grant recipients will receive up to $4,000 per site for the construction and enhancement of canoe and kayak access locations. Grant funding could be used in multiple ways, including stabilizing access areas to rivers or streams, adding nearby parking areas or purchasing riverside access. The CADF was founded in 2008 by private WPC donors and outdoor enthusiasts Roy Weil and Mary Shaw.

An online application, including a complete list of requirements, is available at WaterLandLife.org/canoe-access-development-fund-cadf/. Applications must be postmarked by Nov. 16, 2018 and grant recipients will be notified by Dec. 15, 2018.

Questions concerning the Canoe Access Development Fund may be directed to Eli Long at WPC’s Watershed Conservation office at elong@paconserve.org or 724-471-7202, ext. 5105.

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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped to establish 10 state parks, conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, which symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 132 community gardens and other green spaces that are planted with the help of about 12,000 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.

Media Contact:

Kristen Wishon
Communications Specialist
412-586-2328
kwishon@paconserve.org