Wild East Action Fund Grants Available for Appalachian Trail Landscape Conservation Projects

HARPERS FERRY, W.V. — In celebration of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s (ATC) 100th Anniversary and the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership’s (ATLP) 10th Anniversary, the ATC announced today the opening of the 2025 Wild East Action Fund grant cycle on June 11.

The Wild East Action Fund is a competitive grant opportunity, administered by ATC, that supports the mission of the ATLP — to connect the wild, scenic, and cultural wonders of the A.T. landscape. The fund provides private, flexible financial support to organizations and collaborative projects that are advancing the protection and conservation of natural, cultural, historic, scenic, recreational, agricultural, and community assets found within the A.T. landscape.  

Up to $400,000 will be granted to qualified land protection, conservation planning, or community resiliency projects. The ATC added the new community resiliency and recovery category for the 2025 cycle to support areas affected by Hurricane Helene, thanks to the support of donors to the ATC’s A.T. Resiliency Fund.  

“The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s work goes beyond ensuring that the A.T. is maintained in service of recreation. It encompasses a larger, protected realm that, as Benton MacKaye envisioned over a century ago, provides ‘a better, wider place in which to live a better, wider life,’” said ATC President and CEO Sandi Marra. “The Wild East Action Fund is a catalyst to foster and support community and cooperative conservation outcomes. Because a healthy, resilient, and connected Appalachian Trail landscape will only be possible through strong collaboration with private and public partners, the A.T. communities and passionate individuals stepping up to keep the Trail alive.”  

Previous Wild East Action Fund grantee, the Trust for Public Land, protected the 464-acres White Rocks Gateway in the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont.
Ember Photography courtesy of Trust for Public Land.

Since 2018, the Wild East Action Fund has provided more than $2.5 million toward land protection, capacity building, and conservation planning, enabling the protection of more than 88,000 acres across the landscape. A variety of projects, big and small, have been funded by the program, from supporting regional conservation tools for the 100 Mile Wilderness and the southern Blue Ridge Mountains to the protection of 21,300 acres of forest in Grafton Township, Maine. By supporting local conservation partners doing on-the-ground work, the ATC is ensuring that local conservation needs are met and the A.T. landscape and the experience of its millions of visitors are protected.  

Eligible applicants include local, state, and Tribal governments or agencies and qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. The applicant’s project should occur within, serve the needs of, or explicitly benefit the A.T. landscape. Previous grant awardees are eligible to apply. Applicants are required to submit proposals by July 18, 2025.  

For more information about the ATC’s Wild East Action Fund program, visit:
https://appalachiantrail.org/our-work/conservation/landscape/wild-east-action-fund/.  

About the Appalachian Trail Conservancy 
Founded in 1925, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy works passionately to manage and protect the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. As the only non-profit devoted exclusively to the entirety of the Trail and its landscape, we endeavor to keep its vast natural and scenic beauty healthy, resilient, and connected, so that everyone can experience its transformative power for generations to come. Together with our supporters, partners, and thousands of volunteers, we keep the Trail alive.

About the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership
The mission of the ATLP is to connect the wild, scenic, and cultural wonders of the A.T. Landscape. Co-convened by the ATC and the National Park Service in 2015, the ATLP is a broad coalition of federal, state, and local government entities, nonprofit organizations, foundations/philanthropists, private businesses, and academic institutions, forming the largest conservation partnership in the Eastern United States. To learn more, visit appalachiantrail.org/atlp. 

Media Contact:
Ann Simonelli, 304.885.0482, asimonelli@appalachiantrail.org