An ongoing spike in the number of people canoeing and kayaking Pennsylvania creeks and rivers makes the acquisition of new launching points critical.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is helping with a fund to acquire access to new sites. The group's Canoe Access Development Fund, established by longtime Conservancy members and outdoors advocates Roy Weil and Mary Shaw, will grant $4,000 in development funds for the construction and enhancement of each canoe and kayak access location on Western Pennsylvania waterways.

The funding is intended to provide long-term access areas to waterways, add parking areas or purchase access sites, as well as other uses. The new access sites have to be located on Class 2 or Class 3 rivers or streams in Western Pennsylvania.

The Conservancy is seeking grant applications for new canoe and kayak access projects.

"For years we have enjoyed canoeing the many varied streams of Western Pennsylvania," said Shaw, in a written statement. "Getting others out on the streams provides them a way to connect with the natural environment and appreciate the outdoors. We wanted to make it easier for ourselves and others to do this."

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, she said, was the natural choice to host such a fund.

"When setting up the fund, we wanted to establish it with an organization that was committed to conservation, outdoors, water trails and getting people engaged with the natural world," she said. "[An organization] that had expertise in working with local landowners, that had been around for a while and that was not dependent on the enthusiasm of one person."

A grant application including a complete list of requirements, is posted at www.waterlandlife.org/112/conserving-water. Applications must be submitted by March 31 and winning recipients will be notified in April.

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