The Land and Water Conservation Fund provides funding to preserve and develop outdoor recreation resources, including parks, trails, and wildlife lands. In 2014, Congress established the Land and Water Conservation Fund Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program, which provides grants to help urban communities with twenty-five thousand or more people and tribes buy or develop land to create or reinvigorate public parks and other outdoor recreation spaces. Priority is given to projects in economically disadvantaged areas that lack outdoor recreation opportunities.
Announcements
Eligibility Resources
The objective of the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program is to improve parks, recreational opportunities, and conservation areas in urban underserved communities, consistent with the requirements of the LWCF Act and LWCF Manual. To meet program objectives and goals, projects must be:
- Located within an incorporated city or town or unincorporated area having a population of 25,000 or more in the 2020 Census, AND within an underserved community, OR located on tribal nation or trust lands held by a federally recognized Native American tribe.
Underserved status can be demonstrated through use of the Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), the Environmental Protection Agency’s EJScreen Tool, and/or documentation submitted by the community describing the demographic and environmental factors that indicate the community’s status of need. A half-mile buffer can be used around areas identified as underserved by the CEJST or EJScreen tools.
Documentation of need should include information on current deficiency of access by the affected community to parks, conservation areas, and outdoor recreation opportunities. Include information on descriptions of how this deficiency impacts the community in relevant ways (e.g., community health and safety, resilience to natural disasters, avoidance of legacy pollution, access to clean water and air, etc.). Also describe how the project is expected to provide community benefits.
Additional Resources
Here are some additional resources applicants may use to document underserved status:
- Project Need Mapping Tool: This map is used to evaluate other RCO grant programs. It compiles data on green space availability, social vulnerability, and poor health outcomes from various statewide datasets.
- Outdoor Recreation Inventory: This map includes information on more than 23,000 outdoor recreation areas, facilities, trails, and water access sites. It is used to understand the quantity and distribution of key outdoor recreation opportunities across the state. The dashboard also includes a service area analysis for outdoor recreation opportunities, such as accessing a local park or trail.
- City Parks Alliance ORLP Technical Assistance Webinar
Typical Projects
- Renovating community parks
- Building skate parks, swimming pools, and trails
- Building athletic fields and sport courts
- Nature-based projects that support recreation
Who May Apply?
- Local agencies
- Special purpose districts, such as park and recreation districts
- Federally recognized tribes
- State agencies
Planning Requirement
To apply for this funding, applicants must have completed a comprehensive recreation or conservation plan. See details on the planning page and in Manual 2: Planning Guidelines.
Funding
An estimated $224 million may be appropriated by Congress nationwide.
Grant Limits
$300,000 to $15 million
Administrative Costs
Administrative or indirect costs are eligible; contact RCO to determine amount. Architecture and engineering costs for development and renovation projects are limited to 20 percent of the total construction cost.
Match Details
Match may include the following:
- Appropriations or cash
- Bonds
- Donations of cash, land, labor, equipment, and materials
- Federal (very limited), state, local, and private grants
- Applicant’s labor, equipment, and materials
For local agencies, at least 10 percent of the total project cost must come from a non-state, non-federal contribution.
Eligible Projects
- Land acquisition
- Development or renovation
Ineligible Projects
- Federal surplus property
- Game refuges or fish production facilities
- Historic sites and structures
- Lands acquired from the federal government at less than fair market value
- Land and facilities used primarily for semi-professional and professional arts and athletics
- Land for indoor facilities, except for covered swimming pools and ice rinks
- Land for agricultural purposes
- Land to help meet a public school’s minimum site size requirement
- Railroad hardware, trestles, stations, yards, etc.
- Luxury lodges, motels, cabins, and similar elaborate facilities that serve food and have sleeping quarters
- Museums and sites to be used for museums or primarily for archaeological excavations
- Scholastic and intercollegiate facilities
- Incidental costs relating to acquisition of real property or interests such as permits and surveys
Long-Term Commitment
All property acquired or developed with these grants must be kept forever exclusively for public outdoor recreation use.