Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Media inquiries: Please contact Dave Neudeck, dave.neudeck@dcr.virginia.gov, 804-786-5053.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: February 15, 2024
Contact: Emi Endo, Senior Public Relations and Marketing Specialist, 804-786-8442, emi.endo@dcr.virginia.gov
New funding for parks, outdoor recreation projects available
Land and Water Conservation Fund; Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program grant rounds opening
RICHMOND — The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation will open grant rounds today for two programs under the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
At least $12 million will be available through the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund Stateside Assistance Program, or LWCF.
The National Park Service Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program, or ORLP, is a national competition with about $224 million available.
Under both programs, recipients must be able to fund 100% of their project while seeking periodic reimbursements.
Eligible applicants include state agencies, cities, counties, park authorities and federally or state-recognized Indian tribes.
A virtual informational session and application workshop for both programs will be held Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. Register at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational-planning/lwcf. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar. The webinar will be recorded and the recording will be made available online.
Land and Water Conservation Fund
LWCF is a 50-50% matching reimbursement program established to acquire, develop and rehabilitate park areas. Additional funds beyond the $12 million may be made available.
The minimum grant award will be $250,000 with a minimum total project cost of $500,000. There is no maximum grant award amount.
An updated program manual, application materials, and applicant resources will be posted to https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational-planning/lwcf. Please read all posted documents to ensure your application is complete.
Applications for LWCF will be due via email no later than April 18 at 4 p.m. Applications must be emailed to recreationgrants@dcr.virginia.gov.
Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program
DCR will begin accepting pre-application proposals today for submission for ORLP. The 50-50% matching reimbursement program supports outdoor recreation projects in underserved urban areas. The minimum grant award is $300,000 with a minimum total project cost of $600,000. The maximum grant award is $15 million.
For ORLP, the park project must be located within an incorporated city or town with a population of at least 30,000 people. Based on the 2020 census, qualifying cities and towns in Virginia are the cities of Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Danville, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Manassas, Newport News, Norfolk, Petersburg, Portsmouth, Richmond, Roanoke, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach; and Blacksburg and Leesburg towns.
Within those cities and towns, the project must also serve disadvantaged communities lacking access to walkable outdoor recreation, in specific census tracts identified as disadvantaged by the federal Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool.
Eligible projects can include acquisition, development, a combination of acquisition and development, or rehabilitation of parks and other outdoor recreation areas.
DCR must submit projects selected through this call for proposals to NPS, which will be selecting the projects to move forward.
Instructions on how to compete for funding, the pre-application and reference materials will be made available at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational-planning/lwcf#orlp.
Pre-applications for ORLP are due to DCR via email to recreationgrants@dcr.virginia.gov no later than April 4 at 4 p.m.
Questions about LWCF or ORLP can be emailed to Kristal.Mckelvey@dcr.virginia.gov.
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