The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program provides matching grants to states and local governments for the development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities in urban areas.
Donor Name: Michigan Department of Natural Resources
State: Michigan
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/01/2022
Size of the Grant: $10 million
Grant Duration: 4 months
Details:
This program is known as the National Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program. The purpose of this program is to provide new or significantly improve outdoor recreation opportunities for economically-disadvantaged communities in larger urbanized areas that are undeserved in terms of parks and other outdoor recreation resources. In Michigan, this program will be jointly administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Department) and the National Park Service (NPS).
Purpose
As designed, the purpose of the ORLP Program is to provide new or significantly improved recreation opportunities in economically disadvantaged communities, consistent with the purposes and requirements of the LWCF Act and LWCF Manual, and that:
- meet recreation goals as identified in, and align with, at least one priority of, the State’s Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan
- are located within or abutting an incorporated city (or town) having a population of 30,000 or more, and
- serve the specific needs of a community(ies) that is (are) severely lacking in walkable, publicly accessible, outdoor recreation (“park deserts”), and that has a poverty rate of at least 20% or that is at least 10 percentage points higher than that of the project city, county, and state rates.
ORLP Program Competition Priorities
The competition will prioritize the selection of projects that:
- provide new recreational opportunities, particularly those that will increase access to nature’s benefits, such as green spaces, shady areas (via tree cover), and natural landscapes that help cool the air and reduce urban heat island effects, reduce pollution, and have positive effects on mental and physical health;
- empowered and engaged members of the target community in the project development and design of the plans for the park;
- create or expand public-private partnerships that leverage matching share resources (e.g., money or donations of land, supplies, or services, etc.);
- benefit from a high degree of coordination among the public, multiple levels of government, and the private sector; and
- advance goals of, or meet, priority recreation needs identified in numerous local, regional, state plans and/or initiatives.
Secretary of the Interior Priorities:
This program supports priorities of the Secretary of the Interior, including “Working to conserve at least 30% each of our lands and waters by the year 2030” and “Centering equity and environmental justice” as outlined in Executive Order (EO) 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, and EO 14005: Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers.
Funding Information
The minimum grant request amount is $300,000 and the maximum grant request amount is $10 million.
Anticipated Award Date
September 01, 2023, and January 1, 2024.
Eligibility Criteria
- Any unit of government, including Native American tribes, or any combination of units in which authority is legally constituted to provide recreation. Applicants must have a DNR-approved community five-year recreation plan to be eligible.
- As designed, the purpose of the ORLP Program is to provide new or significantly improved recreation opportunities in economically-disadvantaged communities, consistent with the purposes and requirements of the LWCF Act and LWCF Manual, and that:
- meet recreation goals as identified in, and align with, at least one priority of, the State’s Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan
are located within a city having a population of 30,000 or more, and
serve the specific needs of a community(ies) that is (are) severely lacking in walkable, publicly accessible, outdoor recreation (“park deserts”), and that has a poverty rate of at least 20% or that is at least 10% higher than that of the project city, county, and state rates).
For the purposes of this competition, for a community to be considered a “park desert,” there must be:
- no existing parks within a .5-mile radius of the community(ies) to be served by the park (not the radius of the proposed park);
- one or two small parks within a .5-mile radius of the community(ies) that is/are not large enough to support the size of the population of the service area, or otherwise unable to provide a variety of recreational opportunities; or
- one or two existing parks (potentially of adequate size), including the park that is being addressed in this project, that is/are so obsolete or underdeveloped that a major redevelopment or rehabilitation is necessary to be able to significantly increase the number of people or user
- groups who could be served in a way that would be equivalent to a new park.
- existing parks that are inaccessible to the target community due to physical barriers such as transportation infrastructure, rivers, etc.
- Proposed projects must align with the above listed ORLP purposes to be considered for selection.
For more information, visit Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership.
