This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to advise States, local units of government, and Indian Tribes of the potential availability of funds in their State for grants from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to acquire and/or develop lands for public outdoor recreation purposes.
Donor Name: National Park Service
State: All States
County: All Counties
Territory: American Samoa, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/03/2023
Size of the Grant: $8,000,000
Details:
The LWCF State and Local Assistance Program was established through enactment of the LWCF Act in 1964. It helps fulfill the LWCF Act’s purpose of assisting in preserving, developing and assuring accessibility to present and future generations of U.S. citizens and visitors “such quality and quantity of outdoor recreation resources as may be available and are necessary and desirable for individual active participation in such recreation and to strengthen the health and vitality of the citizens of the United States.” This is accomplished in part by authorizing and providing grants to States, and through States to local units of government and Indian tribes, for projects that acquire lands and waters for parks and other public outdoor recreation purposes, as well as develop new or renovate existing outdoor recreation facilities.
Land acquisition and development grants may be in support of a wide range of outdoor recreation uses, such as community parks, playgrounds, picnic areas, campgrounds, trails, swimming pools, and sports fields; as well as for certain supporting infrastructure that supports use of these areas such as roads/parking, trailheads, and restrooms. Outdoor recreation areas and facilities must be publicly owned as well as open to the general public and not limited to special groups.
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling: $8,000,000
- Award Floor: $25,000
Eligibility Criteria
- State governments
- In accordance with 54 U.S.C. § 200305(a), only the State lead agency for LWCF may submit applications in response to this announcement, whether on behalf of itself or another entity. In this context a “State” includes the 50 U.S. States, plus American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The grants may be sub-awarded to other state or territory agencies, local political subdivisions, and Indian tribes. Local political subdivisions include: county, municipality, city, town, township, parish, local public authority, school district, special district (such as a park district), intrastate district, council of governments (whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under State law), any other regional or interstate government entity, or any agency or instrumentality of a local government. Individuals, nonprofit organizations, and private organizations are generally not eligible, although exceptions may be made for nonprofit organizations that are publicly-chartered under state or local law to serve a public purpose, such as managing a park or park district. In addition, a state must have a current NPS-approved SCORP to be eligible to apply for LWCF grants. The state lead agency is responsible for: reviewing proposals for completeness and eligibility requirements; ensuring that proposals meet and are consistent with outdoor recreation priorities outlined in the state or territory’s SCORP; prioritizing proposals according to their Open Project Selection Process, and submitting final applications to the NPS for review and award of funds. For selected projects, the NPS makes financial assistance awards to the lead agency, which will be responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are used for the purposes of and in a manner consistent with this program, including any funds awarded to eligible sub-applicants. As the primary grantee for any sub-awarded grants, the lead agency is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day implementation of the grant and the supported activities to assure the project’s compliance with the LWCF Act and Manual, other applicable Federal requirements, and that performance goals are being achieved. The NPS cannot make grants to entities other than the state lead agency; applications submitted to this funding opportunity announcement by an entity other than the state lead agency will be automatically eliminated.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
