The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is seeking applications for its Vibrant Recreation and Tourism Grant Program to support efforts to enhance and develop sustainable recreation and tourism opportunities and increase access to public lands in the Sierra Nevada Region.
Donor Name: Sierra Nevada Conservancy
State: California
Counties: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/06/2022
Details:
The Vibrant Recreation and Tourism regional goal aims to enhance, promote, and develop sustainable recreation and tourism opportunities in the Sierra Nevada Region.
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy recognizes the fundamental connection between vibrant recreation and tourism across the region, the health and resilience of Sierra Nevada communities, the opportunity to increase access for people to nature and the outdoors, and the ecological health of California’s watersheds and forests. Working with partners to strategically implement activities supporting recreation and tourism will protect these benefits and the resources that are unique to the Sierra Nevada Region.
Priorities
Projects funded through this program should accomplish one or more of the following:
- Assess conditions, existing resources, needs, and opportunities to improve recreation and tourism throughout the Region and/or identify the highest priority activities.
- Identify, create, and participate in partnerships to support the development of vibrant recreation and tourism throughout the Region.
- Create or improve new and existing recreation amenities or infrastructure that provide multi-benefits to the Region.
- Eliminate or reduce the impact of overuse on natural or cultural resources.
- Provide improved access for all Californians to nature and recreational opportunities in the Region.
Project Categories
- Planning Projects
- The development of a recreation and tourism collaborative or partnership that identifies and prioritizes site-improvement projects across a large geographic region.
- Baseline studies, cultural resources, biological, botanical, aquatic, soil, hydrologic, wildlife, timber, or other studies/surveys are necessary for the implementation of a future on-the-ground recreation project.
- Implementation Projects
- The implementation of priority projects identified through a collaborative process
- Trail building and/or maintenance
- Accessible trails or recreation access points
- Site improvements that minimize impacts on natural resources, e.g., food storage lockers, campsite improvements, toilets, re-routing trails around sensitive areas, trailhead improvements that protect resources
Project Eligibility
To be eligible to receive a grant award from the SNC under this program, projects must meet all the following criteria:
- Be located within the Sierra Nevada Region.
- Be consistent with the SNC mission and program areas as defined in the SNC Strategic Plan and the Sierra Nevada Watershed Improvement Program (WIP).
- Result in a clear, demonstrable, and enduring public benefit.
- Meet all California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, as applicable.
Eligibility Criteria
Grant funds may be authorized for:
- Public agencies: Any city, county, special district, joint powers authority, a state agency, or federal agency.
- Qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations: “Nonprofit Organization” means a private, nonprofit organization that qualifies for exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code, and whose charitable purposes are consistent with the purposes of the SNC.
- Eligible Tribal Entities: An Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, or a tribal agency authorized by a tribe, which is one or both of the following: (1) Recognized by the United States and identified within the most current Federal Register; (2) Listed on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission as a California Native American tribe.
- Eligible tribal entities are encouraged to apply. On September 25, 2020, the governor released a Statement of Administration Policy on Native American Ancestral Lands to encourage every state agency, department, board, and commission subject to his executive control to seek opportunities to support California tribes’ co-management of and access to natural lands that are within a California tribe’s ancestral land and under the ownership or control of the State of California
For more information, visit Vibrant Recreation and Tourism Grant Program.
