Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provides grants to states, and through states to local units of government and federally-recognized Indian tribes, for projects that will provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the public through the acquisition of lands and waters for parks and other outdoor recreation areas, as well as through the development of new, or the renovation of existing, outdoor recreation facilities. It is operated by the National Park Service (NPS) in partnership with designated lead agencies. In 2014 NPS created the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program, a competitive grant program administered under the authority of the LWCF Act as a complement to the formula grant program.

As designed, the purpose of the ORLP Program is to provide new or significantly improved recreation opportunities in urban, disadvantaged communities, consistent with the purposes and requirements of the LWCF Act and LWCF Manual. To meet ORLP objectives and goals, the project must:

• meet recreation goals as identified in, and align with, at least one priority of, the State’s Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP),
• be located within an incorporated city or town having a population of 25,000 or more, and
• be located within a community that is determined to be disadvantaged.

Outdoor recreation areas and facilities assisted through this program must be open to the public, and may not be converted to uses other than public outdoor recreation. The DNR, as the state lead agency, may apply on behalf of local governments and tribal governments who submit projects which meet the grant criteria. If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Flatt at 515-975-8569 or by email at jessica.flatt@dnr.iowa.gov.

The application process for ORLP is multi-step:

1. Each State solicits proposals from eligible local project sponsors and selects and submits abbreviated applications to NPS. Proposals will be accepted by NPS twice each year – June 1 and November 1. *See DNR deadlines below.*
2. Each proposal is reviewed and scored by an independent merit panel and technical reviewers, assigned by NPS.
3. Based on the reviews of an independent merit panel, the Director of the NPS determines which projects are selected and invited to submit a full application for NPS review. (anticipated announcements twice annually, September 1 and February 1)
4. States work with the local project sponsors of the NPS selected projects to prepare a full application for NPS’s final review and funding determination.

Funding is not guaranteed until a grant agreement is signed by NPS. Grants are awarded by NPS to the State Lead Agency, which is responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are used for the purposes of, and in a manner consistent with, the LWCF Act and Manual. The State Lead Agency, in turn, makes a sub-award to the project sponsor, which must be the public entity that submitted the proposal. Because States must conduct a process to make the initial determination as to which projects to submit to the NPS for consideration in the national competition, State application deadlines will be earlier than NPS’s competition deadline.

With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Federal financial assistance programs for infrastructure must comply with domestic content procurement preference requirements established in the “Build America, Buy America Act” at Section 70911 et seq. (“Buy America”). Buy America’s domestic content procurement preference applies to all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used for infrastructure projects under an award. These requirements took effect on May 14, 2022; however, parties may seek waivers under certain circumstances.

For more information: “Buy America” Domestic Sourcing Guidance and Waiver Process for DOI Financial Assistance Agreements.

• 2025A applications are due to the DNR by 4:30pm (CST) on March 1, 2025. 
• 2025B applications are due to the DNR by 4:30pm (CST) on August 1, 2025.

Supporting Materials / Guidance

The City Parks Alliance will be hosting an informational webinar on November 20, 2024. More information can be found here: Urban Park Grant Opportunity (ORLP) Technical Assistance

Complete Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and associated documents can be found on the Grants.gov website.