Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program

• State agencies
• Federally recognized Native American tribes
• Local units of governments and special purpose districts – must be an entity created by a legislative authority, with a stated mission that includes acquiring, developing, owning, and managing recreation areas, and be able to demonstrate it can meet the perpetual protection requirement of the LWCF program

Acquisition of lands, wetlands, and waters for public outdoor recreation, including new areas or additions to existing parks, forests, wildlife management areas, beaches, and other similar areas dedicated to public outdoor recreation, as well as physical connections among them (e.g. trails, waterways, the land between recreation areas, wildlife habitat corridors) may be eligible for assistance.

Development should encompass essential public outdoor recreation activities and the necessary support facilities for public use. Projects could involve a combination of land acquisition and site development. These projects can cater to a diverse range of public outdoor recreation activities and facilities required to enhance the use and enjoyment of the public. These include and are not limited to:

• Community parks
• Campgrounds
• Playgrounds
• Sports fields and courts
• Picnic areas and open-air pavilions
• Trails and tracks for hiking, walking, skating, or biking
• Water-based recreation facilities for swimming or boating
• Fishing and hunting facilities
• Pools and splash pads
• Publicly accessible nature preserves or conservation areas
• Community gardens
• Spectator facilities, such as amphitheaters or bandstands
• Renovations of existing facilities
• Interpretive signage

Ineligible Project Types

While facilities that support the use of the recreating public, such as restrooms, visitor contact infrastructure, and maintenance facilities can be eligible, most indoor recreation and other buildings, such as nature centers, community centers, or education centers, are ineligible for funding.

Additional Funding Restrictions

ORLP grants may only be used for costs needed to support the acquisition and/or development of lands and facilities that will provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the public. ORLP funds may not be used for:

• Acquisition support costs such as appraisals or title work
• Facilities that support semi-professional or professional athletics such as baseball stadiums or soccer arenas
• Indoor facilities such as recreation centers or facilities that support primarily non-outdoor purposes like dining facilities or overnight accommodation (such as a lodge or a hotel)
• Acquisition of lands, or interests in lands, that completely restrict access to specific persons (e.g. non-residents of a community)

The ORLP grant program places a total budget (federal plus matching share) limitation of 25% on project costs not directly attributable to physical development/rehabilitation, supplies, equipment, or cost of land. The 25% cap includes, and is not limited to, the overall management of activities directly related to finance (accounting, auditing, budgeting, contracting) and general grant administration costs (wages for grant administration, personnel, property management, etc.).

Per 54 U.S Code 200305(f)(1), projects applying for LWCF ORLP grants must only include Congressionally designated federal sources in their budgets. Other federal sources, such as LWCF formula funds, are not permitted, even if all program cost share requirements are met. Projects including other federal funds within the proposed budget, unless they are serving as authorized cost share, will be eliminated from the competition without consideration.

1. ORLP Objective: To improve parks, recreational opportunities, and conservation areas in urban and underserved communities
2. ORLP goal / ORLP projects should be developed in collaboration with the communities they serve. This ensures that planning and land development decisions do not place unfair burdens on underserved groups.
3. ORLP goal / ORLP aims to support public-private partnerships to leverage project support. The most successful outdoor recreation projects often include cooperation and partnerships among governments, property owners, developers, financial institutions, and the public to secure equitable results.
4. ORLP goal / ORLP projects empower communities through local public green space investment, fostering resilience and sustainable landscape development. They aim to restore ecosystems, protect biodiversity, and provide recreational and economic benefits. These initiatives also enhance public health in underserved areas through active living, land conservation, water resource protection, cultural preservation, native landscape restoration, and disaster mitigation.
5. ORLP goal / ORLP projects should promote, protect, and incorporate the distinctive character of a community and its unique contexts. Geography, natural features, climate, culture, historical resources, and ecology each contribute to the distinctive character of a community's sense of place, comfort, and belonging.

The LWCF Act requires that any park or other outdoor recreation area benefitting from assistance from the LWCF, whether for acquisition or development purposes, and regardless of the amount or extent of assistance, not be covered to any use other than public outdoor recreation (see 54 U.S.C. 200305(f)(3)).

Therefore, as a condition of the grant, the NPS requires that language be recorded against the deed of the assisted park/recreation property advising that the property was acquired and/or developed with federal funds from the LWCF, and that the property must be preserved for outdoor recreation uses in perpetuity and cannot be converted to any use other than public outdoor recreation use without the written approval of the Secretary of the Interior. This approval is contingent upon the project sponsor replacing the area to be converted with a new recreation area involving land of at least equal fair market value and reasonably equivalent recreation utility, and the conversion and its replacement are consistent with the state's SCORP.

The perpetuity requirement is applied to the assisted park or other recreation area as a whole. Exceptions for boundaries that would apply to a lesser unit of a park will be considered only if the unit is a standalone recreation area (i.e., its borders do not include other areas of the park) and is self-sustaining (i.e., it does not rely on nor serve adjoining park area(s) for access, utilities, support facilities, etc.). The state and the NPS must agree to any boundary that does not comprise the whole park. The NPS may eliminate from consideration any proposal that is not consistent with this policy.