Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz / USDA
Through the Land and Water Conservation Fund's Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP), the National Park Service will invest $254.68 million dollars in local parks across the country. The money will be used for the creation of new local parks and maintenance for existing sites.
To date, it's the single largest investment from the ORLP program. 54 projects in 24 states are earmarked for the funds.
The ORLP program advances President Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative, a locally led, voluntary conservation and restoration effort that aims to address the nature and climate crises, improve equitable access to the outdoors, and strengthen the economy. Providing safe outdoor spaces for communities that are park-deprived is one of six areas of focus. The program also helps advance the Administration's Justice40 Initiative that aims to have 40 percent of the benefits of federal funding flow to disadvantaged communities.
“Everyone deserves to experience the restorative power of nature, but increasing access to public outdoor spaces has not always received the investment and drive needed to make an impact. Supporting the communities that benefit from the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program has been a top priority for our Administration, and a critical step to bringing more green spaces to urban and disadvantaged communities” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Today, this program makes history with the largest investment since its inception.”
“The enthusiasm for this program is wonderful, with the highest number of applications we’ve ever seen,” said Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz. “After traveling across the United States to increase awareness of the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program, I’m thrilled to see so many cities receive grants for the first time.”
In August, Secretary Haaland and Assistant Secretary Estenoz toured ORLP projects underway in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. They visited Yeargan Park and Smoky Hollow Park, where investments from the program will construct new part infrastructure, upgrade trails, and expand play and picnic areas, cultivating community connection and outdoor access.
Today’s announcement follows a nationwide tour by Assistant Secretary Estenoz to hear directly from community members on the need to connect communities with access to the outdoors, and to encourage state participation in the ORLP program. This latest round of funding draws from the greatest number of applications received by the NPS in the program’s history.
“It’s great to see such an increase in community investment in the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams. “This investment into these 54 locally led projects is a prime example of the vital work the National Park Service is doing to improve access to the outdoors in your community and beyond national park borders.”
The ORLP program, established in 2014, is a nationally competitive, dollar-for-dollar matching grant program that aids disadvantaged, urban communities that lack access to close-by outdoor recreation. The program provides grants for community sponsored park projects where population is greater that 30,000 residents. Managed by the NPS and funded through the LWCF, the program provides matching grants up to 50% of total project costs.
See the list of projects below.
AL | Downtown Gadsden Greenway | City of Gadsden | $2,996,000.00 |
CA | Campus Park | City of Oxnard | $6,700,000.00 |
CA | La Palma Park | City of Anaheim | $6,000,000.00 |
CA | Martin Luther King Jr. Park | City of Bakersfield | $11,909,000.00 |
CA | Bryte Park | City of West Sacramento | $15,000,000.00 |
CA | Spartan-Keyes Park | City of San Jose | $4,500,000.00 |
CA | Central Park | City of Glendale | $5,950,000.00 |
CA | Roadside Park | City of Baldwin Park | $2,109,000.00 |
CA | Jordan Downs Central Park | County of Los Angeles | $10,999,000.00 |
CA | Panorama Park | City of Redding | $4,000,000.00 |
CA | Van Buskirk Revitalization Park | City of Stockton | $7,017,000.00 |
CA | Puente Hills Landfill Park | County of Los Angeles | $15,000,000.00 |
CA | Stewart Park | City of Beaumont | $3,100,000.00 |
CA | Quail Valley Nature Park | City of Menifee | $750,000.00 |
CA | Bellflower Park | City of Adelanto | $1,000,000.00 |
CA | Veterans Memorial Park | City of La Puente | $1,000,000.00 |
CO | La Alma-Lincoln Park | Denver Parks and Recreation | $8,400,000.00 |
CO | Gold Strike Park | Colorado Parks and Wildlife | $7,329,000.00 |
CT | Cummings Park/West Beach | City of Stamford | $5,000,000.00 |
CT | Rockwell Park | City of Bristol | $1,930,000.00 |
DC | 11th Street Bridge Park | City of Washington D.C. | $15,000,000.00 |
FL | Carter Park | City of Fort Lauderdale | $2,181,000.00 |
FL | Sunset Park | City of Hollywood | $7,581,000.00 |
FL | Marva Bannerman Park | Miami-Dade County | $2,518,000.00 |
FL | City Park | City of Oakland Park | $2,500,000.00 |
GA | Burdett Park Natural Area | City of South Fulton | $1,081,000.00 |
IA | Comiskey Park | City of Dubuque | $1,974,000.00 |
KY | Riverfront Park, Barren River | City of Bowling Green | $3,640,000.00 |
MD | Baltimore Greenway Trail Network | Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City | $1,375,000.00 |
MD | Hill Street Park | City of Frederick | $1,000,000.00 |
MI | Flint Riverbank Park | Genesee County | $5,000,000.00 |
MN | Dr Martin Luther King JR (MLK) Park | City of Rochester | $1,522,000.00 |
MO | Parr Hill Park | City of Joplin | $485,000.00 |
NC | Deaverview Mountain Acquisition | Buncombe County | $4,475,000.00 |
ND | Downtown Gateway and Greenway | City of Grand Forks | $3,490,000.00 |
ND | Turtle Mountain Family Recreation Areas | Turtle Mountain | $1,000,000.00 |
NM | Mesa Verde Park | City of Albuquerque | $1,350,000.00 |
NY | Payne Park | City of North Tonawanda | $4,084,000.00 |
OH | Reverend H.V. Savage Park | City of Toledo | $1,151,000.00 |
OH | Irishtown Bend | Cleveland Metroparks | $10,813,000.00 |
OH | Cuyahoga Riverfront Property | Cleveland Metroparks | $2,950,000.00 |
OH | Cain Park | City of Cleveland Heights | $390,000.00 |
OK | Dream Keepers Park | City of Tulsa | $3,612,000.00 |
PA | Hillside Pool | City of Reading | $672,000.00 |
PA | Weston Field | City of Scranton | $672,000.00 |
SC | Regional Park | City of Rock Hill | $15,000,000.00 |
TN | Gooch Park | Memphis Parks | $3,339,000.00 |
TX | Community Park | City of Dallas | $8,663,000.00 |
TX | Woodlawn Lake Park | City of San Antonio | $3,250,000.00 |
TX | Burnett Bayland Park | City of Houston | $11,353,000.00 |
TX | Teague Park | City of Longview | $1,318,000.00 |
TX | John Trevino Jr. Metropolitan Park | City of Austin | $4,000,000.00 |
VA | Patton Park | City of Petersburg | $3,407,000.00 |
WA | Uplands Park | City of Kent | $3,150,000.00 |
| TOTAL $254,685,000.00 | |||
Comments
Can someone explain to me why the NPS--a FEDERAL agency--is involved in funding non-federal parks and projects?
Gosh, I love my local parks and open spaces as much as the next person, but why are the feds cherry-picking non-federal parks for funding? Is this not a slush fund for DEI projects?
The NPS has its own funding probelms! Now it's funding projects for which it has no jurisdiction or responsibility!
Because that's how Congress set it up.
It's rather simple-It's bacause Congress told NPS to do this!
It's unclear whether the impetus behind ORLP was Congress or the NPS. Some sources state that the NPS created the ORLP, and sought Congresional funding, which is the basis of my point: why is a terribly underfunded federal agency taking on more responsibilities that involve funding state and local programs when it is the NPS that NEEDS the funding?
I cannot beieve that the NPS was simply assigned ORLP duties and funding by Congress without the complete involvement of the NPS, if not the outright creation of ORLP by the NPS.
Established by Congress in 2014 and administered through the National Park Service, the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program is funded through the LWCF State and Local Assistance Program.
https://lwcfcoalition.org/orlp
Or, one may read this description of ORLP from the IA DNR:
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.
https://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/Grants-Other-Funding/Outdoor-Recreatio...
As I stated, it remains unclear as to which federal entity "created" ORLP.
It would be nice if the Top level of the National Park Service tour their own parks to see where improvements could be made, There really should be more level 5, 6 and 7 perm jobs, not just seasonal in the cities throughout the states. The National Park Service needs to hire more permanet workers.