Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz announced May 6 that more than $60 million in funding was available through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP).
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the ORLP provides funding to communities for urban development including the creation of recreation spaces and park renovation.
“Access to the outdoors is essential to the health, well-being and prosperity of every family and every community in America but not everyone has the same equitable opportunities to enjoy green spaces.” Haaland said, according to the release. “Funding from the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership will continue to expand our communities’ connections to urban green spaces, where children can play, families can connect and a love and appreciation for the outdoors can be nurtured.”
“So much of the work of the National Park Service takes place in local communities through programs like the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams, according to the release. “Now in its eighth year, the program leverages federal funds to provide economically disadvantaged communities with the means to create and improve parks, trails and recreation opportunities. We look forward to providing more grant opportunities like this to states across the country."
The ORLP grants are provided through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and have long been a priority for the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). The ORLP program was designed on providing larger grants to urban areas that lack access to parks.
The ORLP provides funding to urban communities with populations of at least 50,000, with funding prioritizing projects to serve economically disadvantaged areas that lack access to outdoor recreation opportunities, according to the LWCF.
