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Land and and Water Conservation
Fund (LWCF) FAQ
1. What
is the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant
program?
The LWCF program, created in 1965, provides matching
grants of up to 50 percent to assist states and local
governments in acquiring, developing, and renovating
public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. The
program's purpose is to create and maintain a nationwide
legacy of high quality recreation areas and facilities
while stimulating non-federal investments in protecting
and maintaining recreation resources across the United
States.
2. Where does LWCF money come
from?
Though the main source is from lease payments made
for federal offshore oil and gas resources, funds
are also derived from federal recreation fees, sales
of federal surplus real property, and federal motorboat
fuel taxes.
3. What can LWCF grants be
used for?
Grants are for land acquisition and/or facility construction
or renovation for public parks for outdoor recreation.
New parks and additions to existing parks are eligible.
The only indoor facilities eligible are swimming pools
and ice skating rinks. Typical projects include:
- Athletic fields, multipurpose
courts, playgrounds, skate parks, etc.
- Campgrounds, picnic shelters
- Community gardens
- Open space
- Ski areas, ice skating ponds
- Swimming beaches and pools
- Support facilities such as
parking, restrooms, storage, and utilities
- Trails (including interpretive)
and pathways for muscle-powered activities
- Vistas and view points
4. Who may apply?
Eligible grant recipients include cities/towns, counties,
Native American Tribes, park and recreation districts,
school districts, state agencies. Also eligible are
certain special purpose districts such as port, irrigation,
water and public utility districts if legally authorized
to acquire and develop public open space, habitat
or recreation facilities. Private individuals and
organizations, including non-profit and charitable
organizations, are not eligible for assistance.
All eligible applicants compete
equally for LWCF funds. (see FAQ #7)
5. What are the deadlines?
Applications are generally due in the spring with
successful proposals approved by the end of the year.
Please visit our Land
and Water Concervation Fund Schedule to see the
latest information on workshops, application due dates,
and evaluation schedules. For information on our Recreation and Conservation Funding Board (RCFB) board meetings please
see their schedule.
Applicants do not need to have
any permits that may be required in-hand before submitting
an application. The National Park Service, as the
federal program administrator, however, requires that
needed U.S. Corps of Engineers permit(s) must be obtained
before final project approval. Most permits must be
in-hand within 90 days of RCFB funding approval, and
Corps permits can take over a year to obtain. Be sure
to take this into account.
6. Is there a planning requirement?
Yes. The Recreation and Conservation Funding Board
(RCFB) requires the applicant to submit a plan that
includes several elements, including goals and objectives,
inventory, and a description of the public involvement
process used. The plan must be accepted by RCFB at
least three months before the meeting in which the
applicant's project is first considered for funding.
Typically, once accepted, the plan provides eligibility
to for up to six years from the date of adoption.
For more information please see our Planning
Polices manual (Manual #2), on our Documents &
Reports page under General Policies.
7. How do you
decide who receives a grant?
This program involves an open and highly competitive
process in which funding relies heavily on an applicant's
oral responses to a published set of RCFB and National Park Service
approved evaluation questions. The applicant makes
this presentation before an advisory committee assembled
by the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) to help prepare funding recommendations. The
committee, appointed by RCO's Director, is composed
of government representatives and citizen member recreationists.
RCO staff presents these recommendations to the RCFB for approval. Approved project application material
is then forwarded to the program's federal administrator,
the National Park Service, for final approval.
8. Are there any long-term
commitments for funded projects?
Yes. Perhaps the most significant is that property
acquired, developed, or renovated with LWCF assistance
must be retained for public outdoor recreation use
forever. Other commitments include ensuring proper
maintenance, facilitating audits, providing for nondiscrimination,
etc. Further information may be found on our Documents
& Reports page in Funded
Projects: Policies & The Project Agreement (Manual
#7).
9. May I attend a funding decision
meeting?
All evaluation and board meetings are open to the
public. The RCFB invites public testimony during
its project funding deliberations.
10. Explain some of the funding
rules.
Are there funding limits?
Yes. The RCFB has established minimum and maximum
grant requests of $25,000 and $500,000 for each application.
What is a matching share?
Project sponsors must provide at least 50 percent
of the resources needed to complete the project. Availability
of these resources, called the applicant's matching
share, must be confirmed before project approval.
Local resources used to match the federal assistance
may come from a variety of sources, including: appropriations,
tax levies, bond issues, force account labor, gifts,
and donations (including land, cash, labor, materials
and equipment). Certain other federal funds may be
used to match LWCF grants, including Housing and Community
Development Act funds, Housing and Urban Development
Act Funds, etc. Further information may be found in
section 670.1.5 of the LWCF Manual.
Explain reimbursements.
Project sponsors do not receive grant funds at the
time of funding approval. Rather, reimbursement takes
place after the sponsor certifies that expenditures
have been made. To receive funds reserved for the
project, the sponsor then submits one or more billing
forms to RCFB for payment authorization.
What happens to unused funds?
Any unused funds are either offered to the next highest
ranked project or held over for the next grant cycle.
Such funds may become available for many reasons,
including an approved project using fewer dollars
than anticipated or a proposed land acquisition where
the applicant is unable to come to terms with the
seller.
How is overall funding determined
and what can we expect in the future?
A formula in federal statute determines the allocation
for each State and Territory. Once approved by the
Secretary of the Interior, the Director of the National
Park Service sends notification of the allocation
to each Governor. Since the program began in 1965,
annual national appropriations have ranged from a
high of $369 million in 1979 to four years of zero
funding between 1996 and 1999. Recently, State and
local grants have experienced three years of significant
increases, from $40 million in FY 2000, almost $89
million in FY 2001, to $140 million in FY 2002.
11. Where can I get more information?
Continue to explore this web site, or click on one
of these links:
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