1. What is the Washington Wildlife
and Recreation Program (WWRP)?
WWRP was created by the 1990 Legislature in response to
increasing public demand for outdoor recreation land and
growing concerns about loss of wildlife habitat. Administered
by the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board (RCFB),
WWRP's primary goal is "...to acquire as soon as
possible the most significant lands for wildlife conservation
and outdoor recreation purposes before they are converted
to other uses, and to develop existing public recreational
land and facilities to meet the needs of present and future
generations." For further information, see RCW
79A.15.005.
2. Where does the money come from?
Funding comes
primarily from the sale of state general obligation bonds
authorized via biennial legislative appropriations. In large
measure, the program's continuing success is the result
of the cooperative efforts of the Governor, Legislature,
and the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition (100+
organizations from business, labor, political, environmental,
and sporting interests).
3. What can WWRP grants be used for?
WWRP provides funding assistance for a broad range of land
conservation, park development, and outdoor recreation facilities. Grants are divided into
11 categories:
- Local Parks for acquisition, development,
and renovation (open only to local agencies)
- State Parks for acquisition and development
(open only to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission)
- Trails for acquisition and development
(open to local and state agencies)
- Water Access for acquisition
and development (open to local and state agencies)
- Urban Wildlife Habitat (open to local
and state agencies)
- Critical Habitat for acquisition
and development (open to local and state agencies)
- Natural Areas for acquisition and
development (open to state agencies)
- Farmland Protection for acquisition through the purchase of development rights (open only to local agencies)
- Riparian Protection for acquisition and restoration (open to state and local agencies and lead entities)
- State Lands Development for development and renovation (open only to state Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources)
- State Lands Restoration for restoration (open only to state Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources)
4. Who may apply?
Only public agencies legally authorized to develop, operate,
and maintain recreational facilities are eligible for WWRP
grants. These include state agencies and local agencies
(cities, towns, counties, tribal governments, park and recreation
districts, ports, and school districts). Lead Entities are eligible in the Riparian Program.
5. What are the deadlines?
Applications are generally due in the spring with successful
proposals approved by July the following year. Please visit
our Washington Wildlife Recreation
Program Schedule to see the latest information on workshops,
application due dates, and evaluation schedules. For information
on our RCFB
meetings, please see our meeting schedule.
6. Is there a planning requirement?
Yes. Applicants must 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 the 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.
See RCFB Participation Manual #2, Planning
Policies (PDF), for more information.
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 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 the RCO director, is composed
of government representatives and citizens.
RCO staff presents these recommendations to the RCFB for approval.
8. Are there any long-term commitments
for funded projects?
Yes. Perhaps the most significant is that property acquired,
developed, or renovated with Washington Wildlife and Recreation
Program 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 in RCFB
Manual 7, Funded Projects: Policies (PDF).
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 these maximum grant request
levels:
- Local Parks category acquisition
projects - $1 million.
- Local Parks category development
projects - $500,000 each.
- Local Parks category combination
projects (acquisition and development) - $1 million each,
of which not more than $500,000 may be for development
costs.
- State Lands Development category projects - $25,000 - $325,000 each, $100,000 per site, if a multi-site project.
- State Lands Restoration category projects - $25,000 - $1 million each, $500,000 per site, if multi-site project.
There are no maximum request for projects
in the urban wildlife habitat, trails, or water access categories.
There is no state agency per project limit. For further
information, see
WAC
286-27-075.
What is a matching share?
Local agency grant recipients (see #4, Who may apply?) 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. Resources used to match the state assistance
may come from a variety of sources, including: appropriations,
tax levies, bond issues, staff labor, and donations
(including land, cash, labor, materials, and equipment).
Other RCFB administered grant funds may be used as a match so long as it's not from the same grant program. Also, local agencies, except tribes, must provide at least 10 percent non-state, non-federal monies.
Explain reimbursements.
grant recipients do not receive grant funds at the time
of funding approval, but are reimbursed after they certify that expenditures have been
made. To receive funds reserved for the project, the grant recipient
then submits billing forms to the RCFB for payment.
What happens to unused funds?
Any unused funds are offered to the next highest
ranked project.
Such funds may become available for many reasons, including
an approved project using fewer dollars than anticipated
or a proposed land acquisition falls through.
How is overall funding determined
and what can we expect in the future?
The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program depends
entirely on legislative funding made once
every two years. The funding, in part, is based
on the state's capacity to borrow money for construction projects,
which is affected by rules for
general obligations bonds. The following
table shows the history of legislative appropriations:
| Years |
Amount
Appropriated |
Years |
Amount
Appropriated |
| 1989-91 |
$53 million |
1999-01 |
$48 million |
| 1991-93 |
$61.15 million |
2001-03 |
$45 million |
| 1993-95 |
$65 million |
2003-05 |
$45 million |
| 1995-97 |
$45 million |
2005-07 |
$50 million |
| 1997-99 |
$45 million |
2007-09 |
$100 million |
11. Where can I get more information?
Continue to explore this web site, or click on one of these
links:
