WASHINGTON, DC – City Parks Alliance applauds the announcement of $13.3 million in grants to benefit disadvantaged urban communities. The announcement marked the second round of park grants to cities under the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program (ORLP). The ORLP is a nationally competitive grant program funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
“Parks play a vital role in the social, economic and physical well-being of America’s cities and their residents. We are thrilled that the administration has moved ahead and awarded these grants through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program,” said Catherine Nagel, Executive Director of City Parks Alliance. “With 80% of Americans living in urban and metropolitan areas, investing in our city parks is needed now more than ever. This important federal funding will leverage additional funds from public and private sources, and will help provide healthy and vibrant parks for all.”
Congress created the ORLP program in 2014 to complement the existing NPS LWCF State and Local Assistance Program. This new program seeks to identify and highlight new ways of promoting opportunities for expanding outdoor play in areas with great need, as well as promoting the development of new or enhanced partnerships for outdoor recreation in urban communities across the nation.
Selected projects will showcase how partners at all levels can work collaboratively to leverage investment and support close-to-home recreation opportunities that will connect all ages to public lands.
Since its establishment in 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund State Assistance Program has conserved land in every state and supported tens of thousands of state and local projects. The fund does not use taxpayer dollars; the primary source of income derives from fees paid by oil and gas companies drilling offshore.
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