The National Park Service is handing out funding to city parks across the nation.
The Department of the Interior is unveiling the largest-ever grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP). The National Park Service (NPS) will allocate $254.7 million across projects in 24 states to revitalize or develop new local parks.
“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,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland says. “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. Today, this program makes history with the largest investment since its inception.”
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In August, Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz visited ORLP projects in North Carolina. They toured Yeargan Park and Smoky Hollow Park, where program funds are being used to build new park infrastructure and improve trails, play and picnic areas.
“The enthusiasm for this program is wonderful, with the highest number of applications we’ve ever seen,” Estenoz says. “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.”
Established in 2014, the ORLP program is a nationwide, competitive matching grant initiative that supports underserved urban communities with limited access to nearby outdoor recreation. It funds community-led park projects in areas with populations above 30,000. Administered by the NPS and financed through the LWCF, the program offers matching grants covering up to 50% of total project expenses.
“It’s great to see such an increase in community investment in the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program,” NPS Director Chuck Sams says. “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 54 projects receiving funding are:
Downtown Gadsden Greenway, Gadsden, Ala.: $3 million
Campus Park, Oxnard, Calif: $6.7 million
La Palma Park, Anaheim, Calif.: $6 million
Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Bakersfield, Calif.: $11.9 million
Bryte Park, West Sacramento, Calif.: $15 million
Spartan-Keyes Park, San Jose, Calif.: $4.5 million
Central Park, Glendale, Calif.: $6 million
Roadside Park, Baldwin Park, Calif.: $2.1 million
Jordan Downs Central Park, Los Angeles: $11 million
Panorama Park, Redding, Calif.: $4 million
Van Buskirk Revitalization Park, Stockton, Calif.: $7 million
Puente Hills Landfill Park, Los Angeles: $15 million
Stewart Park, Beaumont, Calif.: $3.1 million
Quail Valley Nature Park, Menifee, Calif.: $750,000
Bellflower Park, Adelanto, Calif.: $1 million
Veterans Memorial Park, La Puente, Calif.: $1 million
La Alma-Lincoln Park, Denver: $8.4 million
Gold Strike Park, Colo.: $7.3 million
Cummings Park/West Beach, Stamford, Conn.: $5 million
Rockwell Park, Bristol, Conn.: $1.9 million
11th Street Bridge Park, Washington, D.C.: $15 million
Carter Park, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: $2.2 million
Sunset Park, Hollywood, Fla.: $7.6 million
Marva Bannerman Park, Miami-Dade County, Fla.: $2.5 million
City Park, Oakland Park, Fla.: $2.5 million
Burdett Park Natural Area, South Fulton, Ga.: $1 million
Comiskey Park, Dubuque, Iowa: $2 million
Riverfront Park, Bowling Green, Ky.: $3.6 million
Baltimore Greenway Trail Network: $1.4 million
Hill Street Park, Frederick, Md.: $1 million
Flint Riverbank Park, Mich.: $5 million
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Rochester, Minn.: $1.5 million
Parr Hill Park, Joplin, Mo.: $485,000
Deaverview Mountain Acquisition, Buncombe County, N.C.: $4.5 million
Downtown Gateway and Greenway, Grand Forks, N.D.: $3.5 million
Turtle Mountain Family Recreation Areas, N.D.: $1 million
Mesa Verde Park, Albuquerque, N.M.: $1.4 million
Payne Park, North Tonawanda, N.Y.: $4 million
Reverend H.V. Savage Park, Toledo, Ohio: $1.2 million
Irishtown Bend, Cleveland: $10.8 million
Cuyahoga Riverfront Property, Cleveland: $3 million
Cain Park, Cleveland Heights, Ohio: $390,000
Dream Keepers Park, Tulsa, Okla.: $3.6 million
Hillside Pool, Reading, Pa.: $672,000
Weston Field, Scranton, Pa.: $672,000
Regional Park, Rock Hill, S.C.: $15 million
Gooch Park, Memphis, Tenn.: $3.3 million
Community Park, Dallas: $8.7 million
Woodlawn Lake Park, San Antonio, Texas: $3.3 million
Burnett Bayland Park, Houston: $11.4 million
Teague Park, Longview, Texas: $1.3 million
John Trevino Jr. Metropolitan Park, Austin, Texas: $4 million
Patton Park, Petersburg, Va.: $3.4 million
Uplands Park, Kent, Wash.: $3.2 million
Photo courtesy Larry D. Moore
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