Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provides grants to states, and through states to local units of government and federally-recognized Indian tribes, for projects that will provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the public through the acquisition of lands and waters for parks and other outdoor recreation areas, as well as through the development of new, or the renovation of existing, outdoor recreation facilities. 

It is operated by the National Park Service (NPS) in partnership with designated lead agencies. In 2014 NPS created the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program, a competitive grant program administered under the authority of the LWCF Act, as a complement to the formula grant program.

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Program Goals

As designed, the purpose of the ORLP Program is to provide new or significantly improved recreation opportunities in urban communities, consistent with the purposes and requirements of the LWCF Act and LWCF Manual. To meet ORLP objectives and goals, the project must:

  • meet the matching requirement.  ORLP is dollar for dollar match, covering up to 50% of project costs.  
  • meet recreation goals as identified in, and align with priorities of, the State’s Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) (3.95 MB) .pdf  
  • must be within a Qualifying Area, defined as:
    • an urban area that has a population of 25,000 or more in the most recent census, or
    • two or more adjacent urban areas with a combined population of 25,000 or more in the most recent census, or
    • an area administered by a federally recognized Indian Tribe or Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian community organization.

Applicants can learn more about census-designated urban areas and access a list of all urban areas on the US Census’s TIGERWeb web page.

Outdoor recreation areas and facilities assisted through this program must be open to the public, and may not be converted to uses other than public outdoor recreation. 

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Application Process

The application process for ORLP is multi-step:

  1. The State solicits proposals from eligible local project sponsors, selects and submits abbreviated applications to NPS. Proposals will be accepted by NPS annually on November 1. *See DNR deadlines below.*
  2. Each proposal is reviewed and scored by an independent merit panel assigned by NPS.
  3. Based on scoring and reviews of the independent merit panel, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) will announce project selections.  It is expected that project selection will happen within six months, approximately May 1 annually.
  4. States will work with the local project sponsors of the DOI-selected projects to prepare a full application and complete compliance.

Funding is not guaranteed until a grant agreement is signed by NPS. Grants are awarded by NPS to the State Lead Agency, which is responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are used for the purposes of, and in a manner consistent with, the LWCF Act and Manual. The State Lead Agency, in turn, makes a sub-award to the project sponsor, which must be the public entity that submitted the proposal. Because States must conduct a process to make the initial determination as to which projects to submit to the NPS for consideration in the national competition, State application deadlines will be earlier than NPS’s competition deadline.

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Application & Deadlines

The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has been announced for 2026.  

Applications for 2026 grant round will be due to the Iowa DNR by September 1, 2026.  

For application details and materials, please contact Jessica Flatt at 515-975-8569 or by email at [email protected].  The complete Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and associated documents can be found on the Grants.gov website.  The Iowa DNR, as the state lead agency, must apply on behalf of local governments. 

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Build America, Buy America Act

With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Federal financial assistance programs for infrastructure must comply with domestic content procurement preference requirements established in the “Build America, Buy America Act” at Section 70911 et seq. (“Buy America”). Buy America’s domestic content procurement preference applies to all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used for infrastructure projects under an award. These requirements took effect on May 14, 2022; however, parties may seek waivers under certain circumstances.

For more information: “Buy America” Domestic Sourcing Guidance and Waiver Process for DOI Financial Assistance Agreements.

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Supporting Materials and Resources

  • LWCF Manual
  • The National Parks Service has an ORLP technical assistance webpage with links to upcoming webinars, virtual open office hours, and more. 
  • The Trust for Public Land offers free ORLP resources and webinars.  You can find more information on the TPL website.
  • City Parks Alliance will be hosting a technical assistance webinar on ORLP July 22.  You can find more information on the City Parks Alliance webpage.
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