NPS Mission - National Park Service

National Park Service FY 2013 Budget Justifications
greater detail in the next section. The remaining $13.9 million would be used according to the current
formula that takes into account total and urban population per state.
This funding would be used to acquire and develop lands for outdoor recreation including State
participation in the 101 America’s Great Outdoors projects when appropriate and consistent with needs
identified in the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans (SCORPs). These funds would also
continue to assist States in developing and updating 5-year SCORPs, a prerequisite for participating in
the LWCF program. Additional assistance in updating current SCORPs may be required to help States
address the criteria and goals of the new competitive grant component. Approximately 175 grants would
be funded at this level of request.
Support Competitive State Conservation Grants Program (FY 2012 Base: $0 / FY 2013 Request:
+$20,000,000) Note: Reprogramming of FY 2012 funds is being proposed to allocate $37.1 million for
grants based on formula and $5.0 million for grants based on a set of competitive criteria.
Funding is requested for a competitive grant component within the State Conservation grant program, A
reprogramming is currently pending with the Congress to begin a competitive grant program in 2012 with
$5.0 million of the $42.1 million enacted for State grants.
This competitive component is allowable under the LWCF Act, which stipulates that 40 percent of the
funds are to be equally distributed among the States and that the remainder is to be allocated by the
Secretary on the basis of need in such amounts that in his judgment will best accomplish the purposes of
the State financial assistance program. In recent years the 60 percent share has been allocated based on
a formula that considers total and urban population. The National Park Service has been conducting
consultations with States since the spring of 2011 to formulate an approach for a competitive program
component in order to address priorities that would more equitably consider urban areas, public access to
rivers and trails, reconnecting and reengaging young people and their families in the outdoors, and other
projects allowable that were identified during the America’s Great Outdoors consultations. These grants
would be leveraged by State and local governments and other partners with at least a 50:50 match, as
required by the Act.
Projects selected for the competitive portion of the program would be used to create and enhance
outdoor recreation opportunities. Funds would be focused on projects that advance the three place-based
priorities identified in the President’s America’s Great Outdoors report: urban parks and greenspaces,
large landscape conservation, and public river/waterway access for recreation. These priorities are the
outgrowth of public input, provided in numerous listening sessions and in written comments that also
called for more focused investment of stateside LWCF funds. The competition is envisioned as an
appropriate response to help meet both sets of recommendations.
All projects considered in the competition would first be selected by the States themselves. The new
competitive process will enable the highest return on investment for federal funds used for conservation
and recreation projects implemented by states and localities, in the context of a broader strategy to use
federal funds to fund projects that meet high-priority needs and satisfy the shared vision of a wide range
of stakeholders working in collaboration.
The NPS estimates that 10 to 25 grants (ranging from $500,000 to $2 million) could be funded to support
acquisition of open spaces and natural areas and development of facilities for outdoor recreation. A
provision in the Act prohibits more than 10 percent of the total grant funding from being provided to any
one state in a given year. The competitive awards will need to conform to this provision, i.e., per this
proposal, no state could receive a total award, including formula and competitive components, that
exceeds $5.65 million.
Applications would be evaluated based on general criteria as well as criteria specific to the target
investment areas (urban, blueways, and natural landscapes). Common criteria would include factors such
as: ability to demonstrate the degree and urgency of the need for the project; ability to articulate the
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