The Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) is accepting grant applications for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program. This program, administered by the National Park Service, provides grants to acquire or develop land for public outdoor recreation purposes. An eligible project must be located in or within a half-mile buffer of:

• An incorporated city or town or unincorporated area with a population of twenty-five thousand or more in the 2020 Census, AND
• An underserved community. Underserved status can be demonstrated through use of the Environmental Protection Agency’s EJScreen Tool, or other documentation describing demographic and environmental factors.
• OR, on tribal nation or trust land held by a federally recognized Native American tribe.

If you have an eligible project and are interested in applying, please see the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership webpage for additional program details. The Applicant To-Do List outlines timeline and tasks. Applications are due in PRISM Online by March 12, 2025.

RCO encourages all prospective applicants to meet with an Outdoor Grants Manager to vet their project before applying. Please contact Hayley Dalgetty (King County), Allison Dellwo (Spokane County), Rachelle Lim (Island, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom Counties; other Eastern WA Counties not listed here), or Henry Smith (Kittitas and Yakima Counties; other Western WA Counties not listed here).

RCO staff and the LWCF advisory committee will review and provide feedback on the proposals and give applicants an opportunity to modify the application. RCO's director will approve which proposals will be sent to the National Park Service for the national competition. Projects will be scored by federal project reviewers, and a list provided to the director of the National Park Service, who makes the final funding decision.

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