Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP)

The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program grant is a nationally competitive grant offered by the National Park Service (NPS). Counties and municipalities (project sponsors) have the opportunity to apply through the NYS Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) unit at the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP) provides 50/50 matching grants for park projects in urban areas with a population of 25,000 or more, with a preference for projects in low-income communities. The minimum grant amount is $300,000 ($600,000 project) and the maximum grant amount is $15,000,000 ($30,000,000 project​​). ORLP grants are subject to the rules and regulations of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)​. The current Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)[DC1] contains all eligibility and application information (download the full announcements under Related Documents). Potential project sponsors are also encouraged to review resources prepared by the Trust for Public Land, including an on-dem​and webinar. How to Apply​ The timeline for applications is: As soon as you have a project in mind or for assistance to determine eligibility: [email protected] to schedule a virtual meeting with Diana Carter, Alternate State Liaison Officer and Tammy Althiser, LWCF Program Coordinator. An application package will be provided at this meeting. By October 1, 2026: Submit application materials to NYS LWCF via [email protected] By Friday, October 30, 2026: NYS LWCF will submit application to NPS. In October, NYS LWCF and the project sponsor will work together to make revisions to the materials. By May 1, 2027: NPS will announce which projects will move forward to full application. By May 1, 2028: Successful projects will receive a start date. In the year prior to this, NYS LWCF, NPS, and the project sponsor will work together to address any concerns and complete a final application package. Updates will be posted on this webpage: https://parks.ny.gov/grants/lwcf-outdoor-recreation-legacy-partnership-program Business enterprises awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years: None