LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - Acquisition & Construction - FY24 | P P LWCF 24 005

Opportunity Information: Apply for P P LWCF 24 005

The LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - Acquisition and Construction - FY24 opportunity is a National Park Service (NPS) grant program that supports the purchase of land and the development or renovation of outdoor recreation facilities for public use. It comes through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a program established under the LWCF Act on September 3, 1964, with a long-standing purpose: helping preserve and build out a strong network of accessible outdoor recreation resources for current and future generations. In practical terms, the program is meant to expand and improve places like parks, trails, recreation areas, and related amenities that encourage active outdoor participation and contribute to community health and quality of life.

Funding is distributed as a mandatory, formula-based program. Each year, Congress allocates LWCF funding for the State and Local Assistance Program, and those dollars are then apportioned to states and territories using a legislative formula rather than a single nationwide competition. The NPS administers the program in partnership with designated lead agencies in every state and in eligible territories and jurisdictions, including American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While the federal award is made by NPS, the path to that award runs through each state or territory’s lead agency, which organizes the local application process and selects which projects to forward to NPS.

The core eligible work falls into two broad categories: acquisition and development. Acquisition funding can support the purchase of land and water areas intended for parks and other outdoor recreation spaces. Development funding supports building new facilities or improving existing ones, including renovations, expansions, or upgrades that strengthen recreational use. A key requirement is that assisted sites and facilities must be publicly owned and open to the general public. Projects cannot be designed for restricted or exclusive use by special groups; the expectation is broad public access and benefit.

Although the listed eligible applicants at the federal level are state governments, the program is explicitly structured so that states can pass support through to local units of government and Indian Tribes. That means cities, counties, park districts, and Tribes typically engage with the program by submitting proposals to their state’s LWCF lead agency, not by applying directly to NPS. The state lead agency is responsible for setting timelines, announcing available funds, publishing application requirements, and running a competitive selection process within the state to determine which proposals best match statewide outdoor recreation priorities.

Eligibility and project selection are tied closely to statewide planning. To participate, a state must have a current State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). The SCORP is the statewide needs assessment and strategy document that identifies demand for outdoor recreation, gaps in access or facilities, and priority goals for investment. Applicants are expected to clearly show how their proposed acquisition or construction project advances the specific needs and goals identified in the SCORP. In other words, success depends not just on having a good project idea, but on demonstrating that it fits the state’s documented recreation priorities.

The application and award flow typically works like this: an interested local government or Tribe contacts the state lead agency to confirm funding availability, deadlines, matching or documentation requirements, and state scoring criteria. The state then solicits proposals, evaluates them through its competitive process, and nominates the highest-ranked projects to NPS. NPS reviews the nominated projects and makes the final funding decisions and awards. For FY24, the opportunity lists an expected 350 awards, with an award ceiling of $15,000,000, reflecting that project sizes and state allocations can vary widely across the country.

Key administrative details provided for this specific NOFO include the funding opportunity number P P LWCF 24 005, CFDA number 15.916, and NPS as the administering federal agency. The original closing date listed is July 12, 2024, though applicants should rely on their state lead agency’s schedule because states often run their own earlier or staggered deadlines to assemble nominations for federal submission. Overall, this program is best viewed as a state-led, federally funded pathway to expand public parks and outdoor recreation infrastructure, with priority given to projects that clearly improve public access and align with a state’s SCORP-driven recreation goals.

• The National Park Service in the community development, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - Acquisition & Construction - FY24" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.916.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-12. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 350 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for P P LWCF 24 005

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