Land and Water Conservation Fund
Type of assistance: 50/50 reimbursable matching grants
Purpose: The Land and Water Conservation Fund program (LWCF) provides supplemental federal funding for the acquisition and/or development of high-quality, public outdoor recreational areas throughout West Virginia. Assisted or acquired parklands are bound by perpetual restrictive covenants that obligate the project sponsor to operate and maintain the defined project area as a public outdoor recreational facility.
Description: Proposed projects must be consistent with the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). Park renovations, expansions to promote active lifestyles, innovate community cores, attract or retain visitors to an area, develop trailheads or preserve other natural areas to impact community health objectives or develop brownfields renewal efforts will receive funding priority. Additional priority will be made for projects targeting one or more of the project characteristics noted above that utilize a community coalition or consortium approach towards achieving the project goal. Project consortiums can include, but not be limited to, participation in the West Virginia Development Office’s Main Street Program, Certified Development Community Program, or other programs of the Governor’s Office of Healthy Lifestyles, West Virginia Department of Highways, or Northern or Southern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Centers.
Eligible activities: They include but are not limited to the development of outdoor recreation resources related to the following:
- Land acquisition for parklands
- Development or renovation of the following types of outdoor recreational facilities:
- Campgrounds
- Picnic areas
- Sports and playfields
- Golf courses
- Swimming facilities
- Boating facilities
- Fishing facilities
- Hunting areas
- Trails
- Winter sport facilities
- Support facilities (walks, utilities, bathrooms, etc.)
- Amphitheaters
- Lake impoundments
- Visitor information centers
- Interpretive centers
Eligible applicants: Funds are provided to units of local government, independent park boards, commissions, districts and state government.
Contact: For additional information about the LWCF program, please contact John McGarrity or Jim Marshall at (800) 982-3386 or (304) 558-4010.
