Recreation and conservation grant program now open

» State Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19, recently encouraged counties, municipalities, pre-qualified land trusts, nonprofit organizations and other eligible agencies to apply for state recreation and conservation grants through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Community Conservation Partnerships Program.

Applications are being accepted now until April 11 at 4 p.m. All applications must be submitted electronically. Detailed grant information, policies, guidelines, recorded webinars, and the online grant portal are available online at www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/grants/index.aspx.

“It is important that we continue to invest in our open spaces and natural places and in making them more accessible and enjoyable for everyone,” Dinniman said. “These grants can go a long way in not only protecting our environment, but also increasing recreational opportunities for residents and families throughout the region.”

The Community Conservation Partnerships Program, administered by DCNR’s Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, provides financial and technical assistance in support of community projects that help acquire and develop parks, recreation facilities, and trails, and conserve critical conservation areas and watersheds.

The Bureau of Recreation and Conservation will focus grant funds on projects that implement the Commonwealth’s outdoor recreation priorities, strategies and actions, as outlined in the Pennsylvania Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. They are:

Community Parks & Recreation: Planning and development projects that focus on accessibility and rehabilitation of existing parks.

Land Conservation/Watershed Protection: Land conservation projects that protect critical habitat, forested watersheds, wetlands, and riparian corridors or create critical connections between public or conservation lands.

Watershed Restoration/ Rivers Implantation: Projects that enhance public access to Pennsylvania’s waterways or projects that improve Pennsylvania’s watersheds, including the planting of riparian forest buffers.

Trails: Projects that close priority trail gaps as well as projects that rehabilitate or upgrade existing trails.

The Community Conservation Partnerships Program is funded, in part, by the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund (Key 93) which is currently celebrating its 25th year. During that time, the fund has succeeded in:

Helping build and maintain more than 3,000 community parks, playgrounds, pools, and recreation centers.

Funding more than 300 trail projects in support of Pennsylvania’s 12,000 miles of trails.

Helping preserve more than 161,000 acres of green space for county and local parks and open space preserves.

Last year alone, six conservation and recreation projects in Dinniman’s Chester County district received nearly $3.5 million in total state grant funding through the Community Conservation Partnerships Program.