The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of Outdoor Recreation today announced $22,059,191 in grants from the Local Parks and Recreation Fund (LPRF) program, the Tennessee Recreation Initiative Program (TRIP), and the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) for 31 communities across the state.

The LPRF program provides state funding to match local government investments for projects and the purchase of land for parks, natural areas, greenways, and recreational facilities. All grant projects must be on publicly owned land.

The TRIP is a state funded program that provides grant money to cities and counties who lack professional park and recreational directors and do not provide a comprehensive recreation delivery system in their community to assist with the establishment of the first Parks and Recreation Department.

The RTP program provides federal funding to match local government investments for land acquisition for trails, non-routine trail maintenance, trail construction, trail rehabilitation, and trail head support facilities.

“Local parks are an important aspect of outdoor recreation, and we are glad these grants will help communities across the state,” said Greer Tidwell, deputy commissioner of Conservation for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. “This makes parks affordable for local governments, and we look forward to the results of this assistance.”

“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with our local communities to help enhance enjoyment of the great outdoors,” said Brian Clifford, director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation. “These projects will directly improve health and strengthen economies, helping Tennessee thrive through parks and outdoor recreation.”

Additional information can be found on the 2025 Office of Outdoor Recreation (ORec) Grant Awards page.

Carlisle, PA – Today, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn and Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Nancy A. Walker visited the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps crew at Kings Gap Environmental Education Center in Cumberland County to mark the program’s 10th anniversary and highlight its growing impact on workforce development and environmental stewardship.

Since its creation, the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps has offered hands-on conservation job training to more than 1,400 young people ages 15 to 25 — building skills, supporting career readiness, and improving public lands across the Commonwealth.

Under Governor Josh Shapiro’s leadership, DCNR has expanded conservation efforts in the Commonwealth by strengthening the Outdoor Corps workforce development initiative. The Governor’s 2024-25 bipartisan budget invests $5 million to enhance and grow the program, increasing job training and stewardship skills for more young people. The investment supports hiring additional staff and restructuring the program into a regional model to improve efficiency, expand recruitment, and strengthen community partnerships.

Launched under Secretary Dunn’s tenure, the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps has provided paid conservation work experience, hands-on job training, and career readiness skills. The program is jointly run by DCNR and the Student Conservation Association (SCA), with critical support from L&I and private philanthropic partners.

“The young people we visited today and who participate in this program each year are our future leaders — in conservation and in public service,” said Secretary Dunn. “I am grateful that Governor Shapiro and our partner agency, the Department of Labor and Industry, are willing to invest in this important conservation workforce development program. I’m proud to see many Outdoor Corps alumni continuing their work with DCNR, the U.S. Forest Service, and other respected agencies.”

“Programs like the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps are exactly what workforce development should look like: hands-on, community-focused, and future-driven,” said Secretary Walker. “By connecting young Pennsylvanians with real-world conservation work, we’re helping them build job skills and empowering them to see themselves as leaders and changemakers. L&I is proud to support Secretary Dunn’s vision for an Outdoor Corps of young people who are getting real-life experience in how to protect our Commonwealth’s natural resources.”

Expanding Workforce Opportunities All Across the Commonwealth

Modeled after the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps is open to individuals ages 15-25 and provides hands-on experience in trail restoration, habitat enhancement, and tree planting. The Outdoor Corps offers opportunities for young people statewide through two program formats:

Six-week youth crews (ages 15-18): Held during the summer in locations across Pennsylvania, including Altoona, Chambersburg, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lockhaven, Meadville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Ridgway, Scranton, Wellsboro, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, and York. An American Sign Language Crew is also available.

Ten-month adult crews (ages 18-25): Based in Altoona, Dubois, Harrisburg, Laurel Highlands region, Meadville, Philadelphia region, Pittsburgh, Somerset, Wilkes-Barre, and Williamsport, along with a statewide Cultural Resources and Residential Trail crew.

The program seeks participants from underserved communities to increase awareness about conservation in them, and to diversify young people who have an interest in natural resource protection jobs.

As of the beginning of the 2025 season, crew members had accomplished the following:

5,272 acres of land improved

1,065 miles of trails managed

50 miles of waterways improved

7,633 improvements to structures

18,970 native trees and shrubs planted

30,959 datapoints collected

1,105 certifications gained

Alumni of the program have gone on to work with leading conservation organizations, including DCNR, SCA, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service, benefitting from their hands-on experience and specialized training.

Learn more about how DCNR is advancing sustainability in Pennsylvania and how Governor Shapiro is Safeguarding Our Land, Water, & Air to protect the Commonwealth’s environment.

Visit DCNR’s website for more information on the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps and check out DCNR’s Calendar of Events for more on happenings on public lands.

Photos and video of the event are available at PAcast.com.

# # #

Land and Water Conservation Fund Program

Image

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Program is a was established by Congress in 1964 to fulfill a bipartisan commitment to safeguard our natural areas, water resources and cultural heritage, and to provide recreation opportunities to all Americans. The LWCF invests earnings from offshore oil and gas leasing to help strengthen communities, preserve our history and protect our national endowment of lands and waters. It is divided into the “State Side” which provides grants to State and local governments, and the “Federal Side” which is used to acquire lands, waters, and interests therein necessary to achieve the natural, cultural, wildlife, and recreation management objectives of federal land management agencies.

LWCF funds are appropriated by Congress to the U. S. Department of the Interior, National Parks Service (NPS), and NPS allocates the funds through state agencies as a grant program to state and local governments. The LWCF program is administered at the state level by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the acquisition or development of land for public outdoor recreation.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund was permanently reauthorized in the Dingell Act of March 2019 and in August 2020 the Great American Outdoors Act fully and permanently funded the program.

TNC is meeting the moment by defending policies, programs and funding related to nature and climate solutions.

For decades, The Nature Conservancy has worked with elected officials and agency experts to create, implement and defend policies and programs that protect people and nature. Our proven approach to policy guides—being nonpartisan, grounded in science and open to diverse viewpoints; engaging with communities; staying true to our values and leveraging our extensive networks.

We cannot achieve our goals without engaging with a variety of partners, such as people in the private sector, academia and nonprofit organizations. Government experts, particularly at the federal level, are especially important to work with, given that they can help fund and provide the technical expertise to scale our work. Federal experts and funding are also critical for states, many of which rely on these resources to do their own work.

The federal government also has responsibilities to the public, including caring for the country’s lands, air, water and wildlife. The American people expect the federal government to fulfill these responsibilities. Federal funding, for instance, is already being used to accelerate clean energy projects in Kentucky, support stream restoration projects in Maine and plant more trees in Pennsylvania.

These are the kinds of programs and projects we need to create a more livable world. The American people recognize the value of these investments, with 77% of voters saying that, even with federal budget challenges, funding to safeguard our lands, air and water should not be cut. The government and lawmakers must stand on the side of the American people and the park rangers, scientists, firefighters and so many others who make this work a reality.

With just a few years left to reach critical climate and conservation goals, now is not the time to cut back.

A field crew member uses a drip torch as part of the SNC-funded Hoyt-Purdon Fuel Reduction and Prescribed Fire Implementation Project. The SNC‘s Board approved guidelines for a new grant program that will help advance fuel-reduction and prescribed fire in the Sierra-Cascade. Photography: American Rivers.

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC), a California state agency focused on supporting and improving the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the Sierra-Cascade, had a busy day Thursday, June 5, as its Board not only approved a $545,000 grant to the 40 Acre Conservation League to preserve 26 additional acres in the Blue Canyon area, but also approved new guidelines for two directed grant programs: Sustainable Recreation, Tourism, and Equitable Outdoor Access; and Wildfire and Forest Resilience.

By approving the new grant guidelines, the SNC will launch a grant cycle that will award no less than $4.1 million for projects that improve or enhance recreational activities and outdoor access, while also launching a new forest-health and wildfire-resilience grant round that will award $10 million to advance Governor Gavin Newsom’s latest executive order to expedite and expand wildfire-safety projects throughout the state.

“The SNC’s role as a state agency is to improve the economic and environmental conditions in the Sierra-Cascade region of California. That has become increasingly more difficult in a warming, changing climate with wildfires becoming more frequent and severe,” said SNC Executive Officer, Angela Avery. “Thanks to our Board’s action at this meeting, we are going to not only conserve more land and improve more opportunities for equitable outdoor access, but we are going to help advance wildfire resilience and help fulfill the governor’s emergency proclamation of fast-tracking critical fuel-reduction projects to greatly improve forest health and community protection.”

The SNC helping to expedite fuels reduction

On April 14, Governor Newsom signed an executive order authorizing $170 million to help fast-track forest-health, prescribe fire, and fuel-reduction projects to advance wildfire resilience statewide. The SNC received just under $31 million of this allotment from the recently passed Climate Bond and with the recent approval of guidelines will make the first $10 million available for projects now. As part of this effort, the governor also signed an emergency proclamation allowing the suspension of certain state statutory and regulatory requirements, such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), for certain eligible projects. Lisa Lien Mager, deputy secretary for forest and wildfire resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency, explained to the Board the reasons behind the proclamation and what projects may be eligible.

“The devastating effects on our environment and our communities from wildfires have become all too common across the state over the past few years,” she said, prior to the meeting. “With peak wildfire season on the horizon, the governor issued executive orders that will expedite much-needed, vegetation-management projects, while also putting Climate Bond funds to work as soon as we can to help protect our precious natural resources and communities across the state.”

Mountain bikers cross the Susan River as they enjoy the Bizz Johnson Trail. Photo courtesy Bob Wick, BLM.

Grant program expands recreation and tourism

On Thursday, the SNC Board also approved new directed grant program guidelines to implement the Sustainable Recreation, Tourism, and Equitable Outdoor Access grant program. The grant program will be launched in July and allocate no less than $4.1 million of remaining Proposition 68 local-assistance funds. Passed in June of 2018, Proposition 68, which allocated $55 million to the SNC, recognizes the critical importance of recreation and tourism to California’s economy and ecology.

More land conservation in Placer County

Under the Strategic Land Conservation Directed Grant Program, the Board awarded a $545,000 grant to the 40 Acre Conservation League for a fee-title acquisition of 26 acres located in the community of Blue Canyon just west of Emigrant Gap along Interstate 80 in Placer County. The property is adjacent to the 40 Acre Conservation League’s 650-acre Tahoe Forest Gateway property that was acquired in June 2023 with the help of grants from the SNC and the Wildlife Conservation Board. The only Black-led land conservancy in California, the 40 Acre Conservation League plans on restoring forest health, preserving the land, and opening it up to public access in the near future.