LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - State Planning - FY23 Cycle 1

The LWCF State and Local Assistance program is operated by the NPS in partnership with designated lead agencies in each of the 50 States plus American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each fiscal year Congress allocates money from the LWCF for this program, which is in turn allocated to the States based on a legislative formula. To be eligible to submit applications for funding, States must have a current Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, or SCORP, in place that assesses demand and need for outdoor recreation resources and among other things sets priorities for the use of LWCF funds. LWCF grants are available to the States to comply with this legislative requirement. The NPS must review and approve each State’s SCORP. A new or updated SCORP must be prepared at least once every 5 years.

In accordance with 54 U.S.C. 200305(a), only the State lead agency for LWCF is eligible to submit applications in response to this announcement. In this context, “States” includes the 50 U.S. States, plus American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The State lead agency may apply for a SCORP grant even if the program is otherwise ineligible for LWCF grants (i.e., because they don’t have a currently approved SCORP). The NPS cannot make grants to entities other than the state lead agency; applications submitted to this funding opportunity announcement by an entity other than the state lead agency will automatically be rejected.