The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is accepting applications for a special fall funding round in 2022. The DCNR recreation and conservation grants program opened on September 6 and closes on October 27, 2022 at 4 PM EST.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is accepting applications for a special fall funding round in 2022. The DCNR recreation and conservation grants program opened on September 6 and closes on October 27, 2022 at 4 PM EST.
The 2022 special fall round is funded primarily by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) made available to DCNR through the Outdoor Recreation Program as part of Pennsylvania’s fiscal year ’22-23 budget.
Application process, eligible applicants, and project types largely mirror those for DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program grants. The supplemental fall funding round does have some differences from typical DCNR grant rounds including a lower match requirement of 20% of the grant amount with no project size cap for municipalities with populations under 5,000 people. This lower match requirement makes the fall funding round an ideal opportunity for smaller municipalities to apply for grants.
The fall funding round is also an ideal time to apply for tree planting, lawn conversion, and riparian buffer grants and includes over $8 million in Keystone Tree Fund money to support watershed and community forestry practices.
Other priority projects of this funding round include:
- Community Parks and Recreation: Projects that help rehab existing parks and those that improve access for all.
- Land Conservation/Watershed Protection: Land conservation projects that provide habitat corridors, provide connectivity with other protected land, or protect headwater streams.
- Trails: Projects that close Priority Trail Gaps.
- State and Regional Partnerships: Select projects for state- and federal-designated Heritage Areas
Technical assistance and resources are as follows:
The Bureau of Recreation and Conservation (BRC) provides technical and grant assistance;
A Frequently Asked Questions document is available with more information on the fall round;
Visit the DCNR Grants Customer Service Portal to explore and apply for various grant opportunities;
A free grant workshop will be held on Thursday, November 3, for the spring 2023 round.