Natasha Blakely, natasha.blakely@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, the Department of the Interior announced a new $192 million available in grants to communities through the National Park Service’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program.
ORLP was started in 2014 to help economically disadvantaged communities with little to no access to public outdoor recreation spaces. It has funded dozens of projects, including the Belle Isle Park Athletic Complex in Detroit, Michigan, and Three Mile Creek Greenway Project in Mobile, Alabama. The Department pinpointed priorities for this round of funding that include projects that will increase access to nature’s benefits and engage members of the targeted disadvantaged community in the development of the projects.
The National Park Service will be accepting applications through May 31, 2023. This new funding is a sharp increase from the last round, which distributed $61.1 million across 27 projects. Together, it will help advance the administration’s America the Beautiful initiative to protect and expand access to 30% of lands and waters in the United States by 2030.
In response, Sierra Club’s Jackie Ostfeld, Director of Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign, released the following statement:
“Amidst the overlapping challenges of the climate, biodiversity, and nature equity crises, funding programs like ORLP becomes increasingly important. From urban spaces to wild places, all people should be able to experience the myriad benefits the outdoors offers. Local communities deserve to be invested in, and this initiative is a positive step toward ensuring equitable access to the outdoors is possible.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.