LAND & WATER CONSERVATION FUND GRANT

Authorized by the US Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act of 1965 established a federally funded program to provide 1:1 matching financial assistance grants to state and local governments for the purpose acquiring and/or developing public outdoor recreational areas and facilities. The program is administered nationally by the US Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS) with 100% of the supporting revenues being generated from offshore oil and gas leases, and 0% from taxpayer dollars. LWCF is intended to create and maintain a nationwide legacy of quality public outdoor recreational resources as well as to stimulate non-federal investments in the establishment, enhancement, and stewardship of these highly valued public outdoor recreational areas. Property acquired or developed with LWCF assistance shall be retained and used for public outdoor recreation. Any property acquired or developed shall not be wholly or partly converted to other than public outdoor recreation uses without the approval of NPS pursuant to the LWCF Act (54 U.S.C. § 200305(f)(3)) and conversion requirements outlined in regulations (36 C.F.R. § 59.3).

LWCF grants for local assistance are passed from the NPS through the State of New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) to eligible sub-units of government. Under the federal program rules the State must develop and maintain a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) and appoint an official State Liaison Officer to participate in the program and receive annual federal program apportionments. The DNCR, Division of Parks and Recreation, Bureau of Community Recreation manages all aspects of the program including, but not limited to, coordinating grant rounds, determining project eligibility, distributing grant reimbursements, and compliance monitoring of previously funded project sites. Since the creation of the LWCF in 1965 the State has been allocated just under $50,000,000.00 in federal program apportionments, with over 700 individual acquisition and development projects being funded.

Grant Round 37 is now open:

Grant Round 37 introduces a three-year multi-submission window process designed to provide applicants with greater flexibility, planning time, and technical support prior to final application submittals, intended for enhanced project success and subsequent stewardship compliance.

Anytime between May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2029, potential applicants may initiate required steps for project consultation, site inspection, and preliminary state-application. Through consultation, potential applicants may be invited to apply if/when their project is determined to be eligible and viable. Applications may then be submitted within one of three opportunity windows through AmpliFund, the state’s online application platform for the LWCF program. Consultation instructions can be found within AmpliFund under Application Attachments.

LWCF GR37 Application Link (via AmpliFund)
LWCF GR37 Timeline

Eligible project categories:

Acquisition: for the addition of new lands to existing public outdoor recreation lands.
Development/Renovation: for the creation of new and/or improvements to facilities within existing public outdoor recreation lands.
Combination (Acquisition + Development/Renovation): for any/all the above.

Grant Round 37 request limits:

$150,000.00 = minimum grant request. Total project cost/value must be $300,000.00 or more (see below).
$1,000,000.00 = maximum grant request. Total project costs/value must be $2,000,000.00 or more (see below).

All awarded grants require a minimum of 1:1 match from the applicant. Match sources include, but are not limited to, sponsor cash, donated land, donated services, donated materials, in-kind services, in-kind materials. Certain federal programs may be eligible as local match share, if such use is permitted within those other federal programs’ regulations. Check with LWCF program staff as needed.

Enhanced Evaluation Criteria
Priority scoring will be given to project applications that demonstrate a high level of readiness including but not limited to secured matching funds, comprehensive planning, completed designs and permits, and the ability to initiate work shortly after award.

In addition to project readiness, scoring will consider the applicant’s history with LWCF compliance and stewardship requirements. Any potential applicant that has previously received LWCF funding must be compliant with all past grant obligations including but not limited to adequate site maintenance, public accessibility, and LWCF boundary area protection requirements, or have an adequate action plan to address any compliance and stewardship deficiencies. Failure to meet these requirements may result in reduced scoring or rejection of application.

Considerations for Applicants

Federal Resources:
NPS/LWCF Website
LWCF Manual - Land and Water Conservation Fund (U.S. National Park Service)

State Planning Resources:
Rec Ready NH, a Tool Kit Resource for Project Planning/Development

RecReadyNH

NH Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP)

2024 - 2028 NH SCORP

NH LWCF State and Local Assistance Project Mapper

The New Hampshire Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (LWCF) State and Local Assistance Inspection/Encumbrance Map is a GIS-based planning and compliance tool that documents funded projects statewide since 1965. The platform allows users to explore project locations and access key details, including project sponsor, funding year, grant number, grant amount, acreage protected, project type and project scope. It identifies lands protected for public outdoor recreation, supports evaluation of perpetual stewardship, and facilitates coordination among municipal, state, and federal partners.