AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT PROJECTS
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 is a $1.9 trillion nationwide economic stimulus bill. Within the ARPA, the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) provides $350 billion for states, municipalities, counties, tribes, and territories, including $130 billion for local governments split evenly between municipalities and counties.
This webpage provides important information on Department of Natural and Cultural Resources ARPA projects. Funds must be encumbered by December 31, 2024 and expended by December 31, 2026.
ARPA Funded Project Status Reports
ARPA Campground Expansion Projects
Phase II Information:
Funding for the Campground Expansion Project was appropriated to the Division of Parks and Recreation to replace obsolete infrastructure, add new infrastructure, expand the number of campsites and supporting facilities (i.e. toilet buildings), to support existing visitors and meet the demand for camping experiences. The Division worked with consultants to produce a feasibility study and construction cost estimates for the campground expansion project over the last year.
Key elements for the study included analysis of the visitor experiences and site-specific recreation opportunities, consideration of current and projected camping demand and other recreational trends, investigation of individual site utilization and operational considerations for the overall campground, sensitivity to historic CCC-era architectural resources, shoreland protection and natural resource conservation, and balance for maintaining park operations with manageable staff resources. Understanding sustainable capacities for the campgrounds and facilities was critical as well, as the goal of supporting increased visitation is balanced by the desire to maintain and enhance the quality of the experience that makes these parks such cherished resources.
The cost estimating conducted for each of the six potential campground expansion projects determined that the costs of the proposed enhancements exceeded the available funds. Three of the six campgrounds were selected for further study, striking a balance between spreading the investment around while ensuring that the level of investment for any individual campground is sufficient to have significant impact to the recreational opportunities provided in the state. This impact is a function of not only the number of additional campsites being offered to the public, but also the quality of the camping experience being provided.
The amount of financial investment required to make the desired impact to the recreational offerings was a factor in selecting which campgrounds should receive funding for implementation, along with a consideration for the apparent market demand for additional campsites.
The three campgrounds that are selected for expansion are Jericho Mountain State Park, Mollidgewock State Park and Pawtuckaway State Park. These projects will offer outdoor recreation opportunities that are not well represented at their campground or within the State Park System and make important infrastructure improvements.
All of the six campgrounds studied for this feasibility study deserve consideration for future investment. In weighing the pros and cons of each campground project, the following issues for the projects that were not selected were factored into the decision to prioritize the three projects:
- High infrastructure cost due to lack of on-site utilities, road network, or existing buildings
- Operational/management challenges
- High capital costs required to renovate historic structures
- Archaeological resources discovered requiring further study
Next Steps!
Design and engineering for the selected sites will begin in summer 2023 with the goal of releasing bid documents in the fall/winter 2023-2024. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2024. As additional plans and designs become available this page will be updated.
Phase I Information:
Final Recommendations
Feasibility Study
Introduction
Bear Brook State Park, Bear Hill Camp
Bear Brook State Park, Catamount Pond Area
Crawford Notch State Park
Jericho Mountain State Park
Mollidgewock State Park
Pawtuckaway State Park
PLIA Presentation
For questions or comments please contact:
Johanna Lyons, State Park Planning and Development Specialist
603-271-3935 or Johanna.Lyons@dncr.nh.gov
