Important Update for Federal Fiscal Year 2020
As of October 2020, The National Park Service (NPS) is not yet accepting new Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) applications. According to NPS, the effects of the pandemic have resulted in a temporary inability to appropriately review and ensure compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA Section 106) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Compliance with both of these acts is a prerequisite for grant awards. Because of this, NPS is not authorizing the submission of any new LWCF applications at this time.
The Department of Natural Resources is now accepting preliminary applications through December 31, 2020 for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). These applications will be reviewed internally by DNR after the December 31, 2020 deadline. Selected projects from the preliminary application round will be held until NPS authorizes the submission of new LWCF applications at a future date. This process will allow for selected projects to be submitted as soon as NPS begins accepting new applications. We understand the challenges this may cause for your planning processes; however DNR will work closely with applicants and provide updates from NPS as they are provided. Full Announcement.