The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced today 13 community recreation facilities projects recommended for a combined $11.9 million in Land and Water Conservation Fund grants.
“This year, the Land and Water Conservation Fund is directing just under $12 million in federal funds through the state of Michigan to local park improvements, acquisitions and development,” said DNR Director Scott Bowen. “Pathways, boardwalks, playgrounds, pools and more will be improved with this year’s Land and Water Conservation Fund grants, providing a valuable injection of funds into local communities for important recreation-related projects.”
The projects recommended for funding are in eleven counties, including Houghton County here in the Upper Peninsula. That funding will help Phase Two of the Douglass Falls Development Project in Houghton.
Projects were scored and selected from a field of 11 grant applications from local units of government and 2 applications from the DNR totaling $11,907,800. All eligible proposed projects received a site visit from DNR Grants Management staff, and all applications were evaluated, scored and ranked.
Funds are available to states through the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund program for land acquisition and development of outdoor recreation facilities.
The DNR uses Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars to help develop public outdoor recreation facilities to give people better, broader access to quality public outdoor recreation opportunities. The program supports Native American tribes, villages, cities, townships and counties and divisions within the DNR.
Following federal appropriation, LWCF funds are apportioned to the states each fiscal year, and then, the state’s project recommendations are sent to the National Park Service for approval.
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