A section for those who want to support the state grants portion of LWCF and are actively engaged in advocacy or assisting in securing matching funds for state and local projects.

Learn how to be a better advocate with elected leaders

This might be of interest to those of you who want to know how to influence public policy and be an advocate for parks and recreation.. From the Feb. Parks and Recreation magazine. Q&A: Candi Rawlins, The Advocate’s Advocate 2012-02-02, Feature, By Phil Hayward Candi Rawlins, Executive Director of the Tennessee Recreation and Parks AssociationThroughout […]

Learn about the Senate Appropriations Committee and LWCF

A NRPA article from March 2012 gives an insiders view of how the Senate Appropriations committee views parks and recreation and the LWCF. http://www.parksandrecreation.org/2012/March/Inside-the-Senate-Appropriations-Committee/

Measuring Up the Values of Parks, Recreation and Open Space !!

The April edition of Parks and Recreation Magazine had the following data.. Measuring Impact 2012-04-01, Department 100 to 1: The return on investment from protecting open space for public benefit. (Ecosystem services such as water filtration and climate change protection were among the key economic benefits calculated in a study by the University of Vermont’s […]

Stateside Partners Letter to Federal Appropriators

Here are the two letters sent on 3-20-12 to the House and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairs deliniating the joint position of the Stateside Partners ( NRPA, NASPD and NASORLO ), seeking a 40% share for state grants and opposing the proposed national competitive grants process. HouseAppropsJointLetter 032012 SenateAppropsJointLetter 032012

The vast economic benefits of State Parks are shown

The new report attached shows that “state parks contribute roughly one-third of all nature recreation in the United States, measured in hours of nature recreation per capita.” The author estimates that value nationally at $14 billion.  Add that to the $22 billion national economic impact estimates (MGM models) and we’re looking at $36 billion.  The […]

Find LWCF projects by State/County here.

Go to     http://waso-lwcf.ncrc.nps.gov/public/index.cfm and you can find all LWCF state and local projects by County and State.  Follow the instructions on the page.  Total federal grants for that project and for the history of the program for that county and state are listed.

Research: Neighborhood Parks and Open Space Access Encourages Activity in Children

Sometimes it takes academia a while to catch up with things we ‘know’ at a gut level. Case in point: a recent study published in the International Journal of Health Geographics, Tweeted along by childhood researcher and “play advocate” Tim Gill, shows that pre-school kids who live in greener neighborhoods are more likely to play […]

Western Bipartisan view: Public Lands Essential to Economy

New survey finds voters in key western states believe US does not have to choose between environment & economy; support protections for air, water,and parks COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – The results from the 2012 Colorado College State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll find that western voters across the political spectrum – from […]

New Outdoor Recreation Research released !

The USFS has commissioned several studies of outdoor recreation trends.  These reports are available at the following sites.. Recent Outdoor Recreation Trends http://warnell.forestry.uga.edu/nrrt/nsre/IRISRec/IRISRec23rpt.pdf Hispanic Americans and Outdoor Recreation http://warnell.forestry.uga.edu/nrrt/nsre/IRISRec/IRISRec24rpt.pdf If you wish to see the other IRIS Reports, go to http://warnell.forestry.uga.edu/nrrt/nsre/IrisReports.html t

Evidence keeps growing: Parks are needed to grow the economy!

Over 100 economists report that the aquisition and development of parks are needed to grow the nations economy.  See the report which was published in the New York Times on Monday, December 5, 2011. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/are-parks-a-boon-to-the-economy/