2023-24 VOREC COMMUNITY GRANT PROGRAM: Applications due 12/15/23

 The Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) are pleased to announce that applications for the 2023-2024 VOREC Community Grant Program have opened! The program will award up to $6 million to non-profit organizations, businesses and municipalities around the state across four tracks – Implementation, Project Development, Outdoor Equity and Flood Recovery. Grants are intended to give communities the resources they need to achieve their vision for a thriving outdoor recreation economy. Multi-faceted, cross-sector projects are encouraged. All projects must relate to at least one of the VOREC Pillars, listed on the VOREC program website. Ultimately, the goal is to fund successful projects that demonstrate the wide array of benefits outdoor recreation has for local communities. 

Projects under the Flood Recovery track of the VOREC Community Grant Program will now require landowner permission for a 5-year term for trail rehabilitation/repair projects, including major reconstruction projects. The new 2023 VCGP Flood Recovery Private Landowner Permission Form is located on the VOREC Community Grant Program website and attached to this email. This change and the new form apply only to Flood Recovery track grant projects with major or minor trail repair and reconstruction components, including rebuilding trails, and adding water diversion or erosion control structures like waterbars and stone steps. Requirements remain unchanged for permanent buildings and infrastructure, such as engineered bridges and bathroom facilities. We will continue to require a minimum of a 25-year easement for all VOREC Community Grant Program tracks that repair or replace permanent infrastructure, including the Flood Recovery track. Signed landowner permission is only required if the grantee is not the owner of the parcel(s) on which the construction will occur. 

If you are applying for a Flood Recovery grant, please upload the 2023 VCGP Flood Recovery Private Landowner Permission Form in the online application under “Landowner Permission Form” in the “Required for Construction” section. If you already have the 2023 FPR Grant Programs Private Landowner Permission Form signed by the landowner for a flood recovery track grant, you can use that form. You do not need to return to the landowner to get a new form signed. Please note that all Flood Recovery grants are considered construction projects and applicants should reply yes to the question “Does your project include the construction or renovation/rehabilitation/repair of buildings, trails or other infrastructure?” in the Work Plan section of the application. 

Implementation and Outdoor Equity track projects with construction components should use the 2023 FPR Grant Programs Private Landowner Permission Form, which is posted in the application under “Document Downloads” and requires a 5-year term for maintenance projects and a 10-year term for major reconstruction projects, as is standard across Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation Outdoor Recreation Grants. If landowner permission is needed for Project Development projects, the 2023 FPR Grant Programs Private Landowner Permission Form can be uploaded in SECTION 6: Supplemental Information. 

If you have any questions about this change, please reach out to FPR by emailing anr.fprrecreationgrants@vermont.gov or calling Claire Polfus, Recreation Program Manager, at 802-505-5372. 

Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grants are federally funded on an annual basis through the United States Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and are administered at the State level in Vermont through the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR). FPR makes RTP funds available to Vermont communities for the development and maintenance of public recreational trails, for both motorized and non-motorized recreation. This year, applicants will first submit a letter of interest, due December 30th, and those invited will submit a full application in early 2024. Learn more and apply here.  

Northern Forest Center Round Two Applications Due November 17 Thanks to a Northern Forest Center program funded by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the first round of the Sustainable Vermont Trails grant program will provide funding to ten Vermont organizations to improve trail sustainability, including the Kingdom Trails Association, Fellowship of the Wheel, Green Mountain Club, Stowe Trails Partnership, Cross Vermont Trail Association, Catamount Trail Association, Mad River Path, the Town of Springfield, Vermont Huts, and the Bennington Area Trail System. Applications for the second round of funding are due November 17. Grants will range from $10,000 to $25,000 and must relate to sustainable trail planning or stewardship.