Land & Water Conservation Fund Grants

Overview

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Grant Program is a federal program authorized in 1965 by Congress for the purpose of acquiring federal lands and assisting states and local governments with funds for land and outdoor recreation facilities. LWCF funds are appropriated by Congress to the US Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS). NPS allocates the funds through state agencies as a grant program to state and local governments. Grantees must match the grant award dollar for dollar.

The LWCF Program has resulted in Georgia receiving over $125 million in matching grant funds. The program was reauthorized and received permanent funding in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 respectively. With the permanent funding, it is anticipated that Georgia will receive about $8 million annually.

In order to efficiently administer the grant funds, LWCF operates on a bi-annual grant cycle. With two years of allocations to award, an estimate of $18 million will be available to local governments during the 2026 – 2027 grant cycle.

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2026-2027 Funding Opportunity

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Georgia DNR) is pleased to announce the 2026-2027 funding cycle for the Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant Program.

The LWCF grant program will soon be accepting pre-applications for acquisition of land, development or renovation of outdoor recreation facilities. Eligible applicants are defined as qualified local governments and constituted recreation authorities/commissions who are in good standing with LWCF. The pre-application will be completed online. Following the competitive pre-application, selected applicants will be invited to complete a formal application for National Park Service.

Key Points

LWCF requires 50% match for all grant requests.
Minimum grant request amount is $25,000 and maximum grant request amount is $750,000.
Only one application can be submitted per applicant.
Applicants may submit pre-applications for both LWCF and Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program, but applications must be for separate projects.

Educational Workshops

Georgia DNR Grants staff will host one in-person and one webinar-based educational workshop covering LWCF and the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP). Both sessions will cover the same material, including program overviews and an introduction to the application process. These workshops are offered at no cost to the public; however, registration is required. Please register using the links below.

Funding Cycle Dates

June 2026: Educational Workshops
- Wednesday, June 10, 2026: In-person, Indian Springs State Park, Idlewilde Event Center, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM 678 Lake Clark Rd., Flovilla, GA 30216 - Register for In-person Grants Workshop
- Wednesday, June 24, 2026: Online Webinar, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM Register for Online Grants Webinar
August 3, 2026: Pre-application portal opens
October 2, 2026: Pre-application portal closes at 11:59 PM
October – November 2026: Pre-applications reviewed and ranked
December 2026: Selected Applications announced
January – April 2027: Formal Application workshop & building
May 15, 2027: Formal Application Submitted to NPS for review
Fall of 2027: Grant Awards anticipated