$110 Million in Grants

State Awards more than $110 Million in Grants for Recreation and to Conserve Working Farms and Wildlife Habitat

The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board has awarded more than $110 million to 268 projects to build parks and boating facilities, give people access to shorelines, maintain trails and conserve working farms and critical wildlife habitat.

“These grants are important to our economy because they help local communities create the kinds of places that people want to live and work, and tourists want to visit,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “Washington’s outdoor recreation industry is as important to our economy as our technology and aerospace industries. Making sure we take good care of our outdoor places is important to many businesses and families in this state.”

A recent study noted that $21.6 billion is spent in Washington on recreation trips and equipment annually and $4.6 billion comes from out-of-state visitors. Outdoor recreation also supports nearly 200,000 jobs, rivaling the technology and aerospace industries.

“These grants are an important investment in our future,” said Kaleen Cottingham, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office, which administers the grants. “They support three important goals of the State – to get people, especially our kids, outside more often to experience nature, to expand parks and to conserve our environment. It’s a win all the way around.”

These grants were awarded through seven different grant programs. Funding was provided by the Legislature in the recently enacted capital budget and by Congress with revenue coming from a mix of federal grants, the sale of state bonds, gas taxes and user fees.

The grants will be given to cities, counties, state and federal agencies, tribes and non-profit organizations for projects in 37 of the state’s 39 counties.

All of the funded projects were evaluated and ranked through a competitive process in which citizen committees with expertise in recreation and conservation issues evaluated the projects and created ranked lists for funding consideration by the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board, and in some cases, the Governor and state Legislature.

“Overall, we have funding only for about half the demand,” Cottingham said. “The process ensures that only the best projects rise to the top and receive funding.”

The office accepted applications for 463 projects, requesting nearly $203 million. Most of the grant programs require grant applicants to contribute matching resources. This year, the matching resources totaled more than $107 million, nearly doubling the state’s investment in Washington’s outdoor recreation and conservation efforts.

Of the $110 million in grants, nearly $32 million goes to build or improve parks, nearly $12 million to improve facilities for boaters, about $26 million to maintaining trails, $4 million to conserving working farms and another $27 million to protecting important wildlife habitat.

Click below for descriptions of each grant awarded in the following counties (PDF):

San Juan County…………………. $141,953

Asotin County……………………. $4,386,111
Benton County…………………… $2,450,675
Chelan County………………….. $3,676,778
Clallam County………………….. $1,323,569
Clark County……………………… $3,771,438
Cowlitz County…………………… $1,774,385
Douglas County…………………. $2,821,250
Ferry County………………………. $1,496,824
Garfield County………………………. $70,000
Grant County………………………… $225,701
Grays Harbor County…………. $3,768,847
Island County…………………….. $3,543,740
Jefferson County……………….. $4,965,057
King County…………………….. $12,969,807
Kitsap County…………………….. $4,353,345
Kittitas County……………………. $3,264,919
Klickitat County………………….. $2,561,800
Lewis County…………………….. $1,153,625
Lincoln County……………………… $600,000
Mason County……………………. $6,537,153
Okanogan County……………… $1,735,619
Pacific County……………………. $1,789,788
Pierce County………………….. $13,710,961
Skagit County…………………….. $5,149,410
Skamania County…………………. $354,000
Snohomish County……………. $8,344,985
Spokane County………………… $2,318,155
Stevens County………………………. $61,900
Thurston County………………… $4,866,100
Walla Walla County………………. $345,340
Whatcom County……………….. $1,261,903
Yakima County………………….. $2,420,327
Multiple Counties………………. $1,974,954
(including Columbia, Pend Oreille, Wahkiakum, and Whitman)

“There’s a lot of great work being done all around the state,” Cottingham said. “We have some fantastic outdoor places where you can go to relax, exercise, camp, fish and hunt, ski, explore and spend time with family and friends. It’s these special places to experience nature at its finest that keeps Washington a great place to live. Without this funding, many communities simply couldn’t afford to build or maintain these opportunities.”

Susan Zemek
Communications Manager
Recreation and Conservation Office
1111 Washington ST SE
Olympia WA 98501

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