2022 Vibrant Recreation and Tourism Directed Grant Program

Purpose

This program aims to support innovative, collaborative efforts to enhance, promote, and develop sustainable recreation and tourism opportunities and increase access to public lands in the Sierra Nevada Region.

Description

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy recognizes the fundamental connection between vibrant recreation and tourism across the Region, the health and resilience of Sierra Nevada communities, the opportunity to increase access for people to nature and the outdoors, and the ecological health of California’s watersheds and forests. Working with partners to strategically implement activities supporting recreation and tourism will protect these benefits and the resources that are unique to the Sierra Nevada Region. Projects funded through this program should accomplish one or more of the following from the list below: Assess conditions, existing resources, needs, and opportunities to improve recreation and tourism throughout the Region and identify highest priority activities. Identify, create, and participate in partnerships to support the development of vibrant recreation and tourism throughout the Region. Create or improve new and existing recreation amenities or infrastructure that provide multi-benefits to the Region. Eliminate or reduce the impact of overuse on natural or cultural resources. Provide improved access for all Californians to nature and recreational opportunities in the Region. To be eligible to receive a grant award from the SNC under this program, projects must meet all the following criteria: Be located within the Sierra Nevada Region. Be consistent with the SNC mission and program areas as defined in the SNC Strategic Plan and the Sierra Nevada Watershed Improvement Program (WIP). Result in a clear, demonstrable, and enduring public benefit. Meet all California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, as applicable. The Vibrant Recreation and Tourism Grant Program supports planning projects and implementation projects. Each project proposal must identify whether it is a planning or implementation project; the project types may not be combined. Application Process: Projects must be developed in collaboration with SNC. Contact your SNC Area Representative to discuss project ideas. Applicants will submit a Concept Project Proposal by May 6, 2022. After submission of a Concept Proposal, a mandatory site visit will be conducted for every eligible implementation project. Following the site visit, the applicant may be invited to develop a full project proposal, also in collaboration with SNC (the full project proposal will be due in July 2022). If a complete Concept Proposal is not received by the specified deadline, the applicant will not be eligible to submit a Full Project Proposal. The first expected grant award will be in December 2022. To apply, please review the grant program guidelines.