Glossary of Common LWCF Terms

A

• Acquisition Grant: grants awarded for the purpose of purchasing or obtaining land.
• Administrative Grant: grants that help State Lead Agencies increase their administrative capacity for administering the LWCF program
• Allowable Costs: expenses eligible for funding under 2 CFR 200 guidelines. They must meet three key criteria:
  • Necessary: directly supports the project’s objectives
  • Reasonable: costs are consistent with what a prudent person would pay under similar circumstances.
  • Allocable: can be assigned proportionally to the grant and follow federal, state, and institutional regulations.
• Automated Standard Application for Payments System (ASAP): an electronic system that federal agencies use to quickly and securely transfer money to grant recipients. Federal agencies enroll recipient organizations, authorize their payments, and manage their accounts. Recipient organizations then request payments from these pre-authorized accounts. This is the payment system that is used to request funds for reimbursement of project costs. Access to ASAP is only necessary after a project has been awarded and a Notice of Award has been issued to the recipient.

C

• Closeout: The process by which the National Park Service or state agency determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the Federal award have been completed and takes actions as described in § 200.343 Closeout of the OMB Uniform Grants Guidance.
• Census-Designated Urban Area: Census Urban Areas are defined by the U.S. Census: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural.html and a map of all Census Urban Areas can be found here: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?layers=10551da8fcd24062b1857473252b3df8
• Competitive Grant: grants that are selected based on the merit and quality of their proposal. Project selections for a competitive grant program are made through a merit review process. Competitive grant opportunities within the NPS LWCF program are the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) and the Readiness and Recreation Initiative (RARI).
• Compliance Officer: This is an NPS staff member who ensures projects follow all federal environmental, cultural, and legal requirements.
• Cost Sharing/Matching Contributions/Match Share: the portion of a federally funded project’s total costs that the recipient pays from non‑federal sources. It is the recipient’s contribution to the project. It is intended to augment federal funding to increase the project’s impact and ensure the recipient has a financial stake in its success. Cost share may include donations or in-kind contributions.

D

• Description and Notification Form (DNF): An official form submitted after grant selection that finalizes project details, documents site data, matching funds, and notifies the NPS to initiate the grant agreement.
• Development Grant: a grant project that includes building new or revamping existing recreational facilities. Facilities must meet LWCF program requirements and the specific NOFO or state guidance applicable to the grant type.

E

• Encumbrance: a permanent federal restriction placed on land acquired or developed using Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grants or federal acquisition funds. The encumbrance ensures the property is protected for public outdoor recreation in perpetuity. This limits nonpublic outdoor recreational uses and requires a federal approval process for any nonpublic outdoor recreation uses.

F

• Final Application (Application for Grant Award): includes all required forms listed in the NOFO and/or provided to selected applicants. The Final Application must be submitted to NPS within one year of selection after the merit review process. This application is submitted through Grantsolutions.gov.
• Formula Grant: federal funds allocated to states, territories, or local units of government determined by distribution formulas in LWCF’s authorizing legislation and regulations. To receive a formula grant, the entity must meet all the eligibility criteria for the program, which are pre-determined and not open to discretionary funding decisions. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Stateside program is a formula grant program.

G

• Grants.gov: the official system for managing all federal grant applications. This platform hosts the Notice of Funding Opportunity and is where applicants submit their initial grant applications.
• GrantSolutions.gov: A federal award management system used by the NPS after projects are selected to administer grants.

I

• Initial Application (Application for Project Selection): includes all required documents listed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. These documents are evaluated as part of the merit review process and used to determine an applicant’s eligibility and merit for selection.

M

• Merit Review: The process for evaluating project proposals based on criteria outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
• Merit Review Criteria: Merit review criteria are the objective standards used by independent experts to evaluate the quality, relevance, and feasibility of grant proposals.

N

• National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966: legislation that requires NPS to complete a full review of a project area, including Tribal and SHPO/THPO consultation, to ensure the proposed project does not harm historic, cultural, or tribal resources. This process is completed before the grant can be executed. This process is often referred to as “Section 106 review” after the portion of the NHPA that describes it.
• National Park Service Staff: employees of the NPS assigned to aid a project’s application and compliance reviews through the end of a grant’s lifecycle. Recipients will work directly with NPS staff, while sub-recipients will work with the entity (SLO or federally recognized Tribe) that they are applying through.
• Notice of Award/Notice of Grant Award (NOA): The Notice of Award is an official document signed by an authorized federal official stating the amount and the terms and conditions of an award for a grant.
• Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO): the official guide for applicants. The NOFO outlines eligibility requirements, program goals, funding amounts, and submission procedures.

P

• Period of Performance: The period of time between the notice of award (NOA) and closeout of the grant.
• Perpetuity: all LWCF-assisted projects, including Formula Grants, ORLP, and RARI, must be maintained and accessible exclusively for public outdoor recreation use in perpetuity, meaning indefinitely or forever.

R

• Recipient: a non-federal entity that receives a federal award directly from a federal awarding agency to carry out an activity under a federal program. The term recipient does not include subrecipients. Each Notice of Funding Opportunity will include which entities are eligible to apply as recipients or sub-recipients. Under ORLP, recipients are pass-through entities, meaning that they redistribute federal funding to subrecipients.

S

• Scope of Work or Statement of Work (SOW): a required component of an initial application. It details of the project’s goals, elements, tasks, and deliverables.
• Selected Applicant: the entity whose initial application was chosen through merit review to move forward and submit a full, final LWCF application for funding.
• Sentinel Landscapes: a partnership between federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges.
• Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP): each state is required by the LWCF Act to have a SCORP. The goals of the SCORP and its associated planning process are to direct each State's use of their respective apportionment of LWCF funds.
• State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO): A government official designated under U.S. Federal Law to lead and administer a state's historic preservation program. Selected applicants work with their SHPO to help guide the Section 106 review process and ensure historic preservation laws are followed.
• State Lead Agency (SLA) or State Liaison Office: acts as a communication bridge, connecting a federal agency or larger organization with state-level officials and constituents, providing information, sharing best practices, and advocating for policy alignment. Applicants can find their State Lead Agency for LWCF here: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lwcf/contact-list.htm.
• Subrecipient: A non-federal entity that receives a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a federal program. Each Notice of Funding Opportunity will include which entities are eligible to apply as recipients or subrecipients.

T

• Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO): an official designated by a federally recognized Tribe to oversee and manage tribal heritage preservation programs. On tribal lands, the THPO formally assumes the responsibilities of a SHPO concerning the Tribe's historic properties.

U

• Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition (UASFLA): also known as" Yellow Book”, this is the mandatory, authoritative guidelines for valuing real property in federal acquisitions. It includes the acquisition of land as part of an LWCF funded project.
• Unique Entity Identification: A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a 12-character alphanumeric code used by the U.S. federal government to uniquely identify businesses, organizations, and entities. Non-federal entities are required to have a UEI in order to apply for, receive, and report on a federal award. A UEI may be obtained from SAM.gov.