NPS GRRI CESU Grant: Enhancing Recreation Opportunities in Great Rivers Region

A. PROJECT GOAL: The Goal of this Agreement is to provide a conduit between the NPS Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) and the Recipient to streamline an outreach initiative providing technical, planning and design, and research assistance in the Great Rivers CESU Region. Projects may include……..For the first project in FY 2020 would be RTCA and ISU Landscape Architecture program are working to develop an agreement to consult with the City of Princeton to assist the Sidewalk & Trail Committee and local Parks & Recreation staff with initiating the development of a Community Recreation Plan that includes parks for active and passive recreation and improved local trail amenities. In addition, the partnership will focus the scope of assistance to include city parks and recreation areas and long-term planning objectives that provides local partners a final deliverable that will serve as the 5 Year Community Recreation Plan.  The public purpose of this project is to provide technical, planning and design services to communities that may not otherwise have the funding and expertise. This project assistance can move the communities to develop a vision, cost plan and cost estimates enabling them to move more quickly to the project funding and construction phases. Without this plan, communities may not have the ability to secure funding needed to implement the trail system. This would leave them without the ability to maximize the tremendous potential for outdoor recreation that would improve the region’s economic viability and public health.   The primary goal is to provide a recreation and conceptual trails plan that could help to improve the sustainability and resiliency of the region by developing synergistic relationships between the Recipient, communities, regional neighbors, and various other local, state and federal natural resource related entities.

This agreement with Iowa State University, will allow the NPS to work closely with the Recipient and their Department of Landscape Architecture to provide these services to communities in Iowa and the region. This agreement will streamline project work by having the work agreement in place prior to project start. This agreement will allow the Recipient the latitude to engage more faculty and students knowing that funding support is already in place.