Trust for Public Land Receives $10 Million ARC Grant to Advance Outdoor Recreation and Economic Opportunity Across Appalachia
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded a $10 million grant to Trust for Public Land (TPL) to lead Appalachia United Outdoors: Connecting Communities and Outdoor Recreation Economies, a transformative, multi-state initiative to strengthen local economies through outdoor recreation. This major investment, part of ARC’s Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE), will help implement high-impact outdoor projects in eight Appalachian states: Alabama, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Together with a coalition of over 40 partners—including universities, nonprofits, government agencies, and land managers—TPL will map and prioritize planned outdoor recreation projects across the region and help communities complete the projects with the strongest opportunities to improve their economies and quality of life. The work will focus on economically distressed and at-risk areas, where outdoor access and its health and economic benefits are often least available.
Initial efforts are already underway, including a new trail system through the Dade County Community Forest in Georgia and the purchase of a 138-acre property in Madison County for public access, North Carolina to increase public recreation access and protect the iconic view of Bailey Mountain.
“Outdoor recreation is one of the most powerful, underutilized drivers of economic revitalization across Appalachia,” said Carrie Besnette Hauser, President and CEO of Trust for Public Land. “With this historic investment from the Appalachian Regional Commission, we’re working alongside local leaders and organizations to connect more people to the region’s iconic landscapes—from mountain ridgelines to forested hollers—helping to spark new tourism, support healthier living, and generate good jobs in the process.”
TPL will kick off Appalachia United Outdoors with prioritization for each of the eight states, creating tailored project management for individual projects where state, local, and partner priorities align. TPL will lead these priority projects to ensure successful implementation that include community partnerships, acquisition, trail development, and evaluation of outcomes.
TPL will engage 100 high priority communities to build local capacity to leverage economic benefits through outdoor recreation projects by delivering skill building workshops and toolkits to provide step-by-step tactics for project implementation. TPL’s on-the-ground teams will provide direct project management and technical assistance to at least 24 selected communities to advance implementation-ready projects toward completion.
Communities will realize new trails, community forests, and other outdoor destinations, participate in training and capacity building programs, and the creation of many new jobs in the outdoor recreation economy.
“Connecting our Appalachian communities through outdoor recreation opportunities bolsters the region’s economy by supporting the hospitality industry, increasing tourism, and accelerating business development for outdoor gear manufacturers,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “I’m proud that this ARC ARISE grant will impact eight Appalachian states and will serve as an example of the positive impact that can happen in our region when Appalachians work together.”
In addition to ARC funds, local sources will provide $8,386,649, bringing the total project funding to $18,386,649. Funding for this project is provided through ARC’s Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE), which aims to drive large-scale, regional economic transformation through multi-state collaborative projects across Appalachia.
About the Appalachian Regional Commission
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia and help the region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation. More information is available at www.arc.gov.
About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, and raised $110 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
