Burlington Standard

Agency of Commerce and Community Development issued the following announcement on March 28.

Danville, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) today announced twenty-four recipients of the VOREC Community Grant Program. In announcing this round of grant recipients, the Governor restated his support for outdoor recreation as an important means for economic recovery and development. 

“Vermont’s natural beauty, combined with outdoor recreation opportunities, are economic engines for our state and a driving force for why people visit and live in Vermont,” said Governor Scott. “These grants will help continue to connect trails to downtown centers, develop new recreation assets and promote all we have to offer.”

The VOREC Community Grant Program was created to help Vermont communities fully leverage their local outdoor recreation assets to become true ‘outdoor recreation friendly communities.’ Governor Scott established the VOREC Steering Committee by executive order in June 2017 to bring together a broad set of outdoor recreation stakeholders to promote stewardship of state recreation assets and market Vermont’s outdoor recreation values and attributes to effectively foster economic growth. Establishing a grant program that would provide funding to local communities was one of the first priorities the VOREC steering committee identified.

The grant recipients, announced at an event in Danville today, joined the nine other communities who have received funding through the program since it was established by Act 194 in 2018. A historic investment from the Governor in 2021 grew the grant program from a granting capacity of $100,000 - $200,000 to a total of $5 million. This investment has allowed the program to nearly triple the number of communities who are benefiting from the program and spurred some notable changes to grant program requirements. Changes included expanding eligibility from only municipal entities to include non-profit organizations and setting a $50,000 minimum with no maximum potential award.

“The substantial funds provided for this round encouraged communities to think big to leverage outdoor recreation and the many benefits that stem from it, from economic impacts to environmental stewardship to public health,” said VOREC Chair and Vermont Forest, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Michael Snyder. “This is an exciting time for Vermont: not only do we realize in new ways the importance of outdoor recreation, but we’re also seizing meaningful opportunities to make outdoor recreation even stronger and more accessible. We’re thrilled to be able to support so many projects across the state, and grateful for all of our partners in this work.”

This year’s grant recipients will be completing work in eleven of Vermont’s fourteen counties and some projects will have statewide benefits, like the completion of a master plan for the Velomont Trail and work to pilot a Vermont River Access Collaborative that will allow for better stewardship of Vermont’s treasured water resources. Recipients will also complete work that connects to, and further develops, statewide outdoor recreation assets like work in the town of St. Johnsbury and the Town of Danville to develop better wayfinding, programming, and resources to connect pedestrians and bikers on the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail to their community’s other outdoor recreation resources and businesses.

Recipients like the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance will be using funding to support workforce and outdoor recreation business development by developing technical assistance and training programs. Additionally, funding will be used to create new opportunities for gear lending like the program the City of Burlington is piloting for no-cost gear and tool rentals, and Ascutney Outdoors’ free equipment rentals for their children’s ski program. These opportunities will provide access to Vermont’s world class recreation resources for Vermonters regardless of income, and to Vermonters who are interested in exploring a new outdoor recreation activity.

For more information on VOREC and the VOREC Community Grant program, visit www.fpr.vermont.gov/vorec.

To see the full list of FY22 VOREC Community Grant Recipients visit https://fpr.vermont.gov/recreation/recreation-grants/vorec-community-grant-program.

Original source can be found here.