TDEC announces grant money of for outdoor recreation

Amidst White County’s own budget discussions, Parks and Recreation has garnered attention at a state level recently as well. On July 14, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced a huge number of grant money being pushed through the Office of Outdoor Recreation. The department has $22,059,191 in grants from the Local Parks and Recreation Fund (LPRF), the Tennessee Recreation Initiative Program (TRIP), and the Recreational Trails Program (RTP).

Each of the three programs offers something different, but each one is meant to serve specific local and community driven needs regarding parks and recreation. The LPRF is a program that matches local government investments with state funding. When a local government, such as a county, invests in projects and purchasing of land for parks, recreational facilities, and natural areas, the state will have more money to match the local contribution to the project.

TRIP is a state funded program that provides grant money to cities and counties who lack professional park and recreational directors, as well as counties that do not have recreation delivery systems in their community. RTP, lastly, provides federal funding to match local government investments for land acquisition for any number of trail maintenance and construction.

“Local parks are an important aspect of outdoor recreation, and we are glad these grants will help communities across the state,” said Greer Tidwell, deputy commissioner of conservation for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. “This makes parks affordable for local governments, and we look forward to the results of this assistance.”

This news comes just as White County is also grappling with discussion about the fiscal year 2026 budget. In the budget for 2025-2026, there is $50,000 for a director of Parks and Recreation. This topic has been brought up in various budget committee meetings, and it has even been a matter of debate since March of this year, when the county was applying for grants that could offset that cost. If the county had received this grant, they would have only had to pay $25,000 the first two years for the director position instead of $50,000 out the gate.

The proposed budget will be voted on during the county commission meeting, on July 21.