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Guiding Policy

Principles

Parks and recreation resources protect our environment,preserve wildlife habitat, strengthen local economies,attract new businesses, contribute to the local taxbase, increase property values, and improve thephysical and mental health of citizens of all ages.Recognizing the many significant roles of parks andrecreation agencies within communities, NRPA hasdeveloped a set of guiding policy principles whichdirect our advocacy efforts:

1. Public Parks – Parks and recreation agencies deliveressential public services and provide recreationopportunities for every community in America. NRPAadvocates for federal investments that providefunding for the acquisition, development, andrehabilitation of parks and public lands as well asrecreational infrastructure and resources. NRPArecognizes the unique challenges faced by urbanpark and recreation agencies and the value theseagencies provide to our nation’s cities and urbancommunities.

2. Health and Wellness for ALL People of ALLAbilities – NRPA believes that opportunities foractive recreation are critical to an individual and acommunity’s health and wellness. We advocate forlegislation that supports the growing role of publicparks and recreation in improving individual andcommunity health through the prevention of chronicdisease, the rehabilitation of wounded servicemembers, and the inclusion of individuals withdisabilities in all activities.

3. Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability –Parks and outdoor recreation lands are the essentialgreen infrastructure of our communities and nation.Parks and public recreation lands are carbon reducinglandscapes that help clean our air and water;recharge aquifers; and reduce stormwater runoff.Through energy, climate change, and other legislativemeasures, we advocate for dedicated resources thatwill sustain, protect, restore, and expand theseenvironmental assets.

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4. Children and Nature – NRPA regards improvingchildren’s access to nature as a national policypriority. NRPA believes that public parks andrecreation are vital to the national effort to engagechildren in enjoying the outdoors, provide safe,healthy ways explore nature, and enhanceenvironmental education.

5. Transportation and Livable Communities – As thenation's Surface Transportation Program comes upfor reauthorization, NRPA supports funding andplaces a high priority on national policies thatencourage walking, biking, and the development ofalternative transportation networks that will createmore livable and healthy communities.

Top Legislative PrioritiesLand and Water Conservation Fund(LWCF)

Administered through the National Park Service

Relevant Committees: Senate Environment and PublicWorks; Senate Energy and Natural Resources; Senateand House Interior Appropriation; House NaturalResources

Congressional Action:

In FYI0, appropriate $125 million in funding for theLand and Water Conservation Fund StatesideAssistance Program (LWCF).

Issue: Thousands of parks and community recreationalresources are in need of renovation or repair incommunities across America. The National Park Serviceestimates that in 2008, the unmet needs for park andoutdoor recreation facilities in America’s cities,counties, and states totaled more than $27 billion.Average annual funding for LWCF has beensignificantly cut going from approximately $100million in 2004 to only $25 million in 2008—furtheraccelerating the need for parks and recreationalresources at the local and state level. NRPA calls uponCongress to look to energy and climate changelegislation as innovative means of providing additionaldedicated funding for LWCF.

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Background: Funding from the Land and WaterConservation Fund (LWCF) state assistance programis derived from a “conservation royalty” on offshoreoil and gas drilling leases allocated to all fifty stateson a formula basis. States then award grants tocities, counties, and towns for the acquisition anddevelopment of public outdoor recreation sites andfacilities. Grant recipients agree to keep the landpurchased in protected status and accessible to thepublic in perpetuity. LWCF is a 50% matching grantprogram that requires states and local communitiesto match the federal investment dollar-for-dollar.During its 44-year lifespan, the program has fundedover 41,000 state and local park and recreationprojects totaling more than $4 billion in 98% of UScounties. Local and state grantees use fundingprovided through the LWCF Stateside Assistanceprogram to construct recreation infrastructure, buildathletic fields, maintain trails, preserve conservationareas, and purchase public lands for parks andoutdoor recreation purposes.

Funding For Urban Parks

Administered through the National Park Service

Relevant Committees: Senate and House InteriorAppropriations; House Natural Resources

Congressional Action:

Appropriate $50 million to specifically fund urbanparks through programs such as the Urban Park andRecreation Recovery Program (UPARR) or othercomparable federal programs. Funding should include$1.1 million for program administration.

Issue: Of all of our nation’s park and recreationinfrastructure, urban parks have suffered the mostserious deterioration in recent years. Although thepopulation boom in metropolitan cities over the lastfew decades has led to significantly more park users,urban parks have lagged in their ability to providecore services for their community’s recreation needs.Additionally, many urban parks were built more than50 years ago, and cities have not been able to keeppace with the ever-rising costs to maintain andrepair park facilities and resources. This has led toclosed and neglected parks, unsafe play equipment

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for children, and lost opportunities to revitalizeurban communities.

Background: Beginning in 1979, the National ParkService was authorized to provide planning andimplementation grants to rehabilitate deterioratingurban parks through the Urban Park and RecreationRecovery Program (UPARR), a competitive matchinggrant program. Since the inception of the program,UPARR has provided more than $270 million torehabilitate and improve more than 1500 urbanparks and recreational facilities; however, UPARR hasnot been funded since FY02. The needs of ournation’s urban parks have continued to grow andhave become even more pressing since theeconomic downturn began.

NRPA seeks a new commitment from Congress andthe President to address the critical needs of ournation’s children and urban communities byproviding a renewed federal investment in our citiesfor the repair and rehabilitation of urban parks andrecreation resources.

Community Development Block GrantProgram (CDBG)

Administered through the U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development

Relevant Congressional Committees: Senate Banking,Housing and Urban Affairs; Senate and HouseTransportation, Housing and Urban Development andRelated Agencies Appropriations

Congressional Action:

Fund the Community Development Block Grantprogram at $4.6 billion in FY10.

Issue: Approximately $100 million of CDBG fundsare utilized annually for park and recreation projectsthat are often initiated along with morecomprehensive community redevelopment initiatives.The CDBG formula grant program has seen aconsistent decrease in funding over the past 10years, in spite of the ever-increasing unmet needs ofcommunities. Funding has decreased from $4.9billion in FY04 to $3.6 billion in FY08, a decrease ofmore than 36% in only four short years.

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Background: CDBG is a formula block grant providedto eligible cities and urban areas. Grants areprovided to state and local governments, which aregiven considerable discretion over the use of thegrant funds—provided that projects benefit low andmoderate income persons, prevent, or eliminateblight, or address urgent community developmentneeds. CDBG grants are used for communityrevitalization efforts that include construction ofpublic facilities, such as community or recreationcenters, park acquisition, renovation of playgrounds,and retrofitting recreation facilities to ensure ADAcompliance.

Children and Nature

Administered through the Department of Education(Anticipated)

Awaiting Introduction of Legislation and CommitteeAssignment

Congressional Action:

Ensure that legislation that expands environmentaleducation identifies park and recreation agencies asentities eligible for direct funding.

Issue: Many children have become isolated fromexploring nature and understanding their environment.Increased time spent playing video games andwatching television all contribute to this isolation. Theresult is that many children are not educated abouttheir environment and do not grasp their responsibilityto become stewards of their environment as they growto adulthood. In recent years, many schools havescaled back or eliminated environmental education inan effort to spend more time and resources onimproving reading and math scores. Expandingenvironmental education can significantly contribute tohelping schools improve reading and math scores.

Background: In the 110th Congress, the No Child LeftInside Act of 2007 was introduced by RepresentativeJohn Sarbanes (D-MD) in the House of Representativesas HR 3036, and by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) asS.1981. This innovative legislation sought toencourage schools and school systems to initiate,expand, or include environmental science programs intheir curricula. As climate change, the environmental

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impact of pollution, and similar issues become moreprevalent, it becomes increasingly important to ensurea sustainable environment for future generations. Tomeet this challenge and to prepare future stewards,we must ensure that environmental education isinfused in our nation’s elementary and secondaryeducation curricula. Our children must have theopportunity to get outside, be physically active, anddevelop an understanding of the relationship betweenour environment and their community which in turn,will allow them to meet social and economic needswhile preserving natural resources.

State and local park and recreation agencies areperfectly poised to meet all of these goals. Theseagencies are the best and most logical partners forschools, education agencies, and nonprofitorganizations across the country to develop trulyeffective “hands-on” environmental educationprograms.

Surface Transportation Reauthorization

Administered through the U.S. Department ofTransportation and the Federal Highway Administration

Relevant Congressional Committees: Senate Environmentand Public Works; Senate Commerce, Science andTransportation; House Transportation and Infrastructure

Congressional Action:

Increase funding in the reauthorization of the SurfaceTransportation Program for the TransportationEnhancements Program; bike and pedestrian trails; theRecreational Trails Program; boating safety and fishingeducation; Safe Routes to School; and othertransportation related programs that improvecommunity health and livability.

Issue: Mindful of our nation’s growing obesityepidemic and an increasingly significant need tomitigate congestion and pollution, Congress began toconsider a range of new transportation options,including those that would increase physical activityand protect our environment. Since the firstTransportation Equity Act, ISTEA, in 1991, Congresshas intended that the nation’s surface transportationprogram specifically include funding for more than justhighway construction projects. Since that time,

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Congress has approved and funded a variety ofalternative transportation programs includingTransportation Enhancements, the Recreational TrailsProgram, Safe Routes to School, and a number ofother programs that promote livable communities,health, safety, and economic benefits to communitiesnationwide.

Background: The current authorization of the SurfaceTransportation Act was signed into law in August2005, as the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, EfficientTransportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users(SAFETEA-LU), providing a $244 billion investment inour nation’s public transportation and transportationinfrastructure. Considerable funding was provided tocommunities for outdoor recreational trails, restorationof historic transportation facilities, and alternativetransportation networks. SAFETEA-LU providedapproximately $3.5 billion for the TransportationEnhancements program of which approximately 55%is allocated to bike and pedestrian trails and rails-to-trails conversion projects. SAFETEA-LU also providedfunding to the Recreational Trails Program and theBoating Safety and Fishing Education Trust Fund,among other programs of interest to park andrecreation agencies.

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NRPA Also SupportsCommunity-Based Rehabilitation for WoundedService Members and Veterans

Administered through the Department of VeteransAffairs and the Department of Defense

Relevant Congressional Committees: Senate and HouseMilitary Construction, Veterans Affairs and RelatedAgencies Appropriations; Senate and House DefenseAppropriations

Congressional Action:

Appropriate $10 million in FY10 to the United StatesParalympic Integrated Adaptive Sports Program (P.L.110-389) and appropriate $5 million in FY10 to theUSOC Paralympic Military Program.

Issue: Today more than 21 million Americans have aphysical disability; however, less than 10% of thoseindividuals participate in daily physical activity dueto the lack of programs, expertise, or equipment. Inthe past six years, thousands of military personnelhave been injured in combat-related duty and are inneed community-based rehabilitative programs. Thisinflux of newly disabled individuals is taxing amedical rehabilitation and community-based sportssystem that is already inadequate to meet theexisting need.

Background: In 2008, the President signed into lawthe United States Paralympic Integrated AdaptiveSports Program (P.L. 110-389). While the program isauthorized to receive $10 million annually, fundinghas not yet been appropriated. The $10 millionauthorization includes $8 million for programmingthrough the U.S. Olympic Committee and $2 millionfor elite-level programming through the Departmentof Veterans Affairs in conjunction with the U.S.Olympic Committee. In FY08, the U.S. OlympicCommittee Paralympic Military Program received $5million in funding.

The purpose of these programs is to enhance therehabilitation, readiness, and quality of life of severelyinjured service members and veterans. Fundingprovided through these programs allows the U.S.Olympic Committee to use its national network tocollaborate with the Departments of Defense andVeteran Affairs to provide community-based physicalactivity programs in support of rehabilitation. A keycomponent of the initiative includes the creation of a

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grant pool to support the development andenhancement of local community programs.

The overall focus of the U.S. Paralympic IntegratedAdaptive Sports Program and the USOC ParalympicMilitary Program is to provide the infrastructure andprogramming necessary to give injured Servicemembers and veterans the opportunity to participatein physical activity at the local, regional, and nationallevels. Local park and recreation agencies are a keypartner in rehabilitating injured Service members andveterans and helping these individuals to becomeconnected with resources and programs in their localcommunities.

Ensuring Access to Recreational Therapy

Administered through the Department of Health and Human Services

Awaiting Introduction of Legislation and CommitteeAssignment

Congressional Action:

Direct the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services(CMS) to clearly define recreational therapy performedby a licensed or certified therapeutic recreation (TR)professional as a covered Medicare service.

Issue: Current regulations used by the Centers forMedicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) forreimbursement do not specifically state thatrecreation therapy (RT) is a covered service. Manyfacilities, such as inpatient rehab facilities (IRF),inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPF) and skilled nursingfacilities (SNF), are declining to offer RT because thereis no written definition that includes recreationtherapy as a covered service.

Background: Recreational therapy is vital to therehabilitative process for individuals with significantillness, chronic disease, or injury and facilitates thereintegration of individuals back into a physicallyactive life in their home community. Additionally,clinical recreation therapists are more likely to haveknowledge of and recommend community basedtherapeutic recreation programs and inclusiverecreation opportunities provided by public parks andrecreation as ideal transition services from a clinicalsetting to the home community. NRPA believesrecreational therapy services should be defined asskilled rehabilitation therapy (not solely diversionalactivities) and should be reimbursable underMedicare when provided by a qualified (state licensed

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and/or nationally certified) therapeutic recreationprofessional; when required by a patient’s condition;and prescribed by a physician as part of a facility’splan of care for the patient.

Health, Wellness, and Physical Activity

Administered through the Department of Health and Human Services

Relevant Congressional Committees: Senate and HouseLabor, HHS, Education and Related AgenciesAppropriations. Other committees to be determinedbased on introduction of healthcare reform legislation.

Congressional Action:

Appropriate a minimum of $150 million for theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)Healthy Communities Program through fundingprovided in the American Economic Reinvestment andRecovery Act and FY10 appropriations.

Issue: According to the CDC, chronic diseases affectalmost 50% of Americans and account for 7 of the10 leading causes of death in the United States.Additionally, 17% of children between the ages of 2and 19 are obese. The Trust for America’s Healthreports that the U.S. spends more than any othernation on health care—over $2 trillion annually.Chronic disease is a leading factor of our nation’srising healthcare costs.

Background: Local communities must take the leadin implementing strategies to prevent chronicdisease. CDC’s Healthy Communities Programengages national networks and mobilizescommunities to focus on chronic diseaseprevention. Since 2003, more than 240communities have been selected to participate inCDC’s Healthy Communities Program, resulting insignificant policy, systems, and environmentalchanges at the local level. These changes promotehealthy, active lifestyles, eliminate health disparities,and prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, heartdisease, and diabetes. Public park and recreationagencies are an essential partner in implementinglocal strategies to effect these changes incommunities. Congress must invest in the health ofour nation through programs that equip localcommunities to implement strategies to increaseand improve the places, spaces, and opportunitiesfor physical activity, bolster good nutrition, andpromote healthy lifestyles.

About NRPA:

The National Recreation and Park Association(NRPA) is a national not-for-profit organizationdedicated to advancing park, recreation, andconservation efforts that enhance quality of lifefor all people. Through our network of morethan 21,000 recreation and park professionalsand citizens, NRPA encourages the promotionof healthy lifestyles, recreation initiatives, andconservation of natural and cultural resources.

Headquartered in Ashburn, VA, NRPA worksclosely with local, state, and national recreationand park agencies, citizen groups, andcorporations to carry out its objectives.Priorities include advocating for favorablelegislation and regulations; continuingeducation for park and recreation professionalsand citizens; providing professional certificationand university accreditation, research, andtechnical assistance; and increasing publicawareness of the importance of parks andrecreation. For more information visitwww.nrpa.org.

Support NRPA’s National Legislative and Advocacy Platform:

NRPA encourages local park and recreationagencies to work with local governing bodiesto formally endorse NRPA’s Platform and toincorporate it into the creation of their ownfederal legislative agenda.

For more information on NRPA's national

legislative priorities, other supported

legislation, and to see and download issue

briefings papers, please visit www.nrpa.org

NRPA’s Public Policy Office

1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Ste. 900Washington, DC 20006202-887-0290