National Park Service awards $575,000 to upgrade Icelandic State Park campground – Grand Forks Herald

BISMARCK – The National Park Service has awarded the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department $575,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), according to a press release from the office of Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND. The funds will be used to renovate Icelandic State Park by replacing the 30-amp electrical service with a 50-amp electrical service and installing water supplies and fire hydrants at each renovated site.

Since 1965, the NPS has awarded more than 40,000 LWCF grants to states and local communities, funded primarily by revenues from federal offshore oil and gas leases. LWCF funds allow states to further use these funds to support local public parks projects, state conservation, and expanding access to outdoor recreation.

In 2019, Cramer helped pass the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. The law authorized and reformed the LWCF program to ensure that states receive at least 40% of its funds. Grants awarded through the LWCF program are determined locally and competitively awarded at the state level through a process designed and managed by the NPS’s state partners.

The North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department administers LWCF funds in North Dakota.