Senate subcommittee approves slate of Georgia Outdoor Stewardship grants totaling $24.5 million

The Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Agriculture and Natural Resources approved a slate of Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSA) grants on March 18, advancing funding for local parks, trails and conservation projects across the state.

The DNR representative told the subcommittee that GOSA is funded by the state share of sales and use taxes on outdoor sporting goods and equipment and that the trust fund awards are reimbursement-based. Sahayla Nodji, the department27s grants program supervisor, said the pre-application period for the 20242025 cycle produced 36 applicant requests totaling more than $69 million.

The slate approved by the board of trustees and adopted by the Department of Natural Resources includes 12 projects and approximately $24.5 million in state awards. The presenter said the slate would leverage matching funds so that the selected projects amount to about $61 million in conservation and recreation investment across roughly 56 counties.

Motion and vote Senator Anderson moved approval of the slate. Senator Gann seconded. The committee voted "Aye" and the chair declared the slate approved.

Why it matters: GOSA was approved by statewide ballot in February 2018 and creates a dedicated funding stream for conservation, state and local parks and outdoor recreation. The program has provided roughly $117 million in state funding across prior cycles, the presenter said, and those awards have supported more than 50,000 acres of new conservation acreage, trail and camping improvements and other projects.

Speakers - DNR representative (introduced the GOSA slate), role_title:"Commissioner"/"DNR presenter" as cited in the transcript, affiliation_type:"government" - Sahayla Nodji, Grants Program Supervisor, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, government - Senator Anderson, Senator, mover of the motion, government - Senator Gann, Senator, second of the motion, government

Authorities - Statutory program rules for GOSA and the ballot approval (referenced by the presenter) - Program statute provision requiring a 20% reduction in awards if tax collections drop 1% or more (referenced by the DNR presenter)

Actions - Kind: "other" motion: "Approve slate of GOSA projects for the 2024-25 funding cycle as recommended by the GOSA board of trustees" mover: "Senator Anderson" second: "Senator Gann" vote_record: [{"member":"Committee (voice vote)","vote":"yes"}] tally:{"yes":1,"no":0,"abstain":0} outcome:"approved" notes:"Committee approved 12 projects totaling more than $24,500,000 in state awards; matching funds bring total project value to about $61,000,000."

Clarifying details - Pre-application pool: 36 applicants requesting more than $69,000,000 - Approved slate: 12 projects; state awards ~ $24,500,000; total project value with matches ~ $61,000,000 - Eligible applicants: qualified local governments, constituted recreation authorities, state agencies and qualifying nonprofits

Proper names - Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSA) - Sahayla Nodji (grants program supervisor)

Searchable_tags:["GOSA","conservation","grants","parks","DNR"]

Provenance:{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"4172.5146","local_start":0,"local_end":128,"evidence_excerpt":"Well, again, thank you. I will give you a bit of background on the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program and the funding approval that we're seeking today. This program was approved overwhelmingly with 83% of Georgia voters supporting it on the ballot in 02/2018, and it became active with our first cycle in 02/2019.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"4504.76","local_start":0,"local_end":36,"evidence_excerpt":"Any discussion? All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, like, sign. Alright.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}

Salience:{"overall":0.68,"overall_justification":"Vote advances funding for conservation and recreation projects across the state and unlocks matching investment.