Vermont Forests, Parks and Recreation outlines $44 million federal grants portfolio and flags uncertainty

Danielle Fitzville, Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation, told the Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry committee that the department currently has about $44,000,000 in federal awards on its books and that $18,169,674 is budgeted as FPR’s federal share for fiscal year 2026, equal to roughly one-third of the department’s FY26 budget.

Why it matters: the federal funds support forestry, recreation, land acquisition and positions; changes to federal priorities, paused awards or altered grant language could reduce services to municipalities, nonprofits and Vermonters and would require the department and legislature to prioritize or replace lost dollars.

Fitzville said the $44 million figure represents the department’s active grant portfolio, not money received in a single year. Ansley Blair, FPR’s director of finance and administration, said many grants are multi-year or reimbursement-based: “We have a $5,000,000 grant, which will take us 5 years to implement,” and the department must spend money first and then draw reimbursements from federal partners. Blair said FPR is conducting monthly drawdowns when projects are…