Committee approves $24.5 million slate from Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program

Trevor Santos, a deputy commissioner with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, told the General Governance Subcommittee — Appropriations on Thursday that the agency’s recommended slate from the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program includes 12 projects totaling more than $24.5 million and asked the committee to approve the list for final funding.

The program, Santos said, was approved by voters in February 2018 with 83% support and became active in February 2019. It is funded by a portion of state sales and use tax collected on outdoor recreation equipment and provides grants and loans to local governments, constituted recreation authorities, state agencies and nonprofit conservation entities for parks, trails, land acquisition and stewardship projects.

Santos told the committee the program has awarded more than $117 million across five funding cycles, supporting 62 conservation and outdoor recreation projects statewide; grantees have committed about $201 million in matching funds, for a combined investment of about $318 million. He said past awards have affected 56 counties, preserved more than 50,000 acres and supported projects such as water-access improvements, trail construction, reforestation and streambank restoration.

For the 2024–25 funding cycle, Santos said the pre-application period opened Aug. 1 and closed in October 2024. The review team received 36 applications requesting more than $69 million, which the staff reviewed, scored and ranked in November and December. Santos said the board of trustees of the Outdoor Stewardship Fund approved the recommended slate in January, the board of natural resources also approved it, and it was transmitted to the committee for approval.

During committee questions, Santos described how a statutory revenue-trigger formula reduced available funds this year. He said the statute requires a 20% reduction in program funding if collections of the specified sales taxes fall by 1% or more; because collections declined by more than 1% this year, the program saw about a $7 million reduction. Santos added that a further 1% decline in those tax collections would trigger a 50% reduction.

A committee member asked what applicants who were not selected could do to improve future applications; Santos said the program coordinator, Sahela Naji, meets with municipalities and applicants to review evaluation criteria and advise on improvements.

After the presentation and brief questions, a motion to approve the slate was moved and seconded. The committee approved the slate by voice vote.

The slate shown to the committee included five local parks and trails of regional significance, four state land acquisitions and three state stewardship projects; a project in Richmond County identified as the Tennessee Swamp project was included on the map displayed during the presentation. Specific award amounts for each project were included in the slate materials provided to committee members but are not detailed in the committee transcript.

The committee adjourned following the vote.