Boating Facility Grant Funds are available to county and municipal governments, nonprofit (501c3) land trusts, conservancies and watershed associations and DCNR designated State Heritage Areas that have or will have the capability to provide boat access facilities that are open and available for general public use.

What does the grant cover?

The grant will reimburse recipients for up to 50% of the costs for land acquisition, project design and engineering, development, expansion, and major rehabilitation of public recreational boat access facilities.  Eligible activities include the rehabilitation, expansion or construction of new boat ramps, bulkheads, courtesy floats, access roads, parking areas, restrooms, signs and localized landscaping.  All construction activities must benefit and directly support recreational boating.  Eligible projects must occur on lands owned by the project sponsor, or where the sponsor has a long-term lease or agreement on the site.  Grant funds are used for major site improvements and not for any routine maintenance or operation activities.

What will it cost?

Grant recipients are responsible for at least 50% of the proposed project cost.  This 50% match can be cash, the fair market value of any labor or materials, a combination thereof, or grants from other federal, state or local funding sources.

Project Selection

For the 2011 round of grants, the Commission will accept applications from anywhere in the State.  However, the Commission will take a more focused and limited approach to selecting projects.  The Commission will focus on projects that follow the priorities established in the Pennsylvania Fishing and Boating Access Strategy and the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order.  More specifically, the Commission is looking for projects along water trails designated as National Recreational Trails in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and projects located in the top ten watersheds identified in the Pennsylvania Fishing and Boating Access Strategy.  For more information on the Pennsylvania Fishing and Boating Access Strategy please visit the Commission website at; fishandboat.com/accessplan.htm

Can you charge for the use of the facility?

Yes, however the Commission strongly encourages the free use of facilities constructed under this program.

What is the application deadline?

The deadline for consideration of an application for the following fiscal year is May 31.  However, the Commission encourages prospective co-operators to submit applications anytime. Additional monies are sometimes available as contracted installations turn out to be less expensive than planned and can be funded out of current year funds.
Responsibilities under the grant program

• Eligible projects must occur on public lands owned by the project sponsor, or where the sponsor has a long-term lease or agreement on the site.
• Applicants must be willing to enter into a 25-year agreement to keep the facility open to public use.
• All work must be completed within a two-year period.
• Applicants must agree to provide for all costs for ordinary and routine maintenance of the facility for the term of the agreement.
• Applicants must provide a sign that acknowledges that the facility was constructed or improved with funds from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
• Applicants must obtain all the necessary permits and local land use approvals required for the construction and operation of the proposed facility.

Whom do I contact to participate?

PA Fish & Boat Commission
Bureau of Boating and Access
Boating Facility Grant Program
PO Box 67000
Harrisburg, PA 17106-7000
717-346-8196
Email: RA-BoatGrants@pa.gov