Department Of Parks & Recreation Idaho

The Department of Parks & Recreation Idaho, a child entity of the State of Idaho and a U.S. state government agency, acts as a federal grant recipient and prime contractor delivering land and facility rental, park operations and maintenance, trail improvement, boating safety administration, and outdoor recreation infrastructure development to Interior and Homeland Security agencies. The agency operates predominantly as a prime recipient (99% of recent awards) with no set-aside designations and serves fourteen federal customer agencies, anchored by the Department of the Interior National Park Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Reclamation.

Idaho Parks and Recreation's federal footprint splits between federal grant work (which dominates recent volume and dollar magnitude) and modest federal contract work. On the grant side, the agency holds five Coast Guard Boating Safety Financial Assistance formula grants (CFDA 97.012) spanning fiscal years 2022–2028, valued at $1.7 million (2022–2025), and continuing renewals at $1.605 million (2025–2028), funding boating safety education, law enforcement equipment, and public access facilities. The National Park Service awards multiple Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) project grants under the Outdoor Recreation Acquisition, Development and Planning program (CFDA 15.916)—recent examples include a $2.94 million award (October 2025–September 2028) for the Quarry Sports Complex in Post Falls (with a sub-award to the City of Post Falls), a $1.244 million award (July 2025–June 2028) for Lola Clyde Park improvements in Moscow (with a sub-award to the City of Moscow), and earlier grants for park development in Glenns Ferry, Sandpoint, Orofino, Hayden, Salmon, and Emmett. The Bureau of Reclamation funds park operations and capital projects—a $2.576 million project grant (August 2025–October 2027) for employee housing construction at Lake Cascade State Park, a $1.626 million cooperative agreement (August 2025–October 2027) for water system upgrades at Walcott State Park, and a $1.26 million award (October 2022–September 2027) for Lake Cascade operations and maintenance. The Forest Service Region 4 (Intermountain) awarded a $123.4 thousand cooperative agreement (July 2026–April 2035) for trail and access improvements on the Salmon-Challis National Forest under the Good Neighbor Authority program (CFDA 10.691), and Region 1 (Northern) awarded a $166 thousand cooperative agreement (September 2025–September 2035) for non-motorized trail maintenance and winter signage on Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (CFDA 10.665). The Economic Development Administration awarded a $3 million project grant (December 2021) under the Economic Adjustment Assistance program (CFDA 11.307) to support tourism marketing, infrastructure, and workforce development.

On the federal contract side, Idaho Parks and Recreation holds two small Department of Agriculture Forest Service purchase orders for land rental—a $2.75 thousand agreement (August 2025) with Region 4 in Boise and a $3.65 thousand agreement (August 2023) with Region 1 for facility use at Ridge Creek in Dalton Gardens. The agency historically leased office and administrative space to federal customers under a GSA Basic Ordering Agreement (GS10B06253) carrying 63 task orders with $56 thousand combined potential value, reflecting a shift away from federal facilities leasing toward grant-funded outdoor recreation and park infrastructure work.

Activity shows a decline from nine awards in 2022 to one award in 2026 to date, driven primarily by the completion of multiyear LWCF project grants and formula grants reaching their end dates. Nine awards face ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months. The combined potential value across all awards is $496 thousand; however, combined dollars obligated across all awards total $90.4 million, reflecting the agency's receipt of large multiyear federal grants and cost-share mechanisms that carry substantial hidden obligated value not captured in potential-value ceiling figures. Idaho Parks and Recreation operates as a sub-recipient in grant arrangements with local municipalities (Post Falls, Moscow, Glenns Ferry, Sandpoint, Orofino, Hayden, Salmon, Emmett) under LWCF pass-through sub-awards and operates under a Managing Partner Agreement (No. 21-07-11-L5422) with the Bureau of Reclamation for Lake Cascade State Park operations and maintenance.