The Recreation & Conservation Office

The Recreation & Conservation Office, a U.S. state government entity and child agency of the Washington Department of Public Instruction based in Olympia, Washington, acts as a federal grant recipient and pass-through administrator for conservation, outdoor recreation, salmon recovery, and invasive species education programs funded by Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture federal agencies. The office does not hold federal contracts; all federal funding flows through federal grant awards under which RCO serves as prime recipient, administering and distributing federal dollars to local governments, tribal nations, and nonprofit sub-recipients.

RCO's federal footprint is heavily weighted toward the National Park Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The top five customer agencies by award count account for 86% of recent awards, led by the Department of the Interior's National Park Service National Office (74 awards), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (45 awards), the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service Region 1 (29 awards), the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (19 awards), and the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service (16 awards). Combined obligated dollars across all 212 awards total $1.05 billion, with RCO acting as prime recipient on 98% of them.

The office's primary capability is administering the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Outdoor Recreation Acquisition, Development and Planning program (CFDA 15.916) at scale. RCO receives NPS LWCF grants and sub-awards funding to cities, counties, and port districts across Washington for park development, playground construction, trail renovation, waterfront access improvements, and recreational facility upgrades. Recent representative awards include $15.632 million (October 2025, NPS, CFDA 15.916) sub-awarded to the City of Olympia for phase 1 of Yelm Highway Community Park; $4.97 million (October 2025, NPS, CFDA 15.916) sub-awarded to Seattle Parks and Recreation for Fred Hutchinson Playground redevelopment; and $6.026 million (October 2025, NPS, CFDA 15.916) sub-awarded to the City of Spokane for Meadowglen Neighborhood Park construction. These grants typically run three to four years and fund site preparation, architectural and engineering services, permit acquisition, and on-the-ground construction of play areas, sports courts, trails, restrooms, parking, and accessibility improvements.

Salmon recovery and hatchery production represent the second major capability. NOAA has awarded RCO multiple grants under the Pacific Salmon Treaty Program (CFDA 11.438) and supporting conservation programs. A $1.97 million award (October 2025, NOAA, CFDA 11.438) runs through September 2030 and funds Tulalip Tribes and Muckleshoot Indian Tribe hatchery production and facility improvements to increase Chinook salmon supply for Southern Resident Killer Whales. RCO also administers NOAA habitat restoration funding under Puget Sound Chinook recovery agreements, distributing resources for watershed-level restoration projects. In salmon data management, RCO maintains the Salmon Recovery Portal, a statewide tracking system for planned and completed habitat projects, funded through Fish and Wildlife Service Region 1 grants.

Invasive species education and early detection constitute a third recurring focus. USDA APHIS funds RCO to host workshops, coordinate multi-agency outreach campaigns, and mobilize first detectors to recognize high-consequence pests. Recent cooperative agreements include an effort (July 2026, APHIS, awarded July 1, 2026, completing June 30, 2027) supporting the Washington Invasive Species Council with virtual summits, surveillance workshops, and digital billboard campaigns targeting scarab beetles and firewood movement. These projects involve partnerships with Washington State University, Washington Department of Agriculture, and local agencies.

Activity has remained volatile but productive. Awards declined from 22 in 2022 to 12 in 2023, recovered to 21 in 2024, and settled at 12 in 2025, with only two awards recorded so far in 2026. Thirty-three awards face ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, representing potential recompete opportunities across LWCF park projects and NOAA salmon programs. RCO holds five sub-awards as a minority (2% of portfolio), primarily serving as sub-recipient for NOAA salmon monitoring and Columbia Basin Partnership initiatives under primes such as the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.