RTCA works collaboratively, by invitation, with partners on a wide variety of conservation and recreation projects. These partners include nonprofit organizations, community groups, tribes or tribal governments, and local, State, or federal government agencies. RTCA provides a variety of assistance tailored to the partner’s needs, but does not provide direct grants.

RTCA often acts as a catalyst to help assemble the necessary pieces to achieve on-the-ground conservation success, helping identify resources, navigate the planning process, convert ideas into actions. Program staff often provide assistance in conceptual planning, organizational development, and capacity building.

The outside perspective RTCA offers includes experience from a database of hundreds of projects and thousands of partners from around the nation.

On average, our partners protect more than 700 miles of rivers, created over 1400 miles of trails, and conserved more than 63,700 acres of open space each year. By working side-by-side with grassroots groups and local governments in communities throughout the country, the National Park Service is building a nationwide system of parks, open spaces, rivers, and trails.