National Trails Day: As National Trails Day approaches on Saturday, June 6, we are thrilled to announce what's new for 2026. During the webinar, American Hiking Society will present an engaging overview of what’s ahead for National Trails Day, including essential topics such as event registration processes, tips for accessing promotional materials, strategies to help ensure your event’s success, and easy ways to incorporate Freedom250. This annual day of service is an excellent opportunity to honor all USACE trail systems and encourages the public to give back by volunteering and recreation on the trails they love.

Last year, National Trails Day® made a significant impact by activating over 66,000 event participants across 943 events to build and maintain 758 miles of trails at a volunteer labor value of $1.15 million in a single day! Let's build on this momentum for 2026!

For FY27, the Handshake program is expanding to aggressively advance the goals of the "Sustaining Access to Recreation Facilities" program and the "Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork" initiative. The focus is on implementing durable, cost-effective management solutions that limit the growth of our program liabilities. This funding opportunity prioritizes proposals that delegate some management to others, leverages cost-sharing agreements and utilizes hiring flexibility to reduce long-term staffing and operational costs. We are seeking partners who can operate facilities and deliver services more efficiently, allowing USACE to focus its resources on its core missions.

Handshake Partnership proposals must demonstrate clear cost-savings and support partnerships that include a challenge cost-sharing cooperative management partner, a conservation corps, or an Army Career Skills/DoW SkillBridge participant, alongside at least one other non-federal entity. Proposed projects should support activities that enhance recreation facilities and/or natural resources at USACE Civil Works projects.

Additionally, offices are invited to apply for "Community Led Recreation" funding to support the transition of recreation areas to external partners through outgrants or leases. This program is designed to reduce the government's financial footprint by transferring operational control and associated costs. Funding may also be used for one-time improvements to make a site viable for a partner and to cover the administrative costs of the property transfer, thereby creating self-sustaining recreation areas at lower long-term costs for the taxpayer. Max request is $200,000 per proposal.

The request for nominations memo, instructions and application forms will be sent out soon and posted on the Gateway: https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/employees/handshake/handshake.cfm

For FY27, the Handshake program is expanding to aggressively advance the goals of the "Sustaining Access to Recreation Facilities" program and the "Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork" initiative. The focus is on implementing durable, cost-effective management solutions that limit the growth of our program liabilities. This funding opportunity prioritizes proposals that delegate some management to others, leverages cost-sharing agreements and utilizes hiring flexibility to reduce long-term staffing and operational costs. We are seeking partners who can operate facilities and deliver services more efficiently, allowing USACE to focus its resources on its core missions.

Handshake Partnership proposals must demonstrate clear cost-savings and support partnerships that include a challenge cost-sharing cooperative management partner, a conservation corps, or an Army Career Skills/DoW SkillBridge participant, alongside at least one other non-federal entity. Proposed projects should support activities that enhance recreation facilities and/or natural resources at USACE Civil Works projects.

Additionally, offices are invited to apply for "Community Led Recreation" funding to support the transition of recreation areas to external partners through outgrants or leases. This program is designed to reduce the government's financial footprint by transferring operational control and associated costs. Funding may also be used for one-time improvements to make a site viable for a partner and to cover the administrative costs of the property transfer, thereby creating self-sustaining recreation areas at lower long-term costs for the taxpayer. Max request is $200,000 per proposal.

The request for nominations memo, instructions and application forms will be sent out soon and posted on the Gateway: https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/employees/handshake/handshake.cfm

For FY27, the Handshake program is expanding to aggressively advance the goals of the "Sustaining Access to Recreation Facilities" program and the "Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork" initiative. The focus is on implementing durable, cost-effective management solutions that limit the growth of our program liabilities. This funding opportunity prioritizes proposals that delegate some management to others, leverages cost-sharing agreements and utilizes hiring flexibility to reduce long-term staffing and operational costs. We are seeking partners who can operate facilities and deliver services more efficiently, allowing USACE to focus its resources on its core missions.

Handshake Partnership proposals must demonstrate clear cost-savings and support partnerships that include a challenge cost-sharing cooperative management partner, a conservation corps, or an Army Career Skills/DoW SkillBridge participant, alongside at least one other non-federal entity. Proposed projects should support activities that enhance recreation facilities and/or natural resources at USACE Civil Works projects.

Additionally, offices are invited to apply for "Community Led Recreation" funding to support the transition of recreation areas to external partners through outgrants or leases. This program is designed to reduce the government's financial footprint by transferring operational control and associated costs. Funding may also be used for one-time improvements to make a site viable for a partner and to cover the administrative costs of the property transfer, thereby creating self-sustaining recreation areas at lower long-term costs for the taxpayer. Max request is $200,000 per proposal.

The request for nominations memo, instructions and application forms will be sent out soon and posted on the Gateway: https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/employees/handshake/handshake.cfm