October 1, 2026
FY 27 Handshake Partnership and Community Led Recreation Program Funding Recipient Announcement
I am pleased to announce the recipients of the Handshake Partnership Program and the new Community Led Recreation Program funding for FY 2027.
Please see the attached memos signed by Mr. Stephen Hill, Director of Operations and
Regulatory Division.
These programs provide opportunities to share aspects of facility
management with partners, leverage cost-sharing agreements, and utilize hiring flexibilities
to reduce long-term staffing and operational costs. These partnerships directly support the
goals of the "Sustaining Access to Recreation Facilities" and "Building Infrastructure, Not
Paperwork" initiatives by helping us operate facilities and deliver services more efficiently
while allowing USACE to focus its resources on its core missions.
Thank you to
everyone across USACE who submitted nominations. This year’s final selections represent a
cross-section of our national recreation program, both geographically and conceptually. In
total, six projects involving 17 partners will receive funding across six districts and four
divisions.
Please join me in congratulating the selected recipients:
Burnsville Lake
Saylorville Lake Truman Lake Lake Lanier Sardis Lake Fall Creek Lake
Congratulations to the selected projects and the teams who have worked hard to
develop, foster, and support these partnership opportunities. A special thank you goes to the
Partnership Advisory Committee for its hard work promoting the programs and evaluating
the proposals.
For questions regarding these programs, please contact Jared Gagnon
at jared.s.gagnon@usace.army.mil or me.
Heather Burke
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers
National Partnerships and Volunteer Program Manager
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