The DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation is preparing to update Delaware’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. The plan, known as the SCORP, tracks the state’s recreation inventory, identifies needs for infrastructure and programs and guides public and private planning and investment to meet those needs.

Public outdoor recreation funding comes from the Delaware Trust Fund and from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), administered by the National Park Service under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. To remain eligible for LWCF grants, states must update their SCORP every five years.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act brings significant federal funding to Delaware’s State Parks. It defines criteria for investments in local government recreation through the Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Trails Grant Program (ORPT), which has provided over $34 million since the late 1980s.

Updating the SCORP

Delaware’s SCORP has evolved over the past 50 years through regular five-year updates. These updates have been driven by a Technical Advisory Committee and public input through phone surveys and other outreach efforts.

A Technical Advisory Committee will help identify best practices for outreach, finalize a survey (building on previous surveys), evaluate public input and develop strategies and recommendations to implement the plan.

Developing the next iteration of the SCORP will span 18 months, starting in February of 2023. Technical Advisory Committee meetings were held in 2023. Public phone surveys began in March, 2024.

Planners ran an on-line survey to collect feedback from interested people who did not participate in the phone survey.

Public engagement opportunities and outreach meetings are planned for each of the five SCORP Planning Regions in the state.

All SCORP planning meetings are open to the public and will be posted on the DNREC Calendar of Events as well as on the state Public Meeting Calendar. Find meeting materials and, where available, recordings on the DNREC Calendar event pages listed on this page.

For more information on the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan and the work to update it, please contact Michael Tholstrup, Outdoor Recreation Planner, at 302-739-9215.

The 2018 – 2023 SCORP

The most recent Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan — Building an Outdoor Legacy in Delaware — was published in 2018, following a planning process that involved more than 2,000 Delaware residents who responded to surveys, attended meetings and shared their thoughts.

The planning process was guided by a 39-member technical advisory committee. It included members of conservation and recreation organizations throughout the state who participated in open discussions regarding the development of the plan.

Related Topics:  funding, grants, outdoors and recreation, parks, plan, planning, recreation, scorp, state parks, trails