More than $350,000 has been released by the National Park Service to fund 17 conservation and outdoor recreation projects through the agency's Challenge Cost Share Program.

The $368,000 in federal funding will be matched by more than 2:1 by community and nonprofit partners led by the Outdoor Foundation.

Each project will introduce Americans to their national parks, national trails, and wild and scenic rivers. Projects include engaging people in outdoor recreation or in conservation efforts that strengthen natural and cultural heritage. Explore the NPS Challenge Cost Share projects for 2016.

“The Challenge Cost Share projects celebrate the National Park Service’s centennial - 100 years of protecting America’s special places,” said Bob Ratcliffe, who heads the Park Service's Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Programs. “Working with the Outdoor Foundation allows us to engage new partners in the conservation and outdoor recreation stewardship and enjoyment of our public lands.”

A sample of the 2016 projects:

* Restoring wetlands at the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail;

* Training youth in the construction of a trail network at Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park;

* Participating in conservation projects at Timpanogos Cave National Monument and nearby communities in Utah through an Urban Ranger program.

* In Baltimore, more than a thousand youth and adults will have opportunities to kayak the Patapsco River to learn about the natural and cultural history of the Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. Similar water recreation and education opportunities will be provided to participants from Chicago and northern Indiana by the partners and staff at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Many of the 2016 projects contribute to Every Kid in a Park – a Presidential initiative to bring every fourth-grader in America to a national park or other federal public lands. In Las Vegas, Nevada, Park Service staff and partners are working to help thousands of youth get to Lake Mead National Recreation Area. At the Wekiva Wild & Scenic River in Florida, the National Park Service is partnering with elementary schools to guide students in exploring river ecology. A new outdoor environmental education program is being developed at Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia.

“Partnerships are the key to these projects,” Ratcliffe said. “The National Park Service is providing $386,000 in direct financial support. Many outdoor retailers who are members of the Outdoor Industry Association are contributing equipment and labor to local projects. The Outdoor Foundation is administering the program and exploring ways to leverage additional financial resources.”

This year, the Outdoor Foundation received a $200,000 donation from an anonymous donor to expand the NPS Challenge Cost Share model in Northern California. Nationwide, total pledges for the 2016 projects reached $760,000 of direct and in-kind support.