Park Service centennial projects supported

Tucked away in the 1,603-page $1.01 trillion spending bill Congress passed just before Christmas was a $10 million gift to the National Park Service to celebrate its centennial in 2016.

The measure will enable NPS to fund projects related to the centennial provided it comes up with a one-to-one match from an outside organization.

Glacier National Park could be a candidate for such funding as it has a fundraising partner in the Glacier National Park Conservancy. GNPC has partnered with Glacier Park on a host of projects in the past and is slated to provide about $450,000 for projects this year.

NPS also announced last week it was offering $1 million in grants to artists and artist organizations in partnership with the National Endowment of the Arts. The Imagine Your Parks grants aim to support art projects that encourage the creation of and greater public engagement with art about the National Park System.

A webinar about the art grants will take place Jan. 21. To register, visit online at http://arts.gov/event/2015/art-works-imagine-your-parks-guidelines-workshop.