The Douglas County Commission this week will divvy up over a quarter-million dollars in grants to programs and projects that preserve Douglas County’s heritage and natural resources.

The Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council, which evaluates applicants for the Heritage Grant Program, will make its recommendations to the commission at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday at the Douglas County Courthouse.

Thirty applications were submitted, with a total of $276,250 up for grabs. The recommendations, which can be viewed online at the commission’s page on Douglas-County.com, identify 12 projects to receive grants from $1,000 to $147,500.

The would-be recipient of the largest grant is Kelly Kindscher, a Kansas University environmental studies professor, for a project that aims to inventory natural areas and habitats within the county.

The only other “major grant” recommendation from the council would give $31,250 to the John G. Haskell house. The project seeks to turn the Civil War-era architect’s home into a hotel and catering service.

In other business, the commission will also discuss a revision to the guaranteed maximum price for the construction budget of the new Public Works facility.