The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is accepting applications for its Recreational Trails Program (RTP) to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities.
Donor Name: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
State: Virginia
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/09/2023
Size of the Grant: $25,000 – $435,000
Details:
This year only trail maintenance, repair and amenity projects on existing land and water trails are eligible for funding.
The Federal Highway Administration and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds make the program possible and mandate allocations to non-motorized, diversified and motorized trail categories.
Funding may be awarded to city, county, town or other government entities. Registered nonprofit groups partnered with a government body also are eligible. The Recreational Trails Program and Virginia Recreational Trails Program Advisory Committee steer project selections after a competitive call for applications.
Categories
RTP Legislation (23 U.S.C. 206) dictates categorical requirements for the use of each state’s RTP apportionment: 40 percent of funds apportioned be used for diverse recreational trail use, 30 percent for motorized recreation, and 30 percent for non-motorized recreation.
- Diversified use project
- A project primarily intended to benefit more than one mode of recreational use such as: walking, bicycling, and skating; or both pedestrian and equestrian use; or pedestrian and mountain biking. A diverse use project may also include both motorized and non-motorized uses where motorized use is not the predominant use or when the motorized and non-motorized uses are separated by season, such as equestrian use in summer and snow sports use in winter.
- Non-motorized project for a single use
- A project primarily intended to benefit only one mode of non-motorized recreational trail use, such as pedestrian only, or equestrian only, or mountain biking only. RTP projects serving various pedestrian uses (such as walking, hiking, running, bird-watching, nature interpretation, backpacking, etc.) constitute a single use for the purposes of this category.
- Motorized use project
- A project primarily intended to benefit motorized use. A project may be classified in this category if the project serves only one mode of motorized recreational use or more than one mode of motorized recreational use. A project may be classified in this category if the project also benefits some non-motorized uses (it is not necessary to exclude non-motorized uses), but the primary intent must be for the benefit of motorized use.
Funding Information
The approximate funds available for the 2023 grant round are as follows:
- Diversified category – $580,000
- Minimum request – $25,000, maximum request – $250,000
- Non-motorized single use category – $435,000
- Minimum request – $25,000, maximum request – $250,000
- Motorized category – $435,000
- Minimum request – $25,000, maximum request – $435,000
Eligible Projects
RTP funding may be used for:
- Maintenance and restoration of existing recreational trails;
- Development and rehabilitation of trailside and trailhead facilities and/or amenities;
- Provision of features that facilitate access and use of trails by persons with disabilities;
- Lease of recreational trail maintenance equipment; and
- Assessment of trail conditions for accessibility and maintenance.
Recreational trails are defined in the RTP regulations as a thoroughfare or track across land or snow used for recreational purposes. These recreational purposes can include:
- traditional pedestrian-oriented activities such as hiking and jogging;
- skating and skateboarding;
- equestrian activities;
- bicycling and mountain biking;
- activities on water trails such as kayaking and canoeing; and
- motorized recreational activities such as all-terrain, utility-terrain, or other off-road vehicle riding, motorcycling, motor boating on water trails, and electric biking
Eligibility Criteria
RTP funding may be awarded to any of the following:
- Municipalities (cities, towns, counties, etc.);
- Tribes;
- State agencies (Dept. of Forestry, Wildlife Resources, etc.);
- Federal government agencies (combined total of RTP funds and matching federal agency funds cannot exceed 95% of project cost in certain circumstances);
- Other government entities (regional park authorities, etc.);
- Non-profit organizations [requires letters of support from landowner (if property not owned by applicant) and local government body].
- If selected, non-profit organizations may be asked to provide additional financial records and documentation on land use agreements.
For more information, visit Virginia Recreational Trails Program.
