Trails and Pathways Program
Program Coordinator: John Knudson
Contact Information:
Email: johnknudson@utah.gov
Phone: 801-538-7344
Background
The state Trails & Pathways Program (TPP) provides 50/50 matching fiscal assistance grants to governmental agencies for planning, acquisition, and development of non-motorized trails. In addition, the program offers trails technical assistance and training. Since its inception, numerous hiking, biking, nordic skiing, walking and equestrian trails have been developed using these funds.
The Board of Utah State Parks and Recreation awards state grants for non-motorized trails at their fall meeting, based on the recommendations of the Utah Recreational Trails Advisory Council and state park's staff.
Process
Trails and Pathways Program grant applications are available on the Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation website. Applications are updated as the need arises.
Applications are due (or postmarked) by May 1st of each year.
Following the conclusion of the annual Legislative session, the state Trails and Pathways Program sends letters of notification to all mayors, county commissions, special service districts, state parks, national parks in Utah, and BLM & Forest Service offices in Utah, notifying them that the Division will be accepting grant applications.
All applications for non-motorized trail projects, when received, are numbered and copies are made and sent to members of the Utah Recreational Trails Advisory Council (URTAC) for their review.
Program staff reviews project applications to verify that the proposed project meets legislative intent of the program and is complete.
URTAC reviews each application and makes note of questions concerning the project that they need to have answered during upcoming site visits. The council initially ranks projects in order of high, medium, and low priority.
The council meets during the second or third week of May to discuss all non-motorized trail projects.
Site visits are made by the Trails Program Coordinator, often accompanied by advisory council members.
Following site visits, a description of each project is prepared by council members and the trails coordinator. This information is sent to advisory council members the second week in August. URTAC meets the last part of August to develop a priority list of all non-motorized projects.
URTAC submits a list of non-motorized trail projects recommended for state TPP funding to the Utah Board of Parks and Recreation for their review and approval at their fall meeting.
Upon awarding by the Board, grant contracts are mailed out to successful project sponsors for signing. Completed contracts are submitted to the Department of Finance for processing and numbering. Contracts are generally for a two-year period.
State clearances for cultural and paleontological resources are required prior to construction.
Upon completion of the project, the sponsor submits a request for payment to the state. A final inspection is completed, and a final payment is made.