Skip to main content

Recreational Trails Program grant funding available; workshop schedule announced

04/22/2024

NH-RTP-grant-new-bridge-built-by-AMC-all-persons-trail-near-Cardigan-Mountain-Lodge-Orange.jpgThe New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation’s Bureau of Trails has announced that it has opened its Fiscal Year 2025 Recreational Trails Program grant round and that three informational workshops will be taking place in May.
 
Any qualified organization wishing to apply for Recreational Trails Program grant funding must attend at least one workshop session.
 
“Interest in the RTP grant program has grown over the last several years, and applications are getting more and more competitive each round,” said Jay Scarborough, program coordinator. “We’ve found that by requiring applicants to attend these workshops results in stronger applications, which really is to their advantage.
 
“High-quality, shovel-ready projects always score higher during the selection process, so it’s important that applications include detailed project descriptions and well-planned budgets.”
 
Grant applicants may be non-profit organizations, private groups or government entities. Funds are available for motorized, non-motorized and diversified trails.
 
Eligible projects include the construction of new trails, maintenance and restoration of existing trails, development and rehabilitation of trailside and trailhead facilities, purchase and lease of trail construction and maintenance equipment, and educational materials for trail-related activities and safety.
 
The workshop schedule is:
  • May 8, 2024 1 p.m.; N.H. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, 172 Pembroke Road, Concord
  • May 8, 2024, 6 p.m.; N.H. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, 172 Pembroke Road, Concord
  • May 24, 2024, 6 p.m.; N.H. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, 629 B Main Street, Lancaster
Space at each workshop is limited, so attendees must register in advance by contacting RTP Program Coordinator Jay Scarborough via email at jay.a.scarborough@dncr.nh.gov.
 
Applications for Fiscal Year 2025 grants are due June 14, 2024 by 4 p.m. Selected projects can expect funding to become available in late spring of 2025.
 
For Fiscal Year 2024, RTP grants provided more than $880,000 directly to 18 community projects throughout New Hampshire, including the creation of a parking area on the Northern Rail Trail in Boscawen, maintenance and improvements to six miles of the Presidential Rail Trail in Randolph and Jefferson, multiple maintenance projects in Coös County along off-highway recreational vehicle/snowmobile trails, the restoration of hiking trails on Mount Monadnock, and numerous hiking trail maintenance and improvement projects throughout the state.
 
Funding for the Recreational Trail Program is generated from federal gas tax dollars paid on fuel purchases for off-highway recreational vehicles and snowmobiles. These funds are appropriated to the states by the Federal Highway Administration as authorized through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. In New Hampshire, the program is administered by the Division of Parks and Recreation’s Bureau of Trails.
 
More information about the Recreational Trails Program is available at bit.ly/3JihN1p.

NH-RTP-grant-NH-Bureau-of-Trails-staff-and-NH-State-Parks-Director-Wilson-touring-the-Cotton-Valley-Rail-Trail-to-see-the-scope-of-the-completed-RTP-Project.JPGNH-RTP-grant-view-of-the-Fall-Foliage-along-a-freshly-cleared-portion-of-the-Cotton-Valley-Rail-Trail.jpg
 
The Division of Parks and Recreation is one of five divisions of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. N.H. State Parks and Recreation is comprised of the Bureau of Parks Operations, the Bureau of Historic Sites, the Bureau of Trails, the Bureau of Community Recreation and Cannon Mountain Ski Area. The Division manages 93 properties, including state parks, beaches, campgrounds, historic sites, trails, waysides and natural areas. To learn more, visit nhstateparks.org, follow N.H. State Parks on Facebook and Twitter, or call 603-271-3556. 
 
###
Seal of the State of New Hampshire © NH Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
172 Pembroke Road Concord, NH 03301