HELENA – Montana State Parks is seeking public comment on proposed Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant awards for the current grant cycle which closed Jan. 31. Public comment on the proposed RTP grant awards is open through Saturday, March 9 at 5 p.m. Seeley Lake Driftriders, Seeley Lake ROCKS and Swan Valley Connections were among the 76 organizations that applied this cycle.
RTP is a federally funded program administered by Montana State Parks. It provides funding for trail and trail related projects across the state. Eligible projects include development and rehabilitation work on urban, rural and backcountry trails; planning and construction of community trails; snowmobile and cross-country ski trail maintenance and grooming operations and a variety of trail stewardship and safety education programs.
This year, RTP received 76 grant applications requesting over $3.56 million. Approximately $1.5 million in funding is available this cycle.
The Seeley Lake Driftriders Snowmobile Club is a non-profit group dedicated to maintaining an extensive, top quality snowmobile trail system in the Seeley-Swan Valley. The Club applied for $69,995 to maintain and groom the Seeley Lake snowmobile trail system that includes more than 360 miles of trails in the area.
Seeley Lake ROCKS applied for a $68,498 RTP grant to implement the first phase of the Hill 16 Community Trails System. Phase 1 of the Hill 16 project would convert eight miles of logging roads to a non-motorized, multi-use trail and construct 3.53 miles of new single-track trail connecting the Placid Lake area to Tuppers Lake across The Nature Conservancy land. The project also includes a small handicap accessible loop near Placid Lake State Park also on TNC land.
While access for motorized vehicles would be blocked on the logging roads, TNC’s agreement with DNRC will be maintained so they can access the area for fire suppression and other timber projects. ROCKS President Jim McLean said ROCKS anticipates primary users in the summer will be hikers and mountain bikers, however, horses are also welcome. Snowmobile use is welcome in the winter and nothing will be done to exclude it.
“ROCKS is all about promoting outdoor recreation to help kids, families and the community. We are excited about [providing] a well-marked trail that is close to Seeley Lake for people to use,” said McLean. “We are also excited about the potential economic development that might be associated with the trail. We are hopeful that people at Placid Lake State Park might stay longer when they have amenities like the trail to use and that, in turn, will help Seeley Lake.”
Swan Valley Connections applied for a $45,000 grant. This grant would fund the Mission Mountains Wilderness and Swan Front Trails and Backcountry Services Project in the Swan watershed.
A complete list of trails grant applicants under consideration is available online at stateparks.mt.gov/recreation. Click on ‘Recreational Trails Program.’ Copies of individual RTP applications are available upon request at 406-444-7642.
To comment visit http://stateparks.mt.gov/ and click on ‘Public Comment & Notices’ tab.
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