By The Cherokeean Herald
Austin, Texas - The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission this week approved $3,318,450 million to fund 21 National Recreational Trail Grant projects in communities across the state. The commission also awarded an additional $485,000 in re-allocated trail funds to underwrite trail improvements in seven state parks and three local communities.
The seven state parks that will receive part of the recreational trails funding are Cooper Lake, Eisenhower, Huntsville, Lake Brownwood, Lake Corpus Christi, McKinney Falls and Tyler. The money will go toward renovating existing trails, making trails more accessible, and helping with layout, design and other improvements
In all, 60 eligible projects totaling more than $9 million were submitted for new trail funding. The 10-member Texas Statewide Trails Advisory Board reviewed the proposals and developed a list of recommended projects for funding based on the quality of the project, its cost effectiveness, its impact on recreational trail opportunities and geographic distribution of funds.
The National Recreational Trails Fund comes from a portion of the federal gas tax generated by the sale of gasoline for use in off-road recreational vehicles such as dirt bikes and All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). Money from the trail fund goes toward the creation and maintenance of motorized and non-motorized recreational trails.
The Federal Highway Administration manages the fund and distributes portions of it to states based on a formula that takes into account the state's population and fuel sales for off-road vehicles. Nationwide, the program was appropriated $95 million for the current fiscal year.
The program provides 80-20 matching grants, so that in each case the grant recipient must pay for 20 percent of the total project cost. Dollar amounts shown below are 80 percent of the project cost.
List of sponsors awarded funds for new trail-construction projects, by county:
· Atacosa County - City of Poteet's Middle Camino Real Trail, $124,116 to install a 1.2-mile asphalt trail and wildlife viewing deck.
· Bexar County - Land Heritage Institute, $200,000, to build the new, 13.5-mile Los Caminos Naturales Mountain Bike and Equestrian Trail.
· Bexar County - Audubon Texas, $82,915, to build a 0.6-mile crushed aggregate trail and bridge, and install signs at the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center.
· Burnet County - City of Granite Shoals, $73,120, to construct a 2.1-mile crushed granite hike-and-bike trail.
· Childress County - City of Childress, $244,457, to make improvements to the city's ATV & Moto Park, including the purchase of a track loader, fencing and lighting, and building comfort stations, a pole barn and dump station.
· Crockett - Texas Motorized Trail Coalition, $552,440, for the Escondido Draw OHV Area, including erosion control and utilities improvements, and the addition of storage buildings, restrooms and signs.
· Fort Bend - City of Sugar Land, $144,443, to build a new half-mile crushed granite trail and parking lot and install a water fountain and benches.
· Harris - Greater Houston Off-Road Bicycle Association, $36,120, to improve various mountain bike trails in Houston parks.
· Johnson - City of Cleburne, $182,642, to build the new 3.5-mile Byron Stewart Trail of concrete and natural materials, and install culverts.
· Lamar - Lamar County, $200,000, to construct a 3.18-mile extension of the Prairieland Recreational Trail and install bollards, bridges and signs.
· Lamar - City of Paris, $200,000, to build a 0.8-mile asphalt extension to the Central Paris Trail, and install culverts, road crossings and fencing.
· McCulloch - City of Brady, $200,000, to rebuild 1.3 miles of the flood-damaged Brady Creek Trail, bridges and parking lot.
· Midland - City of Midland, $150,000, to make improvements to Cole ATV Park, including building a restroom and parking area, and erecting fencing and signs.
· Nacogdoches - City of Nacogdoches, $167,101, to build the new 1.8-mile stabilized soil extension of Lanana Creek Trail, and add benches and a trail head.
· Polk - City of Onalaska, $23,500, to build the new half-mile Caney Creek Trail and bridge, and install benches, overlooks and signs.
· Smith - East Tyler Communities Foundation, $84,600, to construct the six-mile Faulkner Nature & Mountain Bike Trail, do a resource assessment and install culverts.
· Travis - Austin Parks Foundation, $14,623, to build the 0.15-mile crushed granite Montopolis Tributary Trail, and install benches, a picnic table and signs.
· Upshur - Texas Motorized Trail Coalition, $151,653, to make improvements to the Barnwell OHV Area, including erosion control and utilities upgrades, and the addition of storage buildings, restrooms and signs.
· Waller - Katie Prairie Conservancy, $200,000, to add a new 1.4-mile crushed granite and boardwalk extension to the Indiangrass Preserve Trail System, and install signs.
· Williamson - City of Georgetown, $200,000, to build the new concrete, 1.1-mile Georgetown Trail.
· Wise - City of Bridgeport, $87,079, to renovate existing trails and add fencing to the Northwest OHV Park and to purchase hand tools and a rescue vehicle.
