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Maintenance of Non-Motorized Trails on National Forests in Idaho

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Maintenance of Non-Motorized Trails on National Forests in Idaho Maintenance of Non-Motorized Trails Issue Brief No. 21 on National Forests in Idaho: September 2017 Funding Background and Opportunities for State Assistance by Philip S. Cook, Matthew Courtney, and Dennis R. Becker* ABSTRACT National forests in Idaho, managed by the USDA Forest Service (USFS) contain about 10,000 miles of non-motorized trails. Data are not readily available on the amount of trail maintenance conducted annually on only non-motorized trails; therefore, all trail maintenance—both motorized and non-motorized—is reported. Although Idaho’s national forests saw increasing amounts of trail maintenance over the last decade due in part to increased funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (i.e., the stimulus bill), the proportion of Idaho’s national forest trails that met National Quality Standards was steady over the last decade, averaging 30%. Funding for national forest trail maintenance comes from a variety of sources, including federal appropriations, donated services from volunteers and partnering organizations, and state funding. Federal appropriations for the USFS Capital Improvement and Maintenance—Trails (CMTL) in Idaho’s national forests were $4.6 million in FY 2007, $5.9 million in FY 2011, and $4.8 million in FY 2015 (inflation-adjusted 2015 dollars). In FY 2016, almost 66,000 hours of trail maintenance valued at over $1.5 million dollars were contributed by volunteers and cooperators on Idaho’s national forests. Sources of state funding available to support non-motorized trail maintenance in Idaho include the Recreational Trails Program, the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation’s (IDPR) Non-Motorized Trails Program, three motor vehicle specialty license plates, and IDPR’s winter recreational parking permit. Although it is a federally-funded program, the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is included as a source of state funding because the state decides which trail projects to fund. In Idaho, IDPR is responsible for administering RTP and its funding. Federal RTP funding for Idaho averaged about $1.5 million per year over the last decade. We estimated that between FY 2009 and FY 2017, IDPR awarded an average of $405,653 annually (inflation-adjusted 2017 dollars) directly to national forests in Idaho for trail maintenance activities on both motorized and non-motorized trails. Another $372,890 was awarded annually to other organizations that could have contributed to trail maintenance on national forests in Idaho. Without additional funding for maintenance through existing or new dedicated sources, non-motorized trail opportunities on Idaho’s national forests are likely to decline. Funding mechanisms used by other states to fund general outdoor recreation programs included user fees, motor fuel tax allocation, excise or sales taxes on equipment, lottery proceeds, income tax form checkoffs, and real estate transfer taxes. In many of these cases state funding can only be used on state lands and is not directly transferable to assistance on federal lands. However, elements of these state systems have potential for adoption to assist 875 Perimeter Drive MS 1134 with non-motorized trail maintenance on Idaho’s national forests. Moscow, Idaho 83844-1134 * Principal Researcher, Undergraduate Research Assistant, and Director, respectively, 208-885-5776 Policy Analysis Group [email protected] The Policy Analysis Group was established by the Idaho legislature in 1989 to provide objective uidaho.edu/cnr/pag analysis of the impacts of natural resource proposals. Issue Briefs are timely summaries of research relevant to current natural resource topics. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors thank the following individuals for their contributions to this project: Andy Brunelle David Langhorst Idaho State Coordinator Director USDA Forest Service Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Boise, ID Boise, ID Dave Claycomb Jeff Cook Recreation Resources Bureau Chief Outdoor Recreation Analyst Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Boise, ID Boise, ID ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .................................................................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .....................................................................................................................................................................iv List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................................................iv List of Sidebars ..................................................................................................................................................................iv Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2 What is the Extent of the National Forest Trail System in Idaho? .......................................................................................... 2 National Forest Trail Basics .............................................................................................................................................. 2 Trail Mileage ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 How Well are National Forest System Trails Maintained in Idaho? ....................................................................................... 3 Maintenance Accomplishments ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Deferred Maintenance Costs ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Effects of Lack of Maintenance ........................................................................................................................................ 6 How is National Forest Trail Maintenance Funded? ............................................................................................................... 7 Federal Funding Sources .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Volunteers and Partnerships ............................................................................................................................................ 9 State Assistance .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 Recreational Trails Program ..................................................................................................................................... 12 Idaho’s Non-Motorized Trails Program.................................................................................................................... 14 Motor Vehicle Specialty License Plates .................................................................................................................... 14 Winter Recreational Parking Permit ........................................................................................................................ 15 What are Opportunities for Idaho to Increase Its Support for Non-Motorized Trail Maintenance on National Forests? ... 16 Opportunities Within Existing Programs ........................................................................................................................ 16 New Opportunities ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 User Fees .................................................................................................................................................................. 16 Fuel Tax Allocation ................................................................................................................................................... 18 Equipment Taxes ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 Lottery Proceeds ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 Other Revenue Programs ......................................................................................................................................... 22 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................................................... 23 References Cited ..................................................................................................................................................................
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