COLORADO DIVISION OF PARKS AND WILDLIFE 2021 Recreational Trails Grant Update Fletcher Jacobs 11/20/20 TOPIC PREPARED BY DATE ACTION INFORMATION DRAFT FINAL ITEM X ITEM COPY X COPY PURPOSE: To update the State Recreational Trails Committee on the applications received for the 2021 Recreational (Non-Motorized) Trail Grant Applications. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The Parks and Wildlife Division’s State Trails Program administers grant programs to fund trails and greenways across Colorado. This program is a partnership with city, county and state governments, non-profit organizations, and federal land management agencies. The goal is to make funds from Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado’s Lottery, Recreational Trails Program (Federal Highways), and Land &Water Conservation Fund (National Park Service available for trail-related projects that support the goals of the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) and the Strategic Plan of the State Trails Program. The Trails Program was established through the authority of the “Recreational Trails System Act” of 1971. Funding for a wide variety of trail projects began in 1973 with Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) dollars. In 1983 the Colorado Lottery provided a major new funding source. In 1984, the Recreational Trails Statute was enacted under Title 33, Article 11 and provides direction for the State Trails Program and the State Recreational Trails Advisory Committee. In 1994, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) provided an even larger boost. Colorado Statute Title 33, Article 11, Sections 101-112 defines the Recreational Trails Legislative Guidelines. Sections 105 and 106 stipulate that Colorado’s Recreational Trails Committee (the Committee) shall advise and coordinate trail development with approval of the Parks and Wildlife Commission (the Commission). The Commission’s Policy A-104 defines the purpose and responsibilities of the Committee whereas the Committee is responsible for making recommendations to the Commission concerning the funding of trail grants. The Committee shall make recommendations to the Commission concerning the funding of Recreational Trail Grants, OHV Program Grants, and annually at the March Commission meeting. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY: Applications were received up until the October 1st deadline. Data and information from these applications are documented in the spreadsheets attached. In total, CPW received 52 Recreational Trail Grant Applications requesting a total amount of $ $8,086,155.98. There were 11 applications submitted in the Construction category requesting $ $2,331,959.00, 26 applications in the Maintenance category requesting $ $2,736,906.98, 16 in the Planning/Support category requesting $619,745.00, and 4 LWCF applications that will be reviewed by the Construction subcommittee requesting $2,320,087.00. Estimated funding for the 2021 Non-Motorized Trail grants: Source of Funding Dollar Amount GOCO State Parks $1,000,000 Federal Recreational Trails Program (RTP) $938,015 Total $1,938,015.00 Here is the estimated available funding amounts if we allocate funding based upon the percentage of request amount received by category (excluding LWCF): Percentage of Total Requested Funds Estimated Available Funding Percentage Construction 41% $794,459.59 Maintenance 48% $932,418.62 Planning/Support 11% $211,136.79 We estimate we will have $2,320,087.00 available to fund LWCF projects. A summary of the grant applications received can be found in Attachment A. A map of the applications can be found in Attachment B. All of the non-motorized grant applications are posted on the Parks and Wildlife’s website for public review and comment. The web address for the non-motorized grant applications is: http://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/TrailsGrantsNM-Submissions.aspx Initial public comments must be submitted in writing by the close of business on Thursday, December 10 by 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Comments may be submitted by email to the following web site: [email protected] Pursuant to the Commission’s Policy A-104, Committee members shall chair the Committee’s subcommittees assigned to review and rank the non-motorized grant applications. Two additional Committee members were also elected by the Committee to serve as public members on each subcommittee. • Construction subcommittee chair – Jill Ozarski • Maintenance subcommittee chair – Scott Jones • Planning/Support subcommittee chair – Wally Piccone In an effort to ensure that the State Trails Program is funding quality projects, a minimum combined score of 70 will be required to receive State Trails funding. Scores from the subcommittee process must be submitted to the Trails Program offices or staff in Littleton by 12p on Tuesday, January 19 to be included in the final grant application evaluation process. DIVISION RECOMMENDATION: N/A SUGGESTED MOTION: N/A 2021 Non-Motorized Trail Grant Summaries Project Project Name Project Sponsor Grant Amount Total Cost Number/Region Type Requested 1-NE Sterling Loop Trail, Ph. 2 City of Sterling Const $140,000.00 $182,000.00 Install a 3,900 linear foot, 10’ wide concrete trail along the Pioneer Seepage Ditch. The trail is located one mile from downtown Sterling and runs from Cheyenne Blvd. to West Main Street. 3-NE Poudre River Regional Larimer County Const $250,000.00 $2,136,568.00 Trail – Windsor-Timnath Larimer County and the Town of Timnath will construct the remaining 1.9 miles of 8-10 ft. wide concrete trail between Windsor and Timnath. Grant funds will be used for muck excavation, erosion control, crusher fines, pedestrian/bike crossing and wetlands/native seeding. The completed project will provide the only non-motorized, detached trail connection linking Timnath, Windsor and Greeley. 4-SE Cucharas River Trail, Ph. 1 Town of La Veta Const $175,000.00 $290,521.00 Phase 1 of the CRT is a 1.5-mile 6 ft. wide segment of a planned 3-mile trail that will connect four open spaces. It will be constructed of natural surface and/or crusher fines and will be ADA compliant. A major feature will be construction of a pedestrian-bicycle bridge over the Cucharas River that will connect the CRT to the community-based system and to the Southern Mountain Loop Bike Trail. 5-SE Daniel’s Pass, Phase 1 Colorado Springs Parks Const $250,000.00 $340,000.00 and Recreation The Daniel’s Pass Trail System is located in one of the city’s most popular regional parks – North Cheyenne Cañon Park. Construction of the new Daniel’s Pass Trail will include trailhead development, 3.4 miles of new sustainable soft surface trail, 2 pedestrian fiberglass bridges, trail wayfinding and interpretive signage. Unsustainable social trails will be closed. 6-SW Electric Hills Trails Colorado Plateau Const $204,781.00 $278,266.60 Mountain Bike Assoc. COPMOBA plans to construct 15.43 miles of natural surface, singletrack (18-24” width) trail. The trail system will be located on approximately 1000 acres of BLM land, located 8 miles southwest of Montrose. The system will help alleviate crowding and user conflicts on existing trails. Although designed with mountain biking in mind, the trails will be open to other forms of non-motorized use. 7-NW Spring Valley Trails Colorado Mountain Const $250,000.00 $381,760.00 College Foundation Construct a series of trails on and around the CMC campus. Four bike trails will be built with 24-36” tread on natural surface with varying degrees of difficulty. The adaptive system has been designed based on experiences with Ascendigo, a program for people with autism. The walking trails will accommodate walking meetings and educational nature walks for visitors and students. These trails will have 48-60”-wide tread, and will be topped with crusher fines. 8-NW Grand Hogback Trail City of Rifle Const $198,567.00 $398,442.02 System, Phase 2 The City, the BLM and other project partners will develop a natural surface single-track trail system for hikers and mountain bikers in the Rifle area. Phase 2 will complete the system by constructing 2021 Non-Motorized Trail Grant Summaries Project Project Name Project Sponsor Grant Amount Total Cost Number/Region Type Requested 12.5 miles of trails and a new trailhead parking lot for 40+ vehicles. The trails will consist of a natural surface with a tread width of 18-36 inches, offering ideal mountain biking for all experience levels. 9-NW Phases Trail Improvement Headwaters Trails Const $250,000.00 $507,170.00 Project Alliance This trail system is locally referred to as the “Phases”, part of the BLM’s Strawberry SRMA in Grand County. This project will mitigate ecological damage from trails, particularly social trails. The plan includes new trail and trail reroutes, decommissioning, restoration, bridge construction, hazard tree mitigation/forest fuels reduction, and maintenance improvements on over 15 trails. 10-NW Fraser River Trail Town of Winter Park Const $250,000.00 $642,465.00 Expansion The Fraser River Trail (FRT) is an 8-ft. wide paved asphalt path that runs adjacent to the river. The Town will extend the FRT to continue along the river through a newly acquired section of property. Plans include construction of 0.60 miles of new 10’-wide gravel trail, installation of a 10’-wide boardwalk over wetlands, a bridge spanning the Fraser River and two “nature play” areas. 11-SW Eastern San Luis Valley San Luis Valley Great Const $224,814.00 $321,219.00 Trails Expansion Outdoors The project will develop two trails in the eastern San Luis Valley to serve the rural communities of San Luis and Crestone. Constructed from natural surface materials, the 3.1 mile-long Carpenter Ranch Trail will give residents of San Luis walking access to the Carpenter Ranch. The Baca Nature and Heritage Trail connects the Crestone entrance to the Baca National Wildlife Refuge. 12-SW Naturita Town Park Town of Naturita Const $216,255.00 $286,365.00 Perimeter Trail The Town plans to construct a perimeter trail loop around the existing Town Park.