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Do you like to hit park trails for a walk or jog, or maybe ride your bike on a scenic path through the woods or how about ride your horse along one of these nicely groomed trails? Federal fiscal appropriations are currently being cussed and discussed on Capitol Hill. One budget allocation is the Recreational Trails Program, which has not been increased or decreased in 10 years, but could get decreased for 2022 and beyond likely to help fund the $3.5T social deal.  Please convey your support of the RTP program and request that Senators Moran & Marshall, along with Representatives Mann, LaTurner, Davids & Estes are all aware and advocate for maintaining funding for the RTP. 

Kansas has received $24 M since this program started. To find out which park trails have benefitted from these funds, go to:   

http://recreationaltrailsinfo.org/rtp-state-profiles/ and you can search by state to pull up very detailed information. 

Reasons to support RTP: 

•A Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recreational fuel tax study from July 2021 confirms nearly $300 million in federal motor fuel tax is generated annually by nonhighway recreational activity, but RTP receives only $84 million of that annually, only 30% of the funds generated but we don’t want to lose even that!

•The House-passed INVEST Act – recognizing the disparity in funding and the value of recreational trails – would have increased RTP funding to $147 million per year. 

•Recreational trails contribute to the nearly $800 billion/year outdoor recreation economy that supports 5 million jobs.