• Home
• Trails
• What's Hot
• Advocacy
• Calendar
• Training
• Resources
• Business Directory
• Join Us
• Store
• About Us
• Symposium

2009 RTP Achievement Awards

Award-Winning Trail and Greenway Projects

 

The members of the Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT) have selected the winners of the "Annual Achievement Awards" in recognition of outstanding use of Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funds. The award winners were recognized at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C. on June 10, 2009 at the U.S. House of Representatives Rayburn House Office Building, during the annual celebration for Great Outdoors Week.

Learn more about the Recreational Trails Program

 

 

State Trail Program Award: Oregon

Outstanding State Trail Program

 

Oregon utilizes of team of experienced professionals to maximize the limited resources available, including a State Trails Coordinator, a Grant Program Coordinator and staff from the All-Terrain Vehicle Program and Recreation Programs and Planning Office. In its administration of the RTP program, Oregon uses a scoring criterion that is specific to motorized, non-motorized and water trail projects. They are equally weighted. The criteria are based on statewide planning for the State Trails Plan and SCORP, that is, the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, and take into account rural and urban differences and the regional trail needs in Oregon.

Oregon relies on an RTP Grant Committee that is representative of trails users in Oregon. The committee consists of motorized, non-motorized, federal land manager and ADA representatives. Oregon also works to get representation from all regions in the state. Up to one third of the Grant Committee membership rotates each year, adding new members while ensuring that two thirds of the committee has experience and history with the grant program.

Oregon provides multiple examples of creative and effective use of RTP funds, including the Prospector Trail linking two rural communities (Canyon City and John Day) via a four-mile trail. All the schools are in one community, but shared park and ball fields are in the other – and no trail connected them. The state trail program worked with community leaders to design and build a trail at reasonable costs that is now used for many purposes, including a "Walking School Bus" effort, where adults walk students home from school.

 

In the City of Salem, RTP funds converted an abandoned railroad bridge to connect two city parks and Downtown Salem with West Salem.

The OregonTrailFinder.com project has yielded a comprehensive web page for all trails in Oregon, allowing citizens and visitors to search for trails by proximity to a location or by trail type.

Oregon supports trail program efforts in many ways. It communicates regularly with trail, environmental and other outdoor interests through mail and email and conducts three grant-writing workshops annually to educate potential applicants.

Oregon views the RTP Program as an integral component of a statewide trails program, and integrates RTP efforts with other planning and assistance programs. This helps keep trails centrally involved in statewide recreation and transportation plans. The agency has made the State Trails Coordinator a member of the Oregon Scenic Byways Committee.

The State Trails Coordinator also reviews and scores Transportation Enhancement program projects that pertain to non-motorized projects. The program is represented on the Oregon DOT Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Recently, the agency developed a new Scenic Bikeway program that increases communication with Oregon DOT, federal land managers, local road masters, and tourism organizations throughout the state.

 

 

Coalition for Recreational Trails:

The Coalition for Recreational Trails, a national organization representing the nation's major trail interests, has been working since 1992 to build awareness and understanding of the Recreational Trails Program, to support its implementation and to help insure that it receives adequate funding. The Annual Achievement Awards are part of the Coalition's ongoing effort to promote and celebrate this highly successful program, which has greatly enhanced the quantity and quality of trail experiences available to the public. For more information about CRT and its members, go to: www.funoutdoors.com/coalitions/crt.

 

 

Annual achievement awards presented by the Coalition for Recreational Trails:
2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000