A bipartisan group of Congress members recently introduced H.R. 5797: Recreational Trails Program (RTP) Full Funding Act of 2020.
The RTP program provides critical funding for all kinds of recreational trails in Oregon. RTP is funded by a portion of the fuel tax attributed to snowmobile and OHV usage, but also funds non-motorized trails on federal, state, local, and tribal lands. Every year in Oregon, the worthy project proposals greatly exceed our state's share of current RTP funding.
It's time for Congress to fully fund the Recreational Trails Program!
Please write your representative and senators to let them know how important RTP is for your congressional district!
Find your U.S. Representative and links to Oregon congressional delegation contact forms here: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/OR#representatives
Find a list of RTP-funded projects by congressional district here: https://recreationaltrailsinfo.org/database/search_db.php
Find a list of recent RTP projects in Oregon here: https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/GRA/pages/GRA-rtp.aspx#9
For more info about the Recreational Trails Program in Oregon, contact Jodi Bellefeuille: Jodi.Bellefeuille@oregon.gov
Sample letter (Feel free to copy, paste, and edit to make it your own!):
Dear ___________,
I am writing to encourage you to co-sponsor the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) Full Funding Act of 2020, H.R. 5797.
RTP provides funding for recreational trail development and maintenance across all 50 states and has funded 468 trail projects in Oregon alone. This extremely popular program is oversubscribed with important trail project requests for our communities every year. In Oregon funds Oregon hiking, biking, equestrian, OHV, paddling, walking, and multi-use trails.
Trail projects funded by RFP in your congressional district that are invaluable to my community include ______________.
Based on the “user-pay, user-benefit” model of the Highway Trust Fund, the RTP is funded from gas taxes paid by non-highway recreational vehicles. The RTP is currently funded at $84 million annually, but it is estimated that federal gas taxes paid by non-highway recreational vehicles amount to more than $250 million annually.
The Recreational Trails Program Full Funding Act of 2020 would provide an increase in RTP funding to either $250 million or the latest non-highway recreational fuel study as required by this legislation, whichever is most recent.
Great trails are crucial for Oregonians' health and well-being and strong local economies. We hope you will join as a cosponsor of H.R. 5797.
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