NOHVCC Recreational
Trails Program Help Needed
U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works Committee
Threatens Programs Future
Great Falls, MT (1/18/2012) - The
following message was sent to the Coaltion for Recreational
Trails Council of Advisors. The message is important
for any group who has an interest in the future
of the Recreational Trails Program. Right now, that
future is pretty bleak. We need to work to improve
the chances of the RTP program for the future. Remember,
this is the single biggest source of funding for
OHV trails in the nation. It is also paid for entirely
by the un-refunded federal OHV gas tax.
The Americans
for Responsible Recreational Access website
will also have information about the program and
efforts made to keep the RTP in the future. Let's
make sure to flood the Senate's phone lines and
e-mail boxes so they understand how important
this program is._
The Recreational Trails Program is in very deep
trouble. The U.S. Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee has approved
transportation
reauthorization legislation known as MAP-21 that
would effectively
eliminate the RTP by stripping the program of
its dedicated funding.
But all hope is not lost.
CRT and its member organizations have been working
to identify key
Champions in the Senate with the aim of having
an amendment to restore
dedicated funding for the RTP added to the bill
before it is considered by
the full Senate.
Reaching this goal will not be possible
without your help.
Now is the time for all organizations and individuals
who support RTP to
tell their Senators to protect dedicated funding
for this absolutely
essential program.
The key messages are simple:
Unless the bill is changed, MAP-21 will effectively
eliminate the
Recreational Trails Program; and
Please amend MAP-21 to include dedicated funding
for RTP.
Other helpful messages include:
For the last two decades, RTP has received a
portion of the gas taxes
paid by users of off-highway motorized vehicles
to fund trail building,
maintenance and other trail-related projects.
More than 13,000 projects
have been funded across the country for all kinds
of trail uses. This is a
very successful program.
At its current level of annual funding “
$85 million “ RTP receives
less than 42% of the Federal Highway Administration's
conservative
estimate of the federal gas taxes paid by America's
nonhighway
recreationists. The Senate bill would reduce that
percentage to zero and
represents a substantial new tax on motorized
recreation enthusiasts.
The return of gas taxes to trail users through
the RTP is in keeping
with the user-pay, user-benefit philosophy of
the Highway Trust Fund.
Ending dedicated funding for RTP takes these gas
taxes away from the people
who pay them. Ending dedicated funding for RTP
is bad public policy and
just plain wrong.
The RTP is the foundation of state trail programs.
If the RTP loses
its dedicated funding, organized trail planning
and development will simply
vanish in many areas of the country.
Now is the time to act. Write, email or call
your two Senators. Here is
a link: http://www.senate.gov/
.
Make sure your entire grassroots organization
is engaged as well.
We need to show the United States Senate just
how many Americans are
committed to the Recreational Trails Program.
If we don’t act, the very
backbone of trails in America may be forever lost.
www.nohvcc.org
Great Falls, MT 59404
800-348-6487
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