Kootenai Cross Country Ski Club gets $ for trail work

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks announced the recipients of almost $1.5 million in grant funds to 36 applicants through the Recreational Trails Program in 2023.

In northwest Montana, most of the proposed awards are going to projects in the Flathead Valley, Glacier and Bob Marshall Wilderness regions.

But Lincoln County's Kootenai Cross Country Ski Club will receive $13,560 for grooming and maintenance of 13 miles of the Flower Creek Nordic Ski Trails system.

In nearby Sanders County, $33,000 will pay for work on the USFS-Lolo National Forest-Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District for the Four Lakes Area Hiker Bridges project. This award funds the construction of log stringer hiker bridges over creeks in the Four Lakes area, northeast of Thompson Falls.

$92,000 is set to fund the Flathead Snowmobile Association for the Flathead Area Snowmobile trail grooming and equipment maintenance project.

This award will fund the grooming of 180 miles of trails for winter recreation activities for snowmobiles, snowbikes, tracked ATVs, fat-tire bikes, snow-shoes, x-country skis and hikers.

This year, FWP received a total of 46 RTP applications requesting over $2.5 million. FWP administers RTP, a federally funded program that provides funding for trail and trail-related projects across the state.

Eligible projects include development and rehabilitation work on urban, rural and backcountry trails, planning and construction of community trails, snowmobile and cross-country ski trail maintenance and grooming operations as well as a variety of trail stewardship and safety education programs.

FWP administers the Recreational Trails Program (RTP), a federally funded grants program that supports Montana’s trails.

The RTP funds come from the Federal Highway Trust Fund and represent a portion of the motor fuel excise tax collected from non-highway recreational fuel use: fuel used for off-highway recreation by snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles and off-highway light trucks.

RTP applicants can include federal, tribal, state, county or city agencies, private associations and clubs including nonprofits. Examples of eligible projects include:

• Maintenance and restoration of existing recreational trails;
• Development and rehabilitation of trailside and trailhead facilities and trail linkages;
• Purchase and lease of recreational trail construction and maintenance equipment;
• Construction of new recreational trails;
• Acquisition of easements and fee simple title for recreational trail corridors;
• Development and dissemination of publications and operation of educational programs to promote safety and environmental protection;

A complete list of recommended awards is available online at: fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/grant-programs/recreational-trails.