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The transportation battle continues at the federal level. The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) one of the most important programs for dirt bike trails in the nation, is in jeopardy. The funding for RTP comes from the federal gas tax that you pay at the pump when you fill up your dirt bike or ATV for riding. Part of the agreement is that the government will not have to refund the users for gas tax money collected and not used on the highways in return for the money to go to funding of trails for us to use.

The transportation bill in the Senate is called MAP-21. This bill removes the dedicated funding for RTP. Our own Senator Klobuchar is putting forth an amendment to change MAP-21 to re-dedicate the funding for RTP. Please send her a Thank You note letter her know you appreciate her efforts on our behalf. To contact Sen Klobuchar, go to: http://klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm and choose the option for ‘opinion or question on an issue’.

What does RTP mean for us? The funding for the program was used to purchase the land for the Gilbert OHV Park. The money is also being used to purchase land for the Houston MN OHV riding area. There are many other examples of the funds being used across the state to create or maintain OHV riding areas through bridges, acquisitions, boardwalks, retaining walls, etc. It is the single biggest source of funding for MN motorized trails.

• This topic was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by  Karen Umphress.