Outdoor funding
Money flows into Vt. for outdoor recreation enhancements, wildlife
Vermont's outdoors will be in a little better shape thanks to an influx in funds from a variety of sources announced recently.
Gov. James Douglas announced $568,170 in funding for 24 trail projects in Vermont.
The money comes from Vermont's Recreation Trails Program, which is a matching grant program of the Federal Highways Administration.
The money will be used for the acquisition, development, rehabilitation and maintenance of trails and trail-related facilities for nonmotorized multiple-use recreational trail projects, according to a news release from the governor's office.
About half of the funding - $282,980 - will benefit the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers for winter grooming maintenance.
VAST clubs maintain Vermont's snowmobiling trail network with 120 groomers who take care of more than 6,000 miles of trails every winter.
Also on the list to receive funds is Pine Hill Park in Rutland, which will see $3,855 for trail maintenance and a trail skills training project.
The Moosalamoo Association North Branch Trail in Addison County, Robert Frost Interpretive Trail and Chandler Ridge Trail reconstruction will receive $19,150.
The Green Mountain Club will get $18,905 for reconstruction of 1.2 miles of the Long Trail in northwestern Vermont.
The Catamount Trail Association will get $17,673 for relocation of some trail in the Coolidge State Forest in Plymouth.
Local Motion, a group dedicated to developing trails, promoting walkable communities and fostering active lifestyles - primarily in the Burlington area right now - will receive $25,000 to expand its Trail Finder database of recreation trails.
The database expansion is slated for Rutland, Orange, Windsor and Washington counties.
Hartford's Kilowatt Trail system will get $19,257 to link the North and South Park.
Shaftsbury's Linda Tilgner Memorial Nature Trail will get $12,223 for reconstruction.
The Woodstock Billings Park Commission will get $7,000 for restoration efforts on the Faulkner Trail.
And Vermont's Trail and Greenways Council will see $10,000 for statewide educational outreach.
This is just a sampling of projects throughout Vermont that will receive funds from the grant, which can fund up to 80 percent of the total project cost and requires a match, which can include donations, in-kind support and other nonfederal funds.
Stimulus money
The Department of Interior also announced more than $1.7 million in Vermont as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The money will be used to rehab a fish hatchery, fund a fish passage, and repair and rehabilitate carriage roads at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will receive more than $1 million of the funding to fix the electrical system and main hatchery outfall at White River National Fish Hatchery, as well as work toward removing or bypassing barriers to fish movement at Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Resource Complex.
The National Park Service will receive $518,000 for the historic carriage road restoration at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park and to help rehabilitate the Appalachian Trail Little Rock Pond shelter.
The U.S. Geological Survey will receive $216,000 to catch up on some deferred maintenance as well as upgrade stream gauges.
To see the entire list of projects planned in Vermont, log on to recovery.doi.gov/VT.
Wildlife funds
Wildlife will also benefit from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service appropriation aimed at conserving and recovering imperiled wildlife through the State Wildlife Grant Program.
Vermont's share of the more than $61 million will be $610,704 - or right at 1 percent of the total funds available.
Money is allocated to states based on the formula of one-third for land area of the state and two-thirds on population. Each of the 50 states is guaranteed a minimum of 1 percent.
The funds, which come from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, are intended to benefit wildlife species and their habitat, including nongame species.
Darren Marcy is a local outdoor enthusiast. His Web site is www.DarrenMarcy.com. E-mail him at darren@darrenmarcy.com.
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