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News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2005
NEARLY $2,000,000 RECOMMENDED FOR 18 OHIO COMMUNITY TRAIL PROJECTS
Projects in Summit, Hamilton, Pike, Knox and Cuyahoga counties
recommended for highest funding amounts

COLUMBUS, OH - Eighteen community trail projects have been recommended to receive a total of $1,912,995 in grants from the federal Recreational Trails Program by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).  The grants support a variety of projects to create new trails and enhance others.

“This federal support complements more than $20 million in state-funded grants and local community funds invested over the past three years to expand and improve Ohio’s growing network of recreational trails,” said ODNR Director Sam Speck.  “As a result, we are increasingly able to offer a healthy array of outdoor recreation experiences for Ohioans of every age and ability.”

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration and a portion of the federal gasoline tax support the Recreational Trails Program, which is administered in Ohio by ODNR.  The department reviews local applications and recommends grant recipients for final federal approval.  That approval is expected in the next several months.

The federal government provides up to 80 percent reimbursement for trail projects through each grant, while local project sponsors are responsible for the remaining amount.

Of the 54 applications received in February 2005, 18 were recommended to receive grants.  Among the largest grants recommended are:  $200,000 to the City of Cuyahoga Falls for construction of phase one of the Mud Brook Greenway Trail; a combined $224,000 to the U.S. Forest Service, benefiting Wayne National Forest in southeastern Ohio for a trail patrol, trail restoration, maintenance and upgrade of all-terrain vehicle and off-highway motorcycle trails; and $375,000 to ODNR for construction of a new, two-mile paved section of the Little Miami Scenic Park Trail through the Village of Terrace Park in Hamilton County.

More than 150 local trail projects across the state have received more than $10.7 million in federal funds through the Recreational Trails Program since 1993.

RECOMMENDED RECREATIONAL TRAILS PROJECT GRANT RECIPIENTS
County Applicant Project Grant Amount
Allen Village of Bluffton Bluffton Pathway $3,000
Ashland Mohican State Park
Ohio State Parks
Lyons Falls Trails $25,000
Cuyahoga Village of Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights Trail, Phase I, Eagle Connector $100,000
Hamilton Little Miami State Park-Ohio State Parks Terrace Park section of Little Miami Scenic Trail $375,000
Hocking/Perry U.S. Forest Service Monday Creek Off-Highway Vehicle Trails maintenance $150,000
Hocking/Perry U.S. Forest Service Monday Creek Off-Highway Vehicle Trails patrol $4,000
Jackson Richland State Forest
ODNR Division Of Forestry
Richland Furnace All-Purpose Vehicle Area $13,800
Knox Knox County Commissioners Heart of Ohio Trail $200,000
Lawrence/Scioto U.S. Forest Service Pine Creek All-Terrain Vehicle Trail $70,000
Lucas Toledo Area Metropolitan Park District Bend View Towpath $150,000
Montgomery Miami Conservancy District Great Miami River Recreational Trail $65,000
Pike Pike State Forest
ODNR Division Of Forestry
Pike State Forest All-Purpose Vehicle Trail maintenance $30,000
Pike Pike State Forest
ODNR Division Of Forestry
Pike State Forest All-Purpose Vehicle Trail extension $240,000
Portage Portage County Commissioners The Portage Trail $40,000
Portage Village of Mantua Buchert Park Trail $14,000
Summit City of Cuyahoga Falls Mud Brook Greenway Trail (Phase 1) $200,000
Summit Metroparks Serving Summit County Towpath Trail $150,000
Trumbull Mosquito Lake State Park
Ohio State Parks
Mane Trail restoration $35,000
    TOTAL   $1,912,995

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For additional news online, check out the ODNR Press Room at Ohiodnr.com

For Further Information Contact:
Bill Daehler, ODNR Division of Real Estate & Land Management
(614) 265-6402
-or-
Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6860