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FVCC Awarded Grant Funding for Stillwater River Trail

By Beacon Staff

Flathead Valley Community College will receive grant funding to begin construction of a trail connecting the college with downtown Kalispell and Kidsports Complex.

Montana State Parks announced that 54 trail organizations, local communities and land management agencies are recipients of the Recreational Trails Program federal grant awards for projects in 2013.

FVCC was awarded a $40,500 grant to construct the first phase of the Stillwater River Trail.

“FVCC student will increase the value of this grant by using equipment from FVCC’s heavy equipment operations instructional courses to help construct the trail,” Chuck Jensen, vice president of administration and finance at FVCC, said in a statement.

The Flathead Snowmobile Association also received a $40,500 grant for trail grooming and maintenance in Flathead and Lake counties.

The Recreational Trails Program awarded a total of $1.4 million in federal funds. The funds are appropriated to the states in the 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act passed by Congress.

“Montana communities enjoy recreational trails that have been constructed, maintained and improved with the help of these federal grants,” said Beth Shumate, trails program manager for Montana State Parks. “Strong local and national support for recreational trails is the main reason this federal funding continues to be available.”

The RTP program awards grants through an annual competitive application process. Projects can range from construction and maintenance of trails, development of trailside and trailhead facilities, ethics education and interpretive programs and weed control.

Montana State Parks administers the RTP federal program. These federal funds are completely separate from all Montana State Park revenues, camping fees, and related state funding sources.

A list of the 2013 Recreational Trails Program federal grant recipients is available here.