The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) recently moved to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The change has brought about several changes, including an application deadline of February 20.
The application process is unchanged. Those who applied for RTP grants this cycle when it was still under DNR do not need to reapply.
The old RTP website has been replaced by the new “Multi-Use Trails Program” page. See the new page here (https://dot.alaska.gov/atlas/multi-use-trails/). It is a subpage of the new “Alaska Trails and Local Access Systems (ATLAS)” See that page here (https://dot.alaska.gov/atlas/). DOTPF also has another trails-related webpage called “Winter Rural Access Programs.” See it here: https://dot.alaska.gov/wrap/
A new advisory board has been formed to oversee and help choose the RTP applications. The new board is called the Alaska Recreational Trails Advisory Committee (ARTAC). You can see a page for that board here (https://dot.alaska.gov/atlas/artac/). ARTAC decisions are advisory only. Final decisions on the grants are made by DOTPF in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
The contact person for the state programs is Rebecca Garrett, Frontier Roads and Sustainability Program Manager (rebecca.garrett@alaska.gov; 907.223.4664).
Thankfully this may mean that repeated violations of the federal funding guidelines and state law will come to an end, but as long as Dunleavy is in charge, don’t hold your breath