Grant program funded by federal gas tax makes more than $300,000 investment in Southwest Oregon Trail Projects

Oregon State Parks’ Recreational Trails Program is investing over $300,000 in southwest Oregon’s trail networks via three nonprofit trail organizations, the Siskiyou Uplands Trails Association, Rogue Valley Mountain Biking Association, and Siskiyou Mountain Club.

SUTA will be completing a five-mile section of new trail on their Jack-Ash trail project. The funding will also cover costs of signs, including an interpretive sign with information on local indigenous cultures. The multi-phase project will ultimately connect the Ashland watershed trail system to Jacksonville’s Forest Park. The group was awarded $78,769 in 2023 RTP funds.

The Rogue Valley Mountain Bike Association is using RTP grant funds to convert a mile-long road that has fallen into disrepair into a split trail. One side of the trail will be a bike-only downhill trail suitable for all skill levels. The other side will be for uphill riding, hiking, and running.

“The project has been eight years in the making and we can’t wait to convert one of the worst miles to one of the best miles in the Ashland watershed,” says the association’s president Ryan Hawk. RVMBA will receive $117,212 for the project.

Siskiyou Mountain Club will be focusing on the expansion of a 50-mile network of trails currently disappearing from across the remote reaches of Curry County. The club will receive $109,242 in RTP funds and this will be the organization’s fifth project with the program since 2014. “These partnerships have been developing for over 10 years,” says the club’s executive director Gabriel Howe. “We are ready for investments that restore opportunities for local communities and puts our region on the map.”

Each organization must contribute a qualifying match and raise project costs between reimbursements, and more information on each project can be found at their websites.

The Recreational Trails Program is a competitive grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation through fuel taxes and administered by Oregon State Parks. “We are thrilled to support a new round of trail projects in Southern Oregon, as well as other locations across the state, and we recognize the important partnerships in place to build and restore trail systems,” says the grant coordinator Jodie Bellefeuille.