According to the American Trails website, the current budget talks threaten funding for trails.  Following is a report of the information from their website:

The Federal government, under a Continuing Resolution (CR), is funded through March 4, 2011. This week in Washington, the focus is on the federal budget, the deficit, and proposed cuts to spending on every aspect of national programs. This means that every program we rely on could be cut or eliminated: Transportation Enhancements, Recreational Trails Program, Safe Routes to School, Federal land management agency (Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish & Wildlife Service), trail budgets, and more.

The House of Representatives will vote on legislation (H.R. 1) that would cut current spending by at least $100 billion below the President’s FY 2011 request. Floor debate begins Tuesday.

Every individual and organization concerned with trails and bike/ped facilities should be ready to tell their Members of Congress why funding for these programs is important:

• How to contact your Representative
• How to contact your Senators

What’s happening now?

Federal budget cuts will affect trails

House proposed budget details for fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2011:

• Table of FY 2011 Continuing Resolution reductions (pdf 53 kb)
• H.R. 1: House appropriations bill – Feb. 11 – 359 pages (pdf 659 kb)
• Summary of FY 2011 Continuing Resolution budget (pdf 119kb)

Land and Water Conservation Fund: BREAKING NEWS (FEBRUARY 16): By a vote of 216 to 213, Rep. Lummis (R-WY) amendment to zero out LWCF in H.R. 1 was DEFEATED on the House floor this evening. 33 Republicans, including Mike Simpson (R-ID) joined Democrats in defeating the amendment. (The Lummis amendment subsumed the Pearce amendment.). Although H.R. 1 still makes drastic cuts to LWCF, at least the Program has not been totally defunded. Just as importantly, members of Congress had to declare themselves. A sorting has taken place.

See the list of all the amendments that Representatives are urged to vote “NO” on. For additional information, visit the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition website

The House of Representatives is circulating Amendments to the FY11 Spending Bill that would defund the Land and Water Conservation Fund completely. Please use the Talking Points and Congressional Support list to contact all members possible. We urgently need your support and help reaching out to House champions urging them to protect LWCF and ensure it has consistent and reliable funding for the future. Once a program has lost all funding for a year, it is very difficult to restore it.

Please urgently ask all LWCF House champs to come to the floor and defend LWCF while reiterating that the program is a wise investment that provides public access for recreation, bolsters local economies and jobs, conserves working forests, farms and ranches, and protects our waters, wildlife and open spaces. See details and how you can take action now…

Federal land management budgets: Major cuts are also proposed in the current House budget for a wide variety of construction, maintenance, and supporting programs on federal public lands. This includes trails and recreation areas on National Forests, Bureau of Land Management lands, US Fish & Wildlife Refuges, and the National Parks. (Stay tuned for more details.)

ATTENTION: Devastating attack on trails, walking, and bicycling could happen this week! Though we do not know details yet, we anticipate a congressional amendment that could do away with or hobble transportation-funded programs like the Recreational Trails Program, Transportation Enhancements (the nation’s largest funding source for trails, walking, and bicycling), and Safe Routes to School. There is strength in numbers! Therefore, we are working with many other organizations to defeat such a damaging amendment. No action is needed to protect these three programs at the moment; we just wanted to give you a heads-up that an amendment could be offered in the coming days. You can expect an action alert from us. If it comes, please do not delay in speaking up. If such an amendment is offered, we might have mere hours to respond.

As soon as we get word on a specific threat, we will also add information to our federal budget web page. Check back often for the latest news and to see how you can take action…

The House Transportation Committee has scheduled a series of field hearings on Federal Transportation reauthorization during February 2011, starting with West Virginia on Feb. 14 and moving on to the West Coast by Feb. 21-23. Plan to attend these sessions and speak up for continuing trails and bike/ped facilities (Recreational Trails Program, Transportation Enhancements, and Safe Routes to School) in the next reauthorization bill. Please help spread the word!

Take action!

American Trails and other nationwide organizations have been urging key members of Congress and Administration officials to recognize the importance of funding for trails and related facilities.

There is strength in numbers and we need to present a unified voice for trails, to document their many benefits, and to make the case for funding trails and bicycle/pedestrian programs. Join us in contacting your Senators and Representatives to let them know why these programs are vital to your local efforts.

• You can reach your House Representative by visiting this website: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
• You can reach your Senators by visiting this website: www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Key Committees:

• US Senate Committee on Appropriations
• US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
• US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
• US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
• US House Committee on Appropriations
• US House Democratic Committee on Appropriations
• US House Committee on Energy and Commerce
• US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure – see Republican members and contact information and for Democratic members
• US House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

TALKING POINTS

Now more than ever, advocates must convince Congress that money spent on trails, bike/ped facilities, parks, and outdoor recreation is a sound investment in the country’s economy. The health of our children, as well as our cities, will depend on expanding transportation choices and preserving trails, open space, parks, and places for recreation.

As our nation looks closely at the increase in childhood obesity, the need for healthier lifestyle choices for everyone, safe routes for active transportation, and urban development, there are major issues to address. Trails, greenways, bikeways, and other routes are a critical part of the solution. Read more about the benefits of trails and find talking points by visiting these links:

American Trails benefits-related web pages:

• American Trails website
• Benefits of trails
• Economics of trails
• Business
• Tourism
• Valuing Trails
• Health & trails
• Studies of trail use
• Neighborhoods
• Kids and Trails

Additional Resources:

• Meeting with your Member of Congress Talking Points, provided by America Bikes and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
• Talking Points Against Gutting LWCF in FY11 CR from LWCF Coalition
• Recreational Trails Program (RTP) Fact Sheet, provided by the Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT)
• Benefits of Trails and Active Transportation Fact Sheet, prepared by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the Rahall Appalachian Transportation Institute as testimony for the House Transportation and Infrastructure field hearings held in West Virginia on February 14
• Transportation Enhancements (TE) Myths, provided by America Bikes
• Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Fact Sheet, provided by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership

More news and opinion on funding and federal programs

Support the Recreational Trails Program! Join our efforts with the Coalition for Recreational Trails to get RTP funding included in the next transportation bill and sign on to the letter supporting RTP. Will your state’s trails program survive? See concerns about the future of the Recreational Trails Program.

• February 14, 2011: The House Transportation Committee kicked off a series of field hearings on Federal Transportation reauthorization February 14 in West Virginia. Forums are planned for Beckley, WV; Charleston, WV; Philadelphia, PA; Scranton, PA; Rochester, NY; Columbus, OH; Indianapolis, IN; Chicago, IL; Vancouver, WA; Fresno, CA; Oklahoma City, OK; Jonesboro, AR; Memphis, TN. See current schedule…
• February 10, 2011: The new continuing resolution will contain $100 billion in cuts from Obama’s budget. The measure, which funds government operations including transportation, is essential to keeping federal programs running temporarily, will be released on Friday, and is still set to hit the House floor next week. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) promised that the cuts put forth by the GOP will be the largest in congressional history.
• February 6, 2011: House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was quoted last Thursday as saying that “the GOP will seek to make the deepest cuts to funding for transportation, housing, agriculture, and justice as it seeks to bring down spending for the rest of 2011.” However, some observers say that transit and high-speed rail will take the biggest cuts, not the federal highway aid program, which is funded by different mechanisms.
• February 4, 2011: “I’d like to have a transportation bill on the president’s desk by the August recess,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Friday during a conference call with reporters. He expressed his belief that members of the House and Senate appear committed to complete the legislation.
• February 2, 2011: House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) “has been empowered under House rules to set 2011 non-security spending levels at 2008 levels or less.” On Feb. 8 Ryan is to publish his budget figures in the Congressional Record. Then, House appropriators will have to decide on spending ceilings for each subcommittee (e.g. Highways and Transit) and finalize the committee bill by Feb. 11.
• January 31, 2011: “House Republicans try to find middle ground on budget-cutting plan“
• January 28, 2011: According to a Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation article, “The idea that bicycle and pedestrian funding– rather than general overall cuts to federal transportation spending– might be specifically targeted is realistic given that a few members of the House, like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, have repeatedly called for bicycle & pedestrian funding to be cut or eliminated.” Read about past history of bicycle and pedestrian cuts proposed in federal budget.
• January 27, 2011: World Health Organization official discusses “Transport and Health: Measuring the Link“
• January 27, 2011: “Senate committee backs infrastructure, but not bike lanes“
• January 24, 2011: A clear explanation of the transportation funding debate from a “reduced-government-spending” viewpoint: “These challenges will in large part be driven by the need to constrain overall federal spending and by shortfalls in the highway trust fund.” Read article from the Heritage Foundation…
• January 18, 2011: “There are no Republican or Democratic roads. There are no Republican or Democratic bridges,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Speaking at a transportation technology conference, LaHood expressed confidence that Congress would pass a multiyear bill to reauthorize the federal surface transportation programs.

Resources on federal budgets and transportation funding

Transportation policy

• The future of trails in federal transportation funding, by Eric B. Beightel, U. S. DOT Office of Transportation Policy
• “Transportation for a New Generation:” strategic plan from the U.S. Department of Transportation

Economic impacts of walking and bicycling

• Benefits of Trails and Active Transportation Fact Sheet, prepared by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the Rahall Appalachian Transportation Institute as testimony for the House Transportation and Infrastructure field hearings held in West Virginia on February 14
• Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrastructure Investments (pdf 900 kb) from League of American Bicyclists
• “Active Transportation for America” (pdf 4.3 mb) from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy provides “quantitative assessments and an overall estimation of the monetary value of the benefits of current and future bicycling and walking in the United States.”
• “New data adds job creation to the many benefits of bicycle infrastructure,” according to Transportation Secretary LaHood. A recent study argues that pedestrian and bicycle projects create more jobs than road upgrades or resurfacing, and the CDC states 67% of Americans support street design that increases physical activity. “Putting the two studies together creates a powerful argument for continuing the Department of Transportation’s support for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects, said LaHood. “Even as these investments increase mobility, they also generate economic growth. And, people are demanding them for their communities.”

Funding trails and bike/ped programs

• Coalition for Recreational Trails is the umbrella group for supporting funding for Recreational Trails and other vital federal transportation programs
• Recreational Trails Program (RTP) Fact Sheet, provided by the Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT)
• President’s national debt commission proposes transportation funding mechanism that would increase federal gas tax
• Federal funding programs for trails and bike/ped programs: index of resources, research, and articles
• Transportation Enhancements (TE) Myths, provided by America Bikes
• Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Fact Sheet, provided by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership

Blogs and supporters

• League of American Bicyclists – transportation issues from a national cycling organization
• Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation – “Fast Lane”: postings are not always “bike/ped or trails-related, but here is where we learn the latest on reauthorization from the Secretary’s point of view
• Transportation for America Coalition is focused on authorization of the next multi-year transportation bill
• Program Information Resources: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

YOUR COMMENTS and SUGGESTIONS

American Trails is committed to bringing you all the vital news about funding and policies that affect you. Watch for our ongoing alerts about the budget process, and check this page for updates.

• Your comments on these concerns are welcome. Email us at trailhead@americantrails.org.

• To propose additional articles, letters, links, or resources for this page, please email Pam Gluck, Executive Director, American Trails. This is meant to be an educational page, and American Trails reserves the right to turn down any submission that doesn’t meet our intent for this page.