Partnership with Forest, Parks, and Recreation
Photo by Lily LaRegina
Cooperative Agreement Between VTGC and FPR
To help meet the needs of those who build, maintain, manage, and use trails, the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation have a draft Cooperative Agreement that supports our relationship and outlines how we work together to support the trail community. FPR staff and VTGC board & staff meet frequently to implement our partnership and connecttrail organizations with the knowledge, funding, and resources, they need while also ensuring we understand their desired policy and legislative outcomes.
Recreational Trails Program
The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is a federal program which leverages funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration. Each year, FPR offers a competitive round of RTP grants available for the expansion or stewardship of motorized and non-motorized trails. FPR consults with VTGC to improve the application and award process, recruit the ranking committee and ensure that the program funds more sustainable, well-maintained, and resilient trails that contribute to conservation and community vitality. This program has historically been the largest, most reliable source of funding for trail development and stewardship in Vermont. You can learn more about upcoming rounds on our funding page.
2022 VOREC Conference
Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC)
The Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) is a collective impact network of public/private partners organized by the state to sustain, grow and drive sustainable development in Vermont’s outdoor recreation sector by leveraging natural outdoor recreation assets, brand and culture.
VOREC uses a collective impact framework to support a multi-sector approach to addressing complex social and economic issues. The five components of collective impact include, developing a common agenda, establishing backbone support, coordinating mutually reinforcing activities, using shared measurement, and continuously communicating ideas and progress.
VOREC is primarily supported through the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, Agency of Commerce and Community Development and the VOREC Steering Committee.
The VTGC partners with VOREC in numerous ways, including holding two seats on the steering committee.
Photo by Lily LaRegina
Vermont Trail System
The Vermont Trail System (VTS) was established to recognize the critical role that public-access trails play in the state of Vermont. The VTS was created by state statute and is administered by FPR with advice from VTGC. The statutory statement of purpose for the VTS reads: “In order to provide access to the use and enjoyment of the outdoor areas of Vermont, to conserve and use the natural resources of this state for healthful and recreational purposes, and to provide transportation from one place to another, it is declared to be the policy of this state to provide the means for maintaining and improving a network of trails to be known as the “Vermont trails system.”
Dozens of local and statewide trail networks belong to the VTS. Membership is by application, and members enjoy many benefits, including special provisions for Act 250 that recognize public-access trails as a public benefit and provide the same jurisdictional triggers for VTS trails as municipal projects (Rule 71).
VTGC’s role in helping to manage the VTS is to review applications and make membership recommendations, and to assist in ensuring trails in the VTS are built and maintained to a high standard. Presently, this entails reviewing members’ best practices for building, maintaining, and managing trails.
In the coming years, we will be working closely with FPR to modernize the VTS and develop a comprehensive set of up-to-date, general, and universally-applicable best management practices (BMPs) that will help ensure all organizations interested in developing trail systems have access to clear guidance and the ability to join the VTS.
Setting an inclusive vision for the future of resilient, climate-ready trails
Since 2023, we helped FPR, and the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC), to guide the development and implementation of Vermont’s five-year vision and priorities for outdoor recreation through Move Forward Together Vermont. Two VTGC representatives sit on the SCORP Technical Advisory Committee and two VTGC representatives sit on the VOREC Steering Committee. The board and VTGC members have also contributed critical feedback during focus groups throughout the process.
Move Forward Together Vermont has gathered input from a broad range of public and private voices—including communities, recreation providers and user groups, land managers, and other stakeholders—to determine where the state should devote its recreational resources and energy in the coming years. These insights will inform the next VOREC action plan and the next Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). In July 2024, the Draft Vision and Priority Actions were published and public feedback on the document was gathered through in-person and virtual open houses. A Final Vision and Priority Actions is expected in Fall 2024.
VTGC is also working closely with FPR to advise the state’s implementation of the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act, which established the Vermont Conservation Strategy Initiative. Also known as “30 by 30”, VCSI is developing the plan mandated by Act 59 to permanently conserve 30 percent of Vermont’s landscape by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050. As public-access recreation is an officially recognized purpose for land conservation in Vermont statute, VTGC believes strongly that trails are a critical tool in the conservation toolbox and should be woven into these long-term plans that will shape the future of Vermont’s landscape.
Sign up for our e-news to stay up-to-date about the VTS, RTP, Move Forward Together Vermont, and 30×30. Contact info@vermonttgc.org to sign up.
Photo by Sheri Larsen
