Recreational Trails Program

The Recreational Trails Program, or RTP, is a competitive reimbursement grant program that provides federal funding for recreational trail projects. In Florida, the program is administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on behalf of the Federal Highway Administration. Program funds are contingent on the annual federal appropriation to the state. RTP is governed by applicable Florida Administrative Rules, the Florida Administrative Code, federal regulations, and Federal Highway Administration RTP Guidance. For the application cycle described in the source, applicants were permitted to submit only one application during the announced submission period, and an application could contain no more than one project site. RTP funding may support maintenance or renovation of existing trails; development or renovation of trailhead and trailside facilities or trail linkages; purchase of trail construction or maintenance equipment; and construction of new trails on local, state, and federal lands. The source identifies a maximum grant request of $2,000,000 for motorized projects. RTP assistance requires cost sharing. Permissible program-to-grantee matching ratios are 50:50, 60:40, or 80:20. Federal agency project sponsors may match grant funds with federal funds up to 95 percent of total project cost, but at least 5 percent must come from non-federal sources. Allowable match may include cash and allowable in-kind service costs. The value of real property and inmate labor may not be used as match. Applicants must have adequate control of the project site. The applicant must own the site or lease it from a public agency and be able to dedicate it as an outdoor recreation site for the use and benefit of the general public. Site control must be in place before the application cycle closes. For sites owned by the applicant, the program describes a 99-year term. For sites owned by another entity, the source requires control extending at least 25 years beyond project completion, while the detailed lease instructions also require a lease to extend 30 years from the application date, not be revocable at will, permit the proposed uses, and authorize dedication for at least 25 years after completion. Acceptable site-control evidence may include deeds, leases, use agreements, easements, title commitments, or title policies. Property appraiser reports, surveys, and maps alone are not sufficient evidence. Organizations applying for funding must be registered as active nonprofit corporations in the Florida Department of State Sunbiz database and must have an agreement with the government entity that owns the property permitting trail development or maintenance and satisfying site-control requirements. The packet also expressly addresses local, state, and federal agency applicants. Applications had to be submitted using application form OGT-10. One original completed application and all supporting documents were required to be sent by postal mail to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of State Lands/Recreational Trails Program, 3800 Commonwealth Boulevard, Mail Station 585, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000. Supporting exhibits must be tabbed. Required or applicable documentation described in the packet includes project location information, a legally sufficient boundary map, site-control documentation, a conceptual site plan, project photographs, location map and driving directions, an adopted capital improvements schedule or qualifying agency plan, narratives addressing SCORP and the State Greenways and Trails System Plan, and proof of match. Depending on the project and scoring elements claimed, additional materials may include a land-managing agency support letter, service corps commitment, Florida Department of State or Florida Natural Areas Inventory verification, public participation documentation, and U.S. Forest Service or National Park Service connectivity documentation. Applications are first reviewed by DEP for eligibility and completeness under the program rule and Federal Highway Administration guidance. Missing or incomplete documentation constitutes a deficiency. Following notification, applicants have 15 working days to submit requested corrections; failure to respond within the deficiency period may make an application ineligible. Eligible applications are then scored and ranked under RTP evaluation criteria. A draft priority list is reviewed by the RTP Technical Advisory Committee, followed by state review and approval procedures. DEP ultimately submits the priority list to the Federal Highway Administration, and FHWA approval is required before State/Local agreements can be executed. Applicants are therefore advised to ensure that project descriptions, cost estimates, maps, site-control documents, and proposed improvements are internally consistent and sufficiently detailed for evaluation. The application submission period opened April 13, 2026 and closed May 28, 2026. Postal submissions had to be postmarked no later than May 28, 2026. The source does not state that this deadline automatically recurs annually or provide an announced next-cycle date, so no future deadline is inferred. Projects with an active grant agreement on the same project site under the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Recreational Trails Program, or Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program are not eligible for another RTP application for that site, including phased projects, and the same application may not be submitted in whole or in part under those programs in concurrent or overlapping cycles. The Recreational Trails Program contact phone listed in the packet is 850-245-2681; no individual program contact name or program email address is supplied.

Tab all supporting exhibits; ensure site-control legal descriptions match the boundary map, survey, conceptual site plan, and other documentation; ensure site control is effective before the submission period closes; clearly distinguish existing, proposed, and future facilities on the conceptual site plan and color code them; identify historic grant funding used for existing facilities or site acquisition; make the project description detailed enough to state dimensions, materials, quantities, and equipment use where applicable; document qualifying public participation within the past year and before the cycle closes; respond to a DEP Deficiency Report within 15 working days or the application may become ineligible; do not submit duplicate or overlapping LWCF, RTP, or FRDAP projects on the same site