NORTHAMPTON — Recreational trail projects throughout the Pioneer Valley have won grant money from the Recreational Trails Program, a federal assistance program run through the state.
The program’s budget in the state was increased by more than half this year to $1.8 million. The grant money, which comes from the fuel excise tax for off-road vehicles like snowmobiles and ATVs, is provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and its distribution is coordinated by the state’s DOT.
Recipient programs are required to provide a minimum of 20 percent in funding or in-kind services. The Recreational Trails Program is a reimbursement program, meaning grantees have to cover expenditures themselves and then submit for reimbursement.
Northampton won a $50,000 grant on a $50,000 match to improve and extend the Mass Central Rail Trail, stretching from the city’s west to the Williamsburg town line. The funds will pay for improvements to less than a third of a mile of the trail toward the Williamsburg line. The city will look for further outside funding to complete that last section of trail, according to the mayor’s office.
“This is one of the most beautiful sections of rail trail in Northampton, with great views of the Mill River,” Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz said in the statement. “The project is done in coordination with Williamsburg’s trail improvements on their side of the town line.”
Williamsburg will receive a $47,250 grant on a $57,612 match to finish improvements on the Mass Central Rail Trail.
The town of South Hadley is also receiving $50,000 in grant money on a $39,410 match to finish a critical section of the River to Range Accessible Trail, providing access to and views of the Connecticut River and Bachelor Brook.
In Belchertown, the Mill Valley Snowmobile Club is receiving $15,157 in grant money on a $3,789 match to upgrade their groomer fleet, and to improve trails for that fleet to groom by removing rocks, stumps and roots.
Other snowmobile clubs are also getting money under the program.
The Chesterfield Four Seasons Club is receiving $5,221 in grant money on a $1,450 match to improve a major snowmobile corridor, allowing for easier equestrian and recreational use of the trail. Ware’s Savoy Kanary Kats Snowmobile Club has been awarded a $166,386 grant on a $41,597 match to replace their snowmobile trail groomer, and for grooming throughout the town’s snowmobile trail system. And the Worthington Snowmobile Club is getting $22,499 in grant money on a $4,500 match for grooming equipment replacements.
The Kestrel Land Trust is receiving $50,000 on a $24,102 match to install new signs at trailheads and selected trail junctions throughout both the Mount Holyoke Range park system and Mount Tom State Reservation.
“It’ll be helpful; it’s a much-needed project,” Kat Deely, community conservation manager at the Kestrel Land Trust, told the Gazette on Wednesday.
Deely said winning the money was by no means certain; last year, the organization applied for a Recreational Trails Program grant for a different project and was denied. This year’s project, she said, will be invaluable for anyone using the trails, many of which are unmarked.
“It’s real easy to get turned around up there. There’s not a lot of signs,” Deely said.
Hatfield’s Open Space Committee is constructing a 1.5-mile hiking trail that will ascend 7,900 feet for a panoramic, eastern-facing view of the river valley. The trail project won $32,094 in grant funds on a $8,468 match and is billed as the first in the area to provide safe access to West Hatfield’s steeper ridges.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation in Northampton got $47,871 on a $12,740 match for education, and $130,244 in grant money on a $31,790 match for administering the Recreational Trails Program.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.