On August 21, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced new grant funding totaling $2,124,200 for six all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile facilities and trails in Pennsylvania.

“Each year, thousands of avid ATV and snowmobile riding enthusiasts recreate in Pennsylvania, and the department invests in projects that improve upon and expand these types of motorized recreation opportunities across the Commonwealth," Secretary Dunn said. “This is also a friendly reminder that the fall grant round is open and that we encourage municipalities and organizations to apply before the September 30 deadline."

The investments from the All-Terrain Vehicle Management Restricted Account and Snowmobile Management Restricted Account will support planning, acquisition, construction, and maintenance of all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile trails and facilities.

The six grant recipients are:

-- Snow Shoe Rails to Trails Association was awarded $85,600 from the Management Restricted Account -- All-Terrain Vehicles, to assist with preparation of a feasibility study to examine infrastructure, maintenance, and organizational needs and to plan for the development of an all-terrain vehicle storage facility in Snow Shoe Township, Centre County. Work will include an electronic written report

-- Piney Rail Riders was awarded $937,900 from the Management Restricted Account -- All-Terrain Vehicles, to assist with the acquisition of approximately 550 acres in Piney Township, Clarion County and Brookville Borough, Jefferson County, to provide approximately 24 miles of all-terrain vehicle trail for the development of the Piney Branch All-Terrain Vehicle Rail Corridor

-- Presque Isle Snowmobile Club, Inc. was awarded $20,000 from the Management Restricted Account -- Snowmobile, to assist with the purchase of equipment to construct and maintain approximately 26 miles of snowmobile trails in Concord, Greene, Union, Wayne and Waterford townships and Corry City, Erie County

-- Lannding, LLC was awarded, $269,000 from the Management Restricted Account -- All-Terrain Vehicles, towards the purchase of equipment to construct and maintain approximately 90 miles of all-terrain vehicle trails at the Lannding All-Terrain Vehicle Park in Pine Township, Indiana County

-- Mines and Meadows LLC, was awarded $741,500 from the Management Restricted Account -- All-Terrain Vehicles, for the development of the 870 acre Mines and Meadows All-Terrain Vehicle Park in New Beaver and Wampum boroughs, Lawrence County. Work to include construction of four new comfort stations and parking spaces, rehabilitation of two campsites, ADA access, landscaping, project sign and other related site improvements

-- Pennsylvania State Snowmobile Association was awarded $70,000 from the Management Restricted Account -- Snowmobile to coordinate and fund the 2025 Snowmobile mini-grant program and the Mapgears trail mapping software program. Work will include an electronic written report.

New Grant Round Closing Sept. 30

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources can award grants two times each year to municipalities and organizations for development of publicly accessible all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile trails and facilities.

The fall All-Terrain Vehicle and Snowmobile grant round opened on August 1 and closes on September 30.

Applications will only be accepted electronically through the department's online grant application system​.

Grants are open to municipalities, nonprofit and for-profit organizations.

Proposed snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle related projects eligible for department grants include planning, land acquisition, development, rehabilitation, maintenance, purchase of equipment for maintenance and construction, and development of educational programs related to snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle trails and facilities.

No match is required for this funding; however, applications providing matching funding will be given additional consideration.

With a few limited exceptions, all snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles in Pennsylvania must have a registration issued by the department.

Statewide, Pennsylvania has nearly 32,000 active snowmobiles registered, and more than 288,000 all-terrain vehicles.

Grants are administered by The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources with funding provided from registrations.

More information about All-Terrain Vehicle and Snowmobile Grants webpage.

Visit Explore PA Trails and Get Outdoors PA for recreation areas near you.

Visit the PA Parks & Forests Foundation’s Events webpage and DCNR’s Calendar of Events for activities happening near you.

For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit DCNR’s website, Visit the Good Natured DCNR Blog,  Click Here for upcoming events, Click Here to hook up with DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

Related Articles - Recreation/Forests:

-- PennDOT Invests Over $51 Million In Multimodal Transportation Projects, Including 3 Trails; New Grant Round Opens Sept. 23  [PaEN]

-- DCNR Invests $2.1 Million In 6 ATV And Snowmobile Projects; New Grant Round Closes Sept. 30  [PaEN]

-- DCNR Grants Newsletter: Register Your PA Healthy Lands Event; New Inclusive Playgrounds; Grant Application Webinar Nov. 7

-- Register Now For Delaware Highlands Conservancy Women And Their Woods Retreat Sept. 15-18 In Wayne County, PA  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna Greenway Partnership: Winners Named In 13th Annual Photo Contest; Vote For People’s Choice Winners [PaEN]

-- Health, DCNR, DEP Highlight Lyme Disease, Tick Bite Prevention Best Practices At Memorial Lake State Park, Dauphin County

-- Dept. Of General Services Unveils Final Joint Laboratory Plans For Former Harrisburg State Hospital Property

NewsClips:

-- TribLive: 2024 Fall Foliage Forecast Impacted By Record Heat In Western PA

-- Republican Herald: Smokey Bear Celebrates 80th Birthday In Minersville

-- TribLive: RiverLife Has Been Caring For Pittsburgh’s Waterways For 25 Years

-- TribLive: Officials Paddle For The Future Of The Allegheny River: ‘Up Close And Personal’

-- TribLive: Kayakers Take On Ohiopyle’s Renowned Rapids - Upstream

-- TribLive: Burrell Lake Park Scout Project ‘The Perfect Project At The Perfect Time’

-- PA Environmental Council Blog: Water Trail News - Ohio River Basin - By Tali MacArthur, Watershed Outreach Manager

-- Williamsport Sun: Lycoming Composite Mountain Bike Team Hosting Statewide Race Sept. 7-8

-- Inquirer: How The I-95 Cap Project Will Reconnect Philadelphians To The Delaware Waterfront

-- Reminder: Delaware Highlands Conservancy Accepting Entries For Summer Photo Contest Until Aug. 31

-- York Daily Record: PA Being Invaded By New Tick Species: How To Protect Yourself

-- WESA: Philadelphia Area Sees Uptick In Dengue Fever Cases From Travelers

-- PennLive: $450 Million State Labs Complex To Be Built On Former Harrisburg State Hospital Grounds [Agriculture, DCNR, DEP, Health, State Police]

[Posted: August 21, 2024]

8/26/2024