 The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) has released its 2022 Policy and Planning Report. The report, due to the Legislative Legacy Committees by January 15 each year, includes a review of the Legacy grant recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2024 funding cycle, the criteria and selection process used, an overview of Greater Minnesota's regional system development, and milestone achievements for the calendar year.
The Commission received 17 eligible funding applications and recommend $11,398,765 in awards to 14 applicants. The year was very productive including (3) three additional mountain bike trail system usage surveys, (7) seven campground visitor satisfaction and occupancy surveys, the completion of the Mountain Bike Trail Development Guidelines, (7) seven new designated facilities, and a special grant cycle for track wheel chairs. The full report is available for download here.  The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC), in conjunction with the Southwest Regional Development Commission (SRDC) has released campground use studies for (7) seven regionally significant parks in southern Minnesota. The studies are part of an ongoing effort of the GMRPTC to make the best decisions based on the best recreational data. As outdoor recreation continues to grow, the importance of having the most current information regarding the recreational desires of the people becomes critical. In the reports, you will find detailed information regarding camper recreational experiences, characteristics, demographics, and their economic impact. We would like thank our partners at the SRDC, especially the report authors Rosemary Bruce-White and Jessica Welu; as well as Justin Schroyer. If you have questions or comments, please contact us: Renee Mattson – Executive Director Joe Czapiewski – System Plan Coordinator Renee.Mattson@gmrptcommission.org coordinator@gmrptcommission.org Garvin Park Report Hole in the Mountain Park Report Lake Washington Park Report Memorial Park Report Plum Creek Park Report Ramsey Park Report Twin Lakes Park Report  The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announces grant funding opportunities for park and trail projects across Minnesota. Applications are now being accepted for the following grant programs: outdoor recreation, natural and scenic area, regional trail, local trail connections and federal recreational trails.
These grants help local governments throughout the state create partnerships with the DNR to fund projects ranging from local parks, regional trails to trail connections. Eligibility requirements, deadlines, contact information and other details can be found on the DNR Web site at mndnr.gov or on the following program links: Outdoor Recreation Grant Program Natural and Scenic Area Program Federal Recreational Trail Program Regional Trail Grant Program Local Trail Connections Grant Program  The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission coordinated a survey of three mountain bike systems in Greater Minnesota during the summer of 2022. The Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota was hired to conduct a visitor intercept survey and trail user counts at the Lake County Split Rock Wilds, Winona Bluffs Traverse, and Tioga Recreation Area mountain bike areas. These three systems were chosen for their distinctly different terrain, geographic location within the Greater Minnesota System and the diversity of visitor profiles to their area. The information gathered in the research will help inform planning and marketing efforts by the GMRPTC and our collaborative partners. Additionally, the information provides guidance for future trail expansions and development of new systems. In this report you will find detailed information about the user counts and the visitor profiles for each system. The report begins with a trail count summary that provides a starting point to understand the unique differences and the similarities of the average daily traffic. We’d like to thank our friends at the Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota, Andrew Oftedal, Research and Policy Manager, who led the effort, compiled the data, wrote the reports and spent time at each of the locations to ensure the counts and surveys were of the highest accuracy and Executive Director Brett Feldman, who filled many survey shifts and found grant funding to keep the project on budget. It was a pleasure working with them! If you have questions or comments, please contact us: Renee Mattson – Executive Director Joe Czapiewski – System Plan Coordinator Renee.Mattson@gmrptcommission.org coordinator@gmrptcommission.org 2022 Mountain Biking Count Summary Lake County Split Rock Wilds Topline Report Lake County Split Rock Wilds Visitor Profile 2022 Winona Bluffs Traverse Topline Report Winona Bluffs Traverse Visitor Profile 2022 Tioga Recreation Topline Report Tioga Recreation Visitor Profile 2022  above photo Lake County Split Rock Wilds, top photo Winona Bluffs Traverse
 Legacy Fund grants to enhance 14 regional parks and trails in Greater Minnesota
Minnesotans from the Northwest Angle to Olmsted County and many places in between will soon benefit from nearly $11.4 million in enhancements to 14 regional parks and trails. Each year, the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) reviews applications for upgrades to designated parks and trails across the state, then forwards its recommendation to the Minnesota Legislature for approval through the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund. The Legislature has annually approved GMRPTC requests, since Legacy Funds are part of the 2008 Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment and may only be spent to support parks and trails of regional or statewide significance. “We were impressed with the many thoughtful and creative approaches we reviewed for broadening Minnesotans’ enjoyment of their beautiful parks and trails, which is why we’re recommending fully funding each of the 14 selected requests,” said GMRPTC Executive Director Renee Mattson. Since its creation in 2014, the GMRPTC has awarded more than $72 million in grants to 109 projects in the state’s 74 designated parks and trails. Combined with $25.6 million in community matches to date, grants are used to fund infrastructure improvements, land acquisitions, new facilities, trail rehabilitation, connecting people with the outdoors and more. The 14 parks and trails recommended for $11,398,765 in Fiscal Year 2024 funding are below. District numbers in the grid refer to these geographic areas of Minnesota: 1-Northeast; 2-Northwest; 3-West Central; 4-East Central; 5-Southwest; 6-Southeast. Grant Recipient – Award Amount – District District 1 Cook County Mountain Bike Trail System – $400,000 Duluth Waabizheshikana/Marten Trail – $1,493,434 Mesabi Trail – $750,000 District 2 Northerly Park-Northwest Angle – $70,000 District 3 Detroit Lakes Detroit Mountain Recreation Area – $1,325,941 Otter Tail County Phelps Mill County Park – $366,000 District 4 Benton County Great River Park Complex – $797,555 Isanti County Springvale County Park – $336,800 Stearns County Kraemer Lake-Wildwood County Park – $1,175,846 Stearns County Quarry Park & Nature Preserve – $170,250 District 5 Redwood County Plum Creek Park – $818,539 Sibley County Henderson Scenic Byway Regional Trail – $1,394,400 District 6 Austin Jay C. Hormel Nature Center – $250,000 Olmsted County Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo – $2,050,000 “Legacy Funding is a far-reaching gift that Minnesotans had the foresight to create to enhance their enjoyment of the outdoors,” said Mattson. “Without Legacy dollars, many of these projects simply would not happen or would take many years before coming to fruition.” The GMRPTC provides recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature for grants to parks and trails of regional significance in the 80 counties outside the seven-county metropolitan area. For additional information: Renee Mattson, Executive Director of the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission, at 218-310-2627 or renee.mattson@gmrptcommission.org. The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission is looking to fill vacancies as well as to appoint or reappoint directors for open seats in each of the six districts. District 5 and District 6 currently have vacancies due to early resignations and by a move out of the district.
Anyone interested in serving on the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Council may apply on the Secretary of State website, Boards and Commissions link: https://commissionsandappointments.sos.state.mn.us/Position/Index/1. 
At the conclusion of the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) CPO Small Grant Fund application and awards for 2022 there remains a balance of $14,280 in the CPO fund.
The Commission has made the fund balance available for designated Greater Minnesota facilities to apply for a grant specifically for a track wheelchair. A successful applicant must demonstrate the ability to store the chair in an enclosed facility, agree to perform maintenance on the chair as recommended by the manufacturer and make the chair available for loan to other designated facilities to test for a period of two years. (Not to exceed 45 days per year, transportation to and from the loaning facility is the responsibility of the testing facility) A successful applicant must also agree the chair is made available for use at no cost to users. This project is intended to serve as a prototype, thus the necessity of loaning the chair to other facilities. Liability release waivers for use of the chair are the responsibility of the grantee. The Commission has worked with Action Manufacturing/Midwest Trackchair to provide a discounted price for the chair, $14,780 + tax, making the purchase more affordable. The chair will come equipped with the most requested options; attendant control, attendant control relocation mount, cup holder and rod holder. Project costs beyond the available grant funds are the responsibility of the applicant and must be detailed in the application. Applicants must complete the application and submit by December 9, 2022
 In June 2020 the Parks and Trails Legacy Partners embarked on a two-year research project to count visitors to the three system’s parks and trails. Coordination Among Partners funds have paid for this research project for the benefit of all. A data scientist was hired and is housed at the Metropolitan Council offices, working with support of their research team.
The scope of the project is to conduct a statewide analysis of parks and trails visitation, which for Greater Minnesota includes not only designated parks, but parks ranked “eligible for designation” as well. The data used for the research has come from StreetLight Data, Inc., a company that aggregates vast amounts of anonymized data gathered from cell phones to algorithmically transform the inputs into contextualized, aggregated and normalized travel patterns. In plain speaking, they can deliver insight into how vehicles, bikes, pedestrians and transit passengers move on virtually every road and in every Census Block. This information provides the data scientists with ways to count visitors to our system parks and trails. Information that in many parks and trails in Greater Minnesota, we simply do not have. While the date shows as May 13, 2022, the information has been updated as StreetLight Data has advanced with a recent algorithm update. Please know that the system park information study is complete, but trail research is still underway and will be released in the first quarter of 2023. We invite you to review the report, check park visitation for your park or against other parks in the Greater Minnesota system or our partner agencies; Metropolitan Council Regional Parks and DNR State Parks. American Trails, a 501c(3) non-profit organization, in conjunction with the Eastern Region (Region 9) of the USDA Forest Service (NF), is holding a series of meetings regarding the Forest Service's 10-Year Trail Shared Stewardship Challenge (Trail Challenge). The meetings will be a discussion of how we can collectively elevate the sustainability and experience of the NF trail systems. To that end, meetings have scheduled. Participants will include valued existing and potential new partners identified by the NF, staff from the Eastern Region and local forests, and the American Trails Team. The purpose of the meetings are to:
Meetings for the US National Forests in Minnesota will be:
Please send a message to Candace Gallagher with American Trails to let her know you will attend the meeting and what organization, municipality, or agency you represent by July 13th. The meeting will also feature a few partner organizations to give a brief 5-minute overview of a recent partnership success. Hopefully, these presentations will stimulate conversations and ideas about future possibilities. To let you know a little bit more about these meetings and the 10-Year Trail Shared Stewardship Challenge, the following information is provided:
These meetings are being held for all Eastern Region forests. If your organization works in more than one forest, you do not need to attend multiple meetings (unless you would like to).
Only one week remains until the return of the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission District Workshops! Don' t forget to register for the one you plan to attend - it helps us prepare for each stop. Registration Link: https://www.gmrptcommission.org/2022-district-workshops.html
Monday, April 25, 1:00 – 3:00PM District 5 (Southwest) @ Springfield Community Center, Springfield Monday, May 2, 1:00 – 3:00PM, District 2 (Northwest) @ Northland Regional Sports Park, Bemidji Tuesday, May 3, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, District 1 (Northeast) @ Mesabi Station, Eveleth With ZOOM online attendance option Wednesday, May 4, 10:30AM – 12:30PM, District 3 (West Central) @ Kensington Rune Stone Park Wednesday, May 11, 1:00 – 3:00PM, District 6 (Southeast) @ Quarry Hill Park, Rochester Thursday, May 12, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, District 4 (Central) @ Sherburne History Center, Becker We look forward to seeing you there! 
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