The Division of Outdoor Recreation reported to the OHV Advisory Council on Aug. 6 that for fiscal year 2025 it received requests totaling about $5.1 million and awarded roughly $4.4 million, with total on-the-ground project value including matching funds above $6 million.

Why it matters: The division said demand routinely exceeds available state funding and that staff have asked the governor for a building-block increase to expand annual allocations and get more projects on the ground.

Rachel Toker presented a multi-year summary, saying the program received more than $33 million in requests across six fiscal years and has put about $22.9 million in state awards on the ground, which with matches totals roughly $36 million in projects since 2020. "Last year, we requested net amounts was 5,100,000.0, and we awarded 4,400,000.0," Toker said.

Toker said the division submitted a governor request to increase annual base funding from about $3.5 million to $6.0 million. "What we're hoping is that we always see demand for over $6,000,000 in funding, so that we can really get that money on the ground," she said. The division said it made awards in all 29 counties in the state in the recent cycle and that trail work accounted for the largest share of awards; Cache County received the largest single-county funding total in the most recent year.

Council members asked for more asset-level reporting. BLM representative Dave Jacobson asked whether the division could report miles of trail improved, trailheads constructed and equipment purchased so the public could see outputs. Toker and staff said the Salesforce intake system stores those project-level fields and they are building an asset map and searchable reporting; Jorge (motorized recreation grant analyst) and others were identified to assist with pulling historic data for a public story map.

No council action was taken; staff said any change in base funding would follow the governor and legislative process.