Panel weighs nonmotorized trail fee to close funding gap as visitation rises

Deputy Director Chris Floyd and Trails Program Manager Forrest Kuminga told the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources interim committee on June 5 that demand for nonmotorized trail funding in Wyoming far exceeds available sources and that the state should consider a user‑fee model similar to its motorized decal program. "We have more requests for nonmotorized trails than any other type of request," Floyd said, and noted the federal Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provides only a little more than $400,000 a year statewide for nonmotorized projects.

The nut graf: The agency presented a menu of options — a mandatory or voluntary pass for mechanical nonmotorized users (for example, class 1 e‑bikes treated as nonmotorized, class 2/3 as motorized), resident/nonresident pricing, enrollment of federal and private trails into a state program, and use of the proposed Outdoor Recreation Tourism Trust Fund — to raise funds for construction, maintenance, enforcement and visitor…