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Budget panel asks DNR for trail cost breakdown during forestry funding discussion
Summary
After a Department of Natural Resources presentation, Sen. Chris Garten asked the agency to explain why the per-mile cost of natural-surface trails appears higher than paving I‑65; DNR’s Chris Smith said he will provide a cost breakdown.
Chairman Jeff Thompson called the State Budget Committee to order Oct. 17 and the panel heard a presentation from the Department of Natural Resources on forestry and trail management.
Sen. Chris Garten questioned the cost estimates for trail work, saying they appeared higher than the cost to pave a mile of I‑65. Chris Smith of the Department of Natural Resources replied that the trails under discussion are natural-surface trails rather than paved roads and said he would research and provide the committee with a detailed cost breakdown to explain the apparent difference.
Smith described the Division of Forestry’s work as covering timber harvesting, restoration and timber stand improvement across approximately 5,000 acres and noted the agency manages roughly 160,000 acres of forest and more than 500 miles of recreational trails. Garten pressed for comparative figures to better evaluate scalability and unit costs; Smith agreed to follow up with a breakdown.
The committee did not record a vote on the forestry funding request in the minutes; the exchange was a committee clarification during the agency presentation. The staff follow-up requested by Sen. Garten is the committee’s next procedural step on this item.
