By Zach Farmer
On Feb. 27, 2025, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced S. 811, the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) Full Funding Act. This legislation aims to correct inadequate annual funding for this program, increasing it from $84 million to $281 million.
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) helped create the Recreational Trails Program in the early 1990s. This program uses federal gasoline tax revenue attributed to motorized off-highway recreational vehicles to fund, develop and maintain trail infrastructure across the United States. As of 2023, the program has awarded over $1.6 billion to over 25,000 trail projects across the United States during the three decades of the program, even though off-highway vehicle enthusiasts have paid nearly $9 billion in gas tax during the same period.
AMA members will remember this legislation was introduced in December of last year. That “marker bill” provided an opportunity for members of Congress and stakeholders to review the bill language, gather support, and create a strategy for passage under the new administration. The AMA and trail enthusiasts in Washington, D.C. are working to ensure this program continues at the appropriate funding level.
“The Recreational Trails Program is incredibly important for the growth and development of off-highway motorized recreation in our country. It is vital that the fuel tax revenue generated from off-highway vehicle enthusiasts be returned in the form of RTP funds for trail maintenance and development,” said AMA Washington Representative Zach Farmer. “This legislation ensures RTP will continue for years to come and provide the opportunity for off-highway vehicle enthusiasts to support the nation’s trail infrastructure.”
Funding for the Recreational Trails Program follows the “user-pay, user-benefit” principle upon which the Highway Trust Fund was originally based. RTP has only been funded at $84 million annually since Fiscal Year 2009 despite a much greater amount of tax revenue being attributable to off-highway vehicles. In 2020, Congress required the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to provide a report, which found taxes on off-highway use of recreational vehicles are on average $281 million per year. The RTP Full Funding Act seeks to ensure federal taxes collected from off-highway recreation are appropriately returned to the states for the Recreational Trails Program.
The American Motorcyclist Association with the Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT) endorse S. 811, the RTP Full Funding Act. The AMA will continue to support RTP funding and trail projects that promote the motorcycle lifestyle and motorcyclist interests. This legislation is an important step in the right direction to ensure future generations of motorcyclists have access to off-highway recreation.
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