Pennsylvania Water Trails Program

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) works in partnership with the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the National Park Service to direct the Pennsylvania Water Trails Program. With 28 designated trails established across the Commonwealth, the program brings technical assistance and executive oversight to the diverse network.

The top partnership goals include:

• Creating recreational opportunities for all Pennsylvanians on Water Trails
• Developing trails that support sustainable use of natural resources
• Increasing and improving physical and psychological access to Pennsylvania Water Trails for all
• Connecting water trails to land trails

The program has 8 guiding principles, but the safety of water trail users is paramount and serves as a foundational element of everything else program partners and managers implement and prioritize.

This mini grant's purpose is to assist in restoring safe access conditions on a designated water in a timely manner. 

A grant of $2000 is available for a project that can quickly and efficiently address an ‘urgent’ issue on a designated water trail that is causing, or could reasonably be expected to cause, an unsafe or dangerous situation for those wishing to access the river for recreation or enjoyment.

Grant must be matched 1:1 within a reasonable amount of time with cash or in-kind services related to the issue/solution.

Additional Information

The pilot project is an approach to providing funding for urgent, unforeseen situations on designated water trails that impede or impair access, create unsafe conditions/ safety concerns for paddlers or others who want to access the water trail, affect safe ingress/egress from the water trail, etc.

Such situations could include, but are not limited to,

· Storm induced scouring, flooding, debris impoundments that severely impact navigation.

· Fallen trees or other large obstructions caused by a storm or other event that will prohibit or severely impact an imminent sojourn, paddle fest, race, etc. 

· A situation where there is a major in-water litter/trash issue immediately prior to a planned community event, paddle, race, etc.

· A situation in which an access improvement/ enhancement project was funded and is almost complete, but an unforeseen event or situation threatens to prevent the project from being completed without a small infusion of extra funding.

· The destruction of a safety or wayfinding sign at an access point, if the sign was critical to orienting paddlers or providing critical information about a river hazard, portage, dam, 

In short, the situation must be caused by an “unanticipated” event, or one that could not be reasonably planned for. A known on-going situation that was simply not addressed in time would not qualify. This funding should be viewed as a “last resort.” 

If the applicant is not the Water Trail Manager, applicant must contact the Water Trail Manager before applying to this funding. Additional, all applicants must contact one of the Water Trail Program Partners at PEC, DCNR or PFBC prior to applying.

 
Questions:

• For content questions about this application, contact Tali MacArthur (tmacarthur@pecpa.org) or (570) 285-8013.
• For technical questions regarding completion of this application, contact support@submittable.com Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. with limited availability on the weekends. 

Completing the Application: It is possible to complete the application during multiple sessions. Be sure to save as you go and before you end any session. Please answer all questions, complete the budget worksheet, and upload necessary documents before your final submission.   

Note: Applications for this mini grant award will be accepted on a rolling basis until September 30, 2024. The award(s) will be made based on the urgency of the situation and at the discretion of the review committee. There are only $2000 available in total for this min-grant.