Division seeks funding for education specialist, children's grant and $1.3M regional trail crew

Director Jason Curry presented the Division of Outdoor Recreation's priorities in Governor Cox's budget recommendations. The division requested funding for three priorities: an outdoor recreation education specialist (proposed $50,000 from the OHV restricted account and $50,000 from the boating restricted account), a Utah Children's Outdoor Recreation and Education Grant (UCOR) seeking $200,000 from the Outdoor Adventure Infrastructure restricted account, and a regional trail crew program with a $1.3 million request (proposed split: $400,000 from the OHV account and $900,000 from the infrastructure account).

Curry said the education specialist would restore in-house training and hands-on operator courses for youth and adult OHV safety and support initiatives like Every Kid Outdoors. He described the UCOR grant as a program that previously awarded $100,000 (in 2019) but drew more than $600,000 in requests; the division is requesting $200,000 to expand the program and to provide scholarships and gear to low-income families.

On the trail crew request, Curry said the state faces a multi-million-dollar trail maintenance backlog (he referenced an early Forest Service estimate of about $49 million) and described the proposal as a train‑the‑trainer model with 5 full-time employees, about 24 seasonal employees, and equipment and vehicle needs. The division emphasized these are restricted-account funds that require legislative authorization to spend in the proposed ways and that the requests are meant to address public-safety and maintenance deficits across motorized and non-motorized trails.