Help IMBA Save Important Trails Program
Action Alert
For Immediate Release
05-14-06
Contact: Jenn Dice
303-545-9011
An important trails program, the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA), is facing significant funding cuts in next year's federal budget. RTCA supports 300 projects around the country each year, helping create nearly 700 miles of trail and preserving more than 61,000 acres of open space. IMBA and RTCA have had a partnership since 2001. RTCA is very supportive of mountain biking and partnered specifically with IMBA on eight projects in 2005 in Alaska, Maine, Tennessee and Vermont.
To help save RTCA, IMBA is requesting that Congress appropriate $10.1 million in their Interior Appropriations bill. This amount will restore RTCA's effectiveness by compensating for several years of flat and decreased funding. We're very close to gaining the necessary support for this proposal, but your help is needed to ensure Congress approves the $10.1 million budget.
Ask Your Senator to Sign on to the "Dear Colleague" Letter to Save RTCA
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) are circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter, an internal Senate petition to show support for funding RTCA at $10.1 million. IMBA is trying to get as many senators as possible to sign the letter by the end of the week - time is critical. We need at least 30 senators to have a chance to restore funding.
Times are tight for the federal budget, but we're only asking for $2.4 million - a drop in the bucket compared to other programs.
Better yet, RTCA is an incredibly efficient program with a much greater impact than its current budget would suggest. It leverages an additional $50 million annually from local communities to improve their trail and conservation systems.
Communities depend on RTCA staff to continue to facilitate hundreds of programs and the proposed budget cuts would stop dozens of projects and lead to serious job losses. By calling your U.S. Senator, we can save RTCA and the valuable trails work it makes possible.
How to Help
To call your two U.S. Senators, use the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
A complete list of Senators by state is provided at the end of this alert.
What to Say
- Ask for the congressional staffer that works on public lands issues or on the Interior Appropriations Bill.
- Tell them who you are, your address, phone number and if you work with an affiliated bike club or trails organization. Leave a message if you get voice mail.
- Thank them for their time and tell them you are calling about increasing the budget for a program of the National Park Service called Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance.
- Ask them to sign the "Dear Colleague" letter being circulated by Senators Levin (D-MI) and Collins (R-ME) to restore RTCA's funding to $10.1 million in the Interior Appropriations bill
- Site specific trail projects that RTCA works on in your state. Click here (1MB pdf file) to review a list of 2006 project examples to use from your state.
- Tell them this program has remained flat funded for several years, was cut by $200,000 last year and another cut will mean many more community trails projects won't get their assistance.
- Personalize your message. If you are familiar with some of the RTCA projects in your state, let the staffer know what they mean to you and why trails are important to your areas.
IMBA Calls on U.S. Reps, Clubs, all Mountain Bikers in Key States
If you live in one of these key states, your senator's approval is even more important. We need to work fast to get them to sign onto the Dear Colleague letter.
Alaska
California
Colorado
Idaho
Maryland
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
New Hampshire
North Dakota
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Follow Up
If you get exceptionally positive feedback from an congressional
staffer, send a report of your call to IMBA's Government Affairs
Director Jenn Dice (
) and she will follow up to get their
formal signature approval.
U.S. Senators by State
| Alaska: | List Murkowski, Ted Stevens |
| Alabama: | Jeff Sessions, Richard Shelby |
| Arkansas: | Lincoln Blanche, Mark Pryor |
| Arizona: | Jon Kyl, John McCain |
| California: | Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein |
| Colorado: | Wayne Allard, Ken Salazar |
| Connecticut: | Christopher Dodd, Joe Lieberman |
| Delaware: | Joseph Biden, Thomas Carper |
| Florida: | Mel Martinez, Bill Nelson |
| Georgia: | Saxby Chambliss, Johnny Isakson |
| Hawaii: | Daniel Akaka, Daniel Inouye |
| Iowa: | Chuck Grassley, Tom Harkin |
| Idaho: | Larry Craig, Mike Crapo |
| Illinois: | Richard Durbin, Barack Obama |
| Indiana: | Evan Bayh, Richard Lugar |
| Kansas: | Sam Brownback, Pat Roberts |
| Kentucky: | Jim Bunning, Mitch McConnell |
| Louisiana: | Mary Landrieu, David Vitter |
| Massachusetts: | Edward Kennedy, John Kerry |
| Maryland: | Barbara Mikulski, Paul Sarbanes |
| Maine: | Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe |
| Michigan: | Carl Levin, Debbie Stabenow |
| Minnesota: | Norm Coleman, Mark Dayton |
| Missouri: | Christopher Bond, James Talent |
| Mississippi: | Thad Cochran, Trent Lott |
| Montana: | Max Baucus, Conrad Burns |
| North Carolina: | Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole |
| North Dakota: | Kent Conrad, Byron Dorgan |
| Nebraska: | Chuck Hagel, Benjamin Nelson |
| New Hampshire: | Judd Gregg, John Sununu |
| New Jersey: | Frank Lautenberg, Robert Menendez |
| New Mexico: | Jeff Bingamin, Pete Domenici |
| Nevada: | John Ensign, Harry Reid |
| New York: | Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles Schumer |
| Ohio: | Mike Dewine, George Voinovich |
| Oklahoma: | Tom Coburn, James Inhofe |
| Oregon: | Gordon Smith, Ron Wyden |
| Pennsylvania: | Rick Santorum, Arlen Specter |
| Rhode Island: | Lincoln Chafee, Jack Reed |
| South Carolina: | Jim DeMint, Lindsey Graham |
| South Dakota: | Tim Johnson, John Thune |
| Tennessee: | Lamar Alexander, Bill Frist |
| Texas: | John Cornyn, Kay Bailey Hutchinson |
| Utah: | Robert Bennett, Orrin Hatch |
| Virginia: | George Allen, John Warner |
| Vermont: | James Jeffords, Patrick Leahy |
| Washington: | Maria Cantwell, Patty Murray |
| Wisconsin: | Russell Feingold, Herb Kohl |
| West Virginia: | Robert C. Byrd, John D. Rockefeller IV |
| Wyoming: | Michael Enzi, Craig Thomas |
