{"id":7057,"date":"2025-02-20T21:05:29","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T21:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nhrtc.org\/?p=7057"},"modified":"2025-02-24T21:18:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T21:18:34","slug":"committee-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nhrtc.org\/nhrtc-core\/committee-update\/","title":{"rendered":"STAC, OHRV Study Commission Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

NHRTC has a seat on both the Statewide Trails Advisory Committee<\/span><\/a> (STAC) and the OHRV Study Commission<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

STAC exists for the purpose of advising the Director of Parks and Recreation on matters related to the New Hampshire statewide trail system.<\/p>\n

The OHRV Study Commission was established in 2022 to study OHRV use in NH and requires the commission to submit annual reports and proposed legislation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Highlights from the February 19, 2025 STAC meeting:<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1) Director of Parks, Brian Wilson, spoke in support of SB 274<\/b> – our trail funding bill. At legislative hearings, DNCR\u2019s policy is to be neutral, but apparently those constraints don\u2019t apply to STAC meeting. Director Wilson described the bill as a big deal and an important step that the bill was written given a full hearing, event though this particular budget cycle is not ideal. He called rail trails the unfunded component of the park system and, referencing the 2022 DOT Rail Trails Plan funding analysis, concluded that user fees are not the answer to mixed-use rail trails – general funds are. He described the 21 mile Conway branch<\/span><\/a>, from Ossipee to Conway as NH\u2019s 94th state park, and that the active mixed use would bring big economic benefit to the area.<\/p>\n

2) DOT\u2019s update: \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n