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Planning Florida's system of greenways and trails has been a complex effort involving the participation of
numerous organizations over many years. The evolution of the current programs and the context for this study
are described in detail in Connecting Florida's Communities with Greenways and Trails: The Five Year
Implementation Plan for the Florida Greenways and Trails System (DEP and FGCC 1998). That greenways plan
was accompanied by a map series showing potential recreational trails ("Trail Opportunity Maps") derived from
University of Florida GIS
model results and public comments. The routes shown on those maps are Hiking Trail Opportunities, Off-Road
Bicycling Trail Opportunities, Equestrian Trail Opportunities, Multi-Use Trail Opportunities, and Paddling
Trail Opportunities.
Updates to the Trail Opportunity Maps are planned for every 4-5 years. Before the first update to the
Opportunity Maps (which took place in 2004), this website was created to facilitate the map update and gather
public input.
During the 2004 update of the Trails Opportunity Maps, Equestrian and Off-Road Bicycling were combined with
Multi-Use Trail Opportunities. Hiking and Paddling Opportunities remained as stand alone maps.
The Office of Greenways & Trails, with help from the UF GeoPlan Center, is again updating and prioritizing
the Recreational Trails Opportunity Maps. These maps will guide the development of the Florida Statewide
Greenways & Trails System and determine eligibility for funding under the
Office of Greenways and Trails Land Acquisition Program.
This website is being used to update the Multi-use trail and Paddling trail Opportunity Maps, and to collect public comment about
the maps. The hiking map will be
updated by conforming it to the planning corridor for the congressionally designated Florida National Scenic Trail.
Accurate and thorough mapping of existing trails and trail opportunities is an important task, because the
Office of Greenways and Trails uses them in the evaluation of applications for aquisition of trail corridors.
Consequently, this website was expanded in January 2005 to support
and facilitate the continuous collection and update of trails data.
This website can serve as a centralized place for the exchange of the most recent trails information. Website
users can view existing trails maps, download the latest existing trails and trailheads maps as GIS layers,
and submit trails information interactively using the Trails Digitize/ Input Map Utility.
This website is also being used to collect information about Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funded projects.
The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is a federally funded competitive grant program that provides financial
assistance to agencies of city, county, state or federal governments, and organizations, approved by the State,
or state and federally recognized Indian tribal governments, for the development of recreational trails, trailheads
and trailside facilities. RTP is administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in
coordination with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
For more information on the Recreational Trails Program, please see the RTP Fact Sheet or see the DEP's
Office of Greenways & Trails website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/grants/
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