How are award selections made?
Funding is made available through a competitive grant round. The Department of Conservation and Recreation announces an open grant round with a project application deadline. Preliminary Applications received by the deadline are reviewed for eligibility and then forwarded to the Virginia Recreational Trail Advisory Committee. The committee is made up of government representatives and active trail users. The committee reviews, comments on and scores applications based on published scoring criteria. It then makes recommendations on which projects should advance to the second phase of the competition. Second Phase applicants who submit a complete PDESA by the announced deadline compete for funding based on published scoring criteria, environmental impact, project readiness, previous grant performance and geographic distribution. Projects meeting these criteria are presented to the Board of Conservation and Recreation, which recommends projects for submission to the Federal Highway Administ
