2 Introduction and Background

2.1 Introduction

The Duchesne County Trails Master Plan (DCTMP) was funded in October 2018 by a grant from the Federal Highway Administration Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) through the Utah Joint Highway Committee as recommended by the Small Urban and Non-Urban technical subcommittee through a funding application from the Duchesne County Special Service District #2 (DCSSD2). As part of the funding, the DCSSD2 provided local funding. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) administers and oversees federal projects funded through the Joint Highway Committee including the TAP projects. The team of Sunrise Engineering and CIVCO Engineering was contracted by UDOT in March of 2019 to complete the DCTMP with an anticipated completion date of April 2020. This chapter includes the organization, background on the master plan and trails development in Duchesne County and sets forth definitions that will be utilized throughout this report.

2.1.1 Project Partners and Stakeholders

The guiding organization of the DCTMP is defined by two levels, Project Partners and Project Stakeholders.

Project Partners for the DCTMP include:

UDOT - represented by Larry Montoya as the Project Manager

DCSSD2 – represented by Roger Ames, Board Chair

The project partners administer the project funding and provide direction to the project team regarding the project organization, priorities, reviews and outcome.

In addition to the project manager, multiple UDOT and Duchesne County staff have also been involved in the project development, information gathering and by providing information regarding preferences and other similar project details.

In addition to the input provided by the DCSSD#2 board, presentations were made to the DCSSD#2 board monthly and information sought through those board meetings, work meetings and outside those meetings.

Project Stakeholders consisted of representatives of different groups throughout the county including federal agencies, state agencies, user groups and others as mentioned below. The project stakeholders provided a variety of input into the process, inventory, priorities, and development of the DCTMP depending on their interests related to the plan. A list of existing and potential stakeholders was identified in coordination with the DCSSD#2, Duchesne County Planning, and UDOT. Individuals on that list were invited to an initial kickoff meeting in April of 2019. There were approximately 30 people that attended that meeting representing groups ranging from public lands management to local government officials and user group representatives. Those that did not share their priorities during the kickoff meeting were contacted individually after the meeting to identify the priorities of all stakeholders within the county. The different stakeholders include: