The Sam Houston Trails Coalition (Coalition) is party to a Master Cost Share Agreement with the USDA, Forest Service The National Forests and Grasslands in Texas dated 12/22/22. Under said Agreement, The Coalition is granted the ability to apply for and manage grants to support management and maintenance of existing trails and new projects associated with meeting trail management objectives.

Project requests that require the expenditure of funds from any source shall follow this process.  

A SHTC Project Request Form must be submitted to the SHTC Board of Directors for consideration through the respective elemental Board Member or the President.    

All projects will require advance approval by the Coalition Board and the Forest Service, along with a project code that is assigned by the Coalition Treasurer.  

PROCESS:

1. Workday leader or representative completes the PROJECT REQUISITION FORM

2. Completed form is emailed to SHTC President, Treasurer, and Element Director for approval President@samhoustontrails.com, Treasurer@samhoustontrails.com, Cycling@samhoustontrails.com, Equestrian@samhoustontrails.com, Hiking@samhoustontrails.com, Motorized@samhoustontrails.com 

3. The Board will review the request for completeness and appropriateness. The size and complexity of the project will determine whether a Project Manager is required or if a Service Project Leader will suffice.  The Board will determine if adequate funding is available.  The Coalition must be the named Grantee of all project funds and shall serve as recipient/repository of same.  With the exception of grants initiated by the Board, there is no threshold for reimbursement model grants or foundational awards.   The Board reserves the right to allocate an administrative fee to any and all projects as they deem necessary to cover time and costs. This will be in the form of a percentage of the project cost comparable to allowable cost models currently in place or previously administered.

4. Upon approval, the Board will email the signed form to the Forest Service for review and approval.

5. The Forest Service shall review and approve or provide comments to be addressed prior to approval.  Once approved, the fully signed form shall be emailed to the SHTC Treasurer for code assignment.

6. The SHTC Treasurer shall assign a Project Code to the form and email it to the President, Element Director and Representative/Submitter.

7. The SHTC President and Treasurer shall work with Representative/Submitter and other team members on purchases, reporting, etc.