U.S. Senator Mike Enzi., R-Wyo., applauded U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today for announcing the selection of 15 priority areas to help address the more than $300 million trail maintenance backlog on national forests and grasslands. The announcement includes two areas in Wyoming.

The selection of priority areas follows the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act of 2016, which was introduced by Enzi and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, D-Colo., in the Senate and by former Wyoming Representative Cynthia Lummis in the House. U.S. Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyo., was also a cosponsor of the bill.

The act makes better use of existing U.S. Forest Service resources, requiring the designation of high-priority areas and increasing the utilization of volunteers in maintaining the usability and sustainability of the National Forest’s trail system.

According to the Forest Service, the 15 national trail maintenance priority areas encompass large areas of land and each have committed partners to help get the work accomplished. In Wyoming, these areas include the “Continental Divide National Scenic Trail” and the “Wyoming Forest Gateway Communities” area.

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail includes 3,100 continuous miles following the spine of the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Canada, including more than 1,900 miles of trails across 20 national forests.

The Wyoming Forest Gateway Communities area includes nearly 1,000 miles of trails stretching across the almost 10 million acres of agency-managed lands in Wyoming, which include six national forests and one national grassland.

Click here for more information on the announcement.