Portal
Home
Calendar
Gallery
FAQ
Search
Register
Log inMore cash available for snowmobile trails
Page 1 of 1•
More cash available for snowmobile trails
by Outspoken on Fri Dec 12, 2008 5:48 am
More cash available for snowmobile trails
Higher registration fees aid clubs, towns
By Kevin Miller
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
Maine’s snowmobile clubs and towns with snowmobile trails will receive much-needed additional funding this year to pay the costs of grooming and other activities.
Clubs will receive an additional $100,000, while municipalities will receive $285,000 more than was distributed last year through the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands’ snowmobile program. Those are equivalent to 12 percent and 8 percent increases, respectively.
Clubs can apply for the maintenance grant through Dec. 31.
The additional money is a result of registration fee increases approved by the Legislature last year in order to help communities and clubs pay the costs of trail maintenance. Fees for residents increased from $33 to $35, while fees for nonresidents rose from $68 to $88.
Last winter’s heavy statewide snows also lured more riders out onto the trails, resulting in more registrations, especially among non-Mainers. About 102,000 snowmobiles were registered last season.
“We had a spectacular year for new registrations,” said Bob Meyers, executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association.
The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, which is part of the Department of Conservation, offers trail maintenance grants to about 270 clubs and more than 110 municipal programs. Those clubs and communities often rely on dedicated groups of volunteers to groom thousands of miles of snowmobile trails, often at night.
Maine has more than 13,000 miles of snowmobile trails.
“That means more money to help cover what we know has been increasing — fuel, insurance and equipment costs,” Scott Ramsay, director of the bureau’s Off-Road Vehicle Division, said in a statement.
Last year, snowmobile clubs and communities were grappling with the double whammy of heavy use of their trails and record high fuel costs for their gas-hungry groomers.
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/95060.html
Higher registration fees aid clubs, towns
By Kevin Miller
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
Maine’s snowmobile clubs and towns with snowmobile trails will receive much-needed additional funding this year to pay the costs of grooming and other activities.
Clubs will receive an additional $100,000, while municipalities will receive $285,000 more than was distributed last year through the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands’ snowmobile program. Those are equivalent to 12 percent and 8 percent increases, respectively.
Clubs can apply for the maintenance grant through Dec. 31.
The additional money is a result of registration fee increases approved by the Legislature last year in order to help communities and clubs pay the costs of trail maintenance. Fees for residents increased from $33 to $35, while fees for nonresidents rose from $68 to $88.
Last winter’s heavy statewide snows also lured more riders out onto the trails, resulting in more registrations, especially among non-Mainers. About 102,000 snowmobiles were registered last season.
“We had a spectacular year for new registrations,” said Bob Meyers, executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association.
The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, which is part of the Department of Conservation, offers trail maintenance grants to about 270 clubs and more than 110 municipal programs. Those clubs and communities often rely on dedicated groups of volunteers to groom thousands of miles of snowmobile trails, often at night.
Maine has more than 13,000 miles of snowmobile trails.
“That means more money to help cover what we know has been increasing — fuel, insurance and equipment costs,” Scott Ramsay, director of the bureau’s Off-Road Vehicle Division, said in a statement.
Last year, snowmobile clubs and communities were grappling with the double whammy of heavy use of their trails and record high fuel costs for their gas-hungry groomers.
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/95060.html
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
