8595-R1_MSA_January2024_Newsletter

From The Executive Board

All the preseason work trail crews did before this last storm seems to be gone in most of the state. The devastation around the state is tremendous. Large bridges washed away or destroyed, trails under water, trees down every where and so much more. Clubs work so hard to make the trails safe and hen hope for snow. At this point in a season that could begin soon, clubs are not sure what they can do to open some trails backup. There are sure to be “Trail Closed” signs in areas where you may ride, so please, please be careful and obey the signs. If you see people out there trying to get trails open, STOP and give them a hand. Better yet, contact your local club and offer your help. It is usually just a handful of club trail crew people that do the work and they are tired! ALL CLUBS can use all the help they can get. Instead of asking, “When are the trails going to be open?” why not ask, “What can I do to help?” Even if it is just a few hours many hands make the work go faster. January and Early February mean clubs are holding events across the state. Ride-Ins, cook outs, groomer rodeos, club suppers are just some ways for clubs to raise money or show case themselves. Check out the calendars, Facebook pages and other social media sites, then plan to attend. You will meet some great people and have a chance to thank them for all they do and who knows, you may find another club to join! That’s all for now. Please remember to ride safe and watch for the trail changes. Until February, let’s hope the winds and rain are gone and Mother Nature has decided to give us cold, cold weather and snow. Eileen and send them in to Joe Higgins. The sooner the state has this information the better, they can then send it to the Feds and then they can go through and decide what is needed to come from the feds to help cover this kind of damage. It is important that you get this information together as soon as possible and get it to Joe. The weather being what it is, who knows what kind of a winter we will have. However, I’m hoping it will be better than the last one. We are due a good one. But before we can enjoy one we will have to clean up MOTHER NATURE’S MESS and looking around she has left us with heavy and sometimes dangerous work to do. Just make sure when you go out, Take someone with you and someone at home or at the club has your plan for the day. Remember you don’t do all this work for everybody else go often and enjoy your work. Pray for more snow and less rain. Stay Safe, Keep Smiling and call me if I can help you home 207-672-3951 cell 207-717-7131. Jack 2 024 a new year.... Our season is off to a very slow start. Warm temperatures, incredible rain, damage to trails, bridges across the state destroyed. I’m still doing the snow dance. Asking Old man winter and Mother Nature to give us our season. Of course, we write these articles a couple weeks before they are published. It is my hope we can be riding. The one thing that does not change is. All the clubs. All the volunteers, all the contractors who donate their time, their equipment, are still the best in the world. I personally want to thank all of you for the work, the pride you put into making MAINE “the best in the East”. Without your dedication to our sport, we might not have a season this year. THANK YOU!!! I hope to be on trails soon, ride right, and ride safe. Dave

Eastern Region VP

Northern Region VP

watch the signage, as some intersections and stretches of trail won’t be where they were last season. The digital or paper map you are using may not be up to date so please follow signs. These re-routes are very time consuming and can be expensive. Kudos to all those involved (club volunteers, landowners & contractors/ equipment operators), making sure the trail system stays connected for the thousands of riders who frequent the County. Please heed signage along the trails, the club members who install & maintain them put them up for a reason, to direct you or share information with you. This is especially true of “Caution plowed road/logging”. Clubs gather information from landowners on where they can be, where landowners do not want us and following that signage make the difference of keeping that trail open. Where snowmobilers interact with logging & trucking operations the landowner & clubs have worked together to allow us to continue access through the active job. WE MUST BE RESPECTFUL of the workers there. We (snowmobilers) are out having fun, recreating, but those folks are working. We must follow signage, wait for operators to motion us past, right slow & to the right, yield to vehicles, etc. If we don’t, access could be lost not just for that section, but for other locations and years as well.Landowners often own more than one woodlot and if shared access doesn’t work in one location, they are likely to say no the next time. You may see many new pieces of grooming equipment around the State this winter, as quite a few clubs have upgraded their power unit, drag or both. Make sure to give the folks running them a big thumbs up when you see them, and please help the clubs by joining &/ or dropping some cash in the trail maintenance jars at clubhouses and convenience stores or the QR code on their signs. The machines are very expensive, and cost of operations always exceed State grant funding. There are many events planned by clubs this winter, check out the calendar in the paper and follow club news where you ride or plan to vacation for information on these events so you can make them part of your winter. I personally love starting my ride days with a club breakfast. If you haven’t been to Northern Aroostook riding, plan to come up and join us for the Northern Region Showcase ride March 16th based out of Easton Snowmobile Club. If you have a question, problem, concern, or idea on snowmobiling in “The County”, get in touch with me. You can contact me at the phone # or email below. Matt Stedman there were over 90 in attendance and Dana did a fantastic job of keeping everything flowing in a timely manner. We heard from 15 clubs about their problems with the great flood of 2023. There was much discussion on how to help one another and share equipment and materials, all in all a very rewarding experience. It was good to see five game wardens there and five Maine legislators, expect more details in other columns. I introduced myself at the end as the NEW VP of the western region, and stressed how much we NEED clubs to be 100% affiliated with the MSA as we struggle to fight for more funds for them, we have to pay our bills and salaries also. Our lobbyist is working hard for us, and as you can imagine that gets expensive. Another plus from the meeting in Strong I asked for volunteers as directors and two men stepped forward and are interested in getting more involved, and a couple more clubs have contacted me with their club meeting dates and locations, still looking to hear from all the rest of the 62 clubs in the western region. Looking forward to seeing a big crowd at the MSA monthly meeting in Norway, (turkey potpie for supper, yum yum). Happy New Year to one and all, get out and do the SNOW DANCE, God Bless. Regards Jerry Major

Matt Stedman 207-557-1921 (call or text) PO Box 621, Ashland ME 04732 Stedman.matt@jdirving.com

Eileen Lafland, 207-843-7813 PO Box 733, Holden ME 04429 L.andE.lafland525476@gmail.com W elcome to 2024 Everyone!! Well, the week before Christmas in this state Mother Nature sure threw everything she could at us! Two to seven inches of rain, temperatures in the low 50’s and 60’s and the gale force winds reaching 70 mph gusts and then dropping temperatures and a wind chill reminded all Mainers she is still in charge. I am writing this on day three of no power at our house on Dec. 20th and no hope in sight yet for when it will be back. It feels like when I was a kid many, many years ago with no power, no phone, no cell phone service, and no internet! Thank goodness for a woodstove and a manual generator we can start for a couple hours and then turn off. I sure hope everyone remained safe, enjoyed time with their families over the holiday and that 2024 started much better than 2023 ended.

H appy New Years’ fellow snowmobilers, I hope all of you had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends over the past few weeks and enjoy the Christmas season. This December has been a bit of a challenge for snowmobile clubs and snowmobilers across our State. This has made very clear that both volunteerism & funding for the Maine snowmobile trail system needs help. Make sure to help out clubs where you live &/or ride, it is imperative for their future. I have seen and heard of folks from southern New England come up for a day of trail work, people brining their own heavy equipment to rebuild trails and so on. The snowmobile community is AWESOME, we just need a few more folks to step up and consistently help. You do not need special skills, there are so many ways to help, some you probably haven’t thought of yet. CLUBS: Please respond to offers of help, even if the answer is “not right now”. SNOMOBILERS: Step up, reach out & help. The work to prepare for and make great trails is never ending and getting more expensive. Aroostook County doesn’t seem to have the major issues from the December storm as other areas in the State. Multiple blowdowns, a few washouts but items that can be dealt with. I hope you are as anxious as I am to get out on the trails, but please be safe. The MSA’s “Ride smart today, ride again tomorrow” is how we should all think when firing up the sled & heading out. Take the time to talk to others about snowmobile safety and trail etiquette while stopped along the trail, everyone approaches trail safety differently and we can all learn from other experiences and stories. There are always multiple re-routes so please

Central Region VP

Jack Lord Home: (207) 672-3915 / Cell: 207-717-7131 17 Dinsmore St. Bingham, ME. 04920 Email: jacklord5256@gmail.com

H i Everyone,

Hope everyone is having a good Holiday weekend in spite of the rain and flooding. This is not looking good for some clubs the repairs are overwhelming. Make sure you are getting pictures and estimates of repairs

Western Region VP

Coastal Region VP

David Watson 207-205-1558 412 Roberts Ridge Rd East Waterboro ME 04030 dwatson6841@gmail.com

Jerry Major, Cell: 207-838-0892 137 Morrill Rd, Norway ME 04268 mrfun101jem@gmail.com

As I sit here at the last minute writing this Saturday morning the 30 th it is snowing and oh so pretty out there, however it won’t amount to a hill of beans. I can’t thank Dana Bowman and Brent West enough for the great meeting they pulled together in Strong last Thursday, (I wished they told me about all the closed toads, haha).

CLUB MEMBERS Once grooming begins submit your trail reports to: EDITOR@MESNOW.COM Please include your name and club affiliation

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