7566_MSA_May2021_MaineSnowmobiler

Central Region VP

Northern Region VP without you we’d all be sick of riding loops around our houses. It is amazing how people open their land for others to recreate on. We are very fortunate to have gracious owners who let us ride. * 2nd are the clubs & their volunteers. There is an endless amount of work that goes into making those trail rides all possible. It seems to be a year ‘round job for most of us. To all those who help out, THANK YOU. Each hour you put into the sport pays dividends to your local club & economy. * 3rd supporting businesses and supporting members. Not everyone can show up for a trail workday or spend countless nights in the groomer, but those of you who contribute in any way make a difference. Everyone out there who contributes is a huge asset to snowmobiling in Maine. * Last, but certainly not least is the MSA steering committee. This is a group of highly dedicated folks who have been running the MSA the past 2 seasons. Without their countless hours of traveling & meetings we would not be where we are today. They have carried the load for the organization and made sacrifices of personal time and days out of their lives

to make sure the MSA is moving forward. This winter between folks who couldn’t travel across the border and an increase in snowmobile sales and rentals meant more riders staying here & coming here. This is great for the local economy, but a challenge for most clubs. It meant traffic all week long and the need for additional grooming shifts taxing many clubs. The other concern I experienced and heard about was a decrease in trail courtesy. If you see this, please don’t assume someone else will deal with it, stop and have a civil conversation with the folks. Many have not grown up around the sport and do not fully understand how their actions may impact them, others on the trails and our sport. Enjoy your summer, get out to a club function, help out, meet some new people, bring a new rider to your club. I am looking forward to summer snowmobile events & hope to see some of you there! If you have a question, problem, concern, or idea on snowmobiling in “The County” or Maine, get in touch with me. You can contact me at the phone # or email below my photo. Matt Stedman

The reasons the clubs invite all the visitors and non-club members to join the clubs, is for the support and the dues to help maintain the machines, fuel for grooming and repairs and reroutes so we can continue to enjoy the trails. There are donation jars at most all businesses for people to help. All that is asked is to throw a little in the jar to help. If you cannot please stop one of the club members or the groomer and say thank you. As fall approaches this year, think about safety courses for the young people in your area. Start them out right. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MAKES THIS TRAIL SYSTEM POSSIBLE. Fair warning I will be back next season, until then……….. Keep Smiling, Be Safe, and know I’m here if I can help. Jack Lord

Matt Stedman 207-557-1921 (call or text)

W ell it’s the beginning of May, the snow has been gone for weeks now and another season is in the books. Northern Maine winter was a bit different than the past few years, but we finally got snow mid-January and that brought folks from all around the State up to visit & explore our trails and communities. The snow wasn’t the best quality for the groomers to make stay put, but clubs and their volunteers did a wonderful job keeping up & persevering through increased traffic. I would like to thank a few groups of folks who make all of what we love to do (snowmobile) possible. * 1st & foremost landowners… PO Box 621, Ashland ME 04732 Stedman.matt@jdirving.com

H i Everyone, This season has been the most work intensive I can remember. Lack of snow, increase in traffic on the trails, and more damage. I know clubs had more hours of trail maintenance and grooming. Having said this I would like to thank all and I mean all the club members who do this work so all of the visitors and non-club members can ride and enjoy the trails. Jack Lord Home: (207) 672-3915 / Cell: 207-717-7131 Email: jacklord5256@gmail.com

Western Region VP

State of Maine Snowmobile Program Joe Higgins

Hello Snowmobile Club Members, Candice, Lana and I would like to thank you all for the work that you all do to make snowmobiling in Maine one of the best outdoor winter activities we have. Despite the added challenges of Covid- 19 and the condensed season we had, you still made it happen. I was lucky enough to get out a few times and the riding was extra enjoyable because of all the challenges we’ve had to deal with. I know Candice got out as well and had some great riding. Again, thank you. We want to be sure to thank all those landowners who allow us to have snowmobile trails on their property. They are very generous to give approval that we should never take for granted, be sure to stop by and say thank you this summer as you are driving by. I’m sure they would really appreciate it. As I mentioned it has been a very interesting year for sure, with Covid-19 restrictions, boarders being closed and late start to the riding season, it was very difficult to predict were we would be with snowmobile registrations and funding of the grants. I had con- versations with many of you throughout the season and if we talked about the middle of January, I’m sure you know I was extremely concerned with the low registration numbers. At that time, we were down 12,000 and still waiting for the white stuff. The thought of calling clubs to cut back on spending due to the gas tax revenue loss and low registration numbers was not a comforting thought. I guess if you are patient enough it can end with positive results, and that is what happen. About the middle to end of January, we finally got snow and the many riders did not wait to get their sleds registered and on the trails. Registrations increased, the club vol-

unteers worked overtime to give those riders a good experience and it worked. We had great riding for February school vacation which is a big week for snowmobiling. The final numbers are not in yet but at the time of this letter we are looking at 86,948 regis- tered snowmobiles which is over last year’s numbers. Again, a big thanks to all of you who built bridges, trimmed trails and groomed, this would not have happened without you. We are able now to honor the approved grants and look forward to working with a lot of you on next year’s projects. A few dates to remember are, May 15th, 2021 is the deadline for the municipal grant reimbursement requests and June 15th, 2021 is the deadline for the Capital Equipment Grant Applications. If any club has a drag or groomer that they are selling please let our office know and we will get that information out to the other Maine snow- mobile clubs. We continually receive calls with clubs looking for good used equipment and this could help another club. The MSA is moving forward with a Snowmobile Show in October, which is great news, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed that things continue in a positive direction so we can get together at the show. And lastly, I hope you all stay safe and healthy this summer, enjoy your families and friends, laugh a little about the crazy times and look forward to snowmobiling next season, you sure do deserve it. Joe Higgins State of Maine Snowmobile Program 207-287-4957

James Boyce, 207-265-6512 1168 Fosterhill Road Freeman ME 04983 Jboyce1168@gmail.com

H ere we are the end of a short season but great riding when we had enough snow. Once again, the western region lead all with over 3,700 members thank all of you who get these memberships. We also had two awards at the year-end banquet at Jeff’s catering Groomer of the year Travis Roderick from JVWING and the biggest club membership which went to Rangley S.C. congrats to true both of them. So now the real work starts getting machines ready checking bridges and touching base with new landowners. A trick I’ve learned over the years is check in with your local realtor this works well. So let’s hope the snow starts flying in November and goes right into April that would make me happy. If anything I could do reach out and If I don’t have the answer I will point you in the right direction. Until the fall enjoy the ride and stay safe. Jim

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