Snowmobile clubs in Central New York will have less money for grooming and maintaining trails this year thanks to the nearly snowless winter last year.
Dominic Jacangelo, executive director of the New York State Snowmobile Association, said clubs get money for trail work based on the number of snowmobile registrations in the previous year. He said registrations were down significantly last year due to the warm winter.
“It’s likely clubs are looking at pretty average annual expense, but trail grants will cover less than a third of the cost,” Jacangelo said.
Ed Montieth, president of the Redfield Snowmobile Association, said his club will get $18,000 this year compared to $26,000 last year.
The Snow Valley Riders in Madison County will see its trail grants drop from $29,000 last year to $21,0000, said club president Kyle Hirt.
For this winter season, the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation had compiled 94,003 registrations statewide as of Jan. 5. But for the entire last season ending March 31, 2012, there were only 89,728 registration statewide; the year before the total season’s registrations were 135,000 snowmobiles.
Last year, many snowmobilers waited to register their sleds to see if the snow would pick up later in the winter, said Jacangelo. When it didn’t, they didn’t register their sleds.
“The current balance in the trail fund is way underfunded,” Jacangelo said.
A spokesman with the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said in the 2011-2012 season, $3,712,009 was collected from registrations for trail maintenance. In the 2010-2011 season, $5,552,582 was collected.
The money is divvied among snowmobile clubs or trail sponsors who maintain and groom the trails. Seasonal grooming and maintenance includes smoothing the trail surface, placing signs along the trail route and clearing brush from the trails. Sometimes clubs or sponsors also have to repair bridges along the trails or replace culverts.
With less money this year, snowmobile clubs and others in charge of maintenance will have to raise money to keep up the trails, Jacangelo said.
“They always strive to do a proper job so they will try to raise money on the local level,” he said.
Hirt, of Pompey, said the Snow Valley Riders, who take care of about 86 miles of trails in DeRuyter, Cazenovia, Lincoln, Fenner and Nelson, will watch expenses and try to raise more money.
“We’ve gotta tighten our belts, do a little more fundraising and be careful with equipment, purchasing of only what we need for the year,” he said. He added the club still will maintain the trails as they should be maintained.
“We can’t say ‘we’re going to do $8,000 less work on the trails this year,’” he said.
Montieth said his club isn’t in “too bad shape” for grooming and maintenance this year, due to some fundraising (raffling a snowmobile and chicken barbecue) earlier this season.
“We’re also lucky all our equipment is paid for,” he said. “ But with fuel at $4 a gallon, it really hurts.”
