Geared up to groom

The 46 miles of snowmobile trails that weave through the forests and fields of Windsor County will be especially smooth this winter, thanks to a USDA Rural Development grant that facilitated the purchase of a brand new Sno-Cat.
https://vtdigger.org/2015/01/02/geared-groom-federally-funded-sno-cat-helps-local-vast-club-boost-tourism/

GEARED UP TO GROOM: FEDERALLY FUNDED SNO-CAT HELPS LOCAL VAST CLUB BOOST TOURISM TROY SHAHEEN JAN. 2 2015, 5:02 AM 1 Hawks Mountain Ridge Riders Vice President Barry Messer shows USDA Rural Development State Director Ted Brady around the cab of a new Sno-Cat. The new groomer, equipped with hand controls to enable the club’s disabled members to operate the equipment, will travel about 2,000 miles this year grooming about 46 miles of trail during the snowmobiling season. Photo by Troy Shaheen Hawks Mountain Ridge Riders Vice President Barry Messer shows USDA Rural Development State Director Ted Brady around the cab of a new Sno-Cat. The new groomer, equipped with hand controls to enable the club’s disabled members to operate the equipment, will travel about 2,000 miles this year grooming about 46 miles of trail during the snowmobiling season. Photo by Troy Shaheen The 46 miles of snowmobile trails that weave through the forests and fields of Windsor County will be especially smooth this winter, thanks to a USDA Rural Development grant that facilitated the purchase of a brand new Sno-Cat. The Hawks Mountain Ridge Riders unveiled their 2015 Tucker Model 200E Sno-Cat Trail Groomer last month. This particular Sno-Cat is the first in the state to feature hand controls accommodating two club members with physical handicaps. The new trailblazing machine is expected to boost tourism and economic activity in the Springfield area. “The Sno-Cat is the backbone of the snowmobile industry in Vermont,” says Barry Messer, the vice president of the Hawks Mountain Ridge Riders. Messer has groomed trails with the club for more 30 years and says the purchase wouldn’t have been possible without the $77,000 federal USDA Rural Development Grant, which supplemented the $146,295 the club got from trading in their old groomer. “We’re just a small club in Springfield,” he says, “and it takes a big piece of equipment to groom these trails.” Messer’s all-volunteer club is contracted by the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) to groom the 46 miles of trails three times a week. They tallied up more than 2,000 miles of grooming last winter. “It might not sound like a lot,” says Messer, “but when you consider that the ideal grooming speed is about six miles per hour you get a sense of how big a job it is.” Snowmobiling is big business in Vermont, second only to skiing when it comes to winter recreation. VAST relies on contracts with 128 snowmobile clubs and hundreds of landowners throughout Vermont to maintain its 5,000 miles of trails, and counts more than 24,000 people — from both in and out of state — as members. Vermont is one of the few states with a true statewide trail network, and snowmobilers enjoy diverse terrain and uninterrupted routes from New York to New Hampshire and from Massachusetts up to Canada. Cindy Locke, the executive director of VAST, says she would “hazard to say that we’re the largest association in the state of Vermont, or at least we’re right up there.” VAST estimates that snowmobiling employs about 500 Vermonters and brings in more than $600 million in economic activity. “People come here to snowmobile and they spend their money here because of it,” Locke says. “It’s lodging, it’s eating, it’s gasoline, it’s accessories, it’s parts, it’s everything. The economic importance of snowmobiling isn’t lost on Ted Brady, the state director for USDA Rural Development. Brady awarded the grant to the Hawks Mountain Ridge Riders. “The snowmobile industry is critically important to the vitality of Vermont’s small businesses and our rural communities,” he says. “The snow groomer turns the snowmobile trails into yellow brick roads right to the small businesses along the trail network.” Because the trails go past bed & breakfasts, general stores, and restaurants, Brady says the Sno-Cat “isn’t just a grooming machine, it’s a job creating machine.” The agency funds roughly $225,000 projects per year in Vermont to support rural communities. Lisa Brandmeyer, the owner of Route 106 Market and Deli, said she anticipates more customers because of the groomed trails. “The trail leads right to our store and we know how important snowmobilers are for our business,” Brandmeyer said. But maintaining trails across the state is becoming more of a burden for local clubs feeling the pinch of increased operating costs. “The USDA grants are very crucial,” says VAST Trails Administrator Matt Tetreault. “The price of the groomers is increasing to the point that it’s hard for people to afford them, and fluctuating fuel costs keep people from riding too much as well.” Tetreault speculates that tough economic times in rural areas have made it more and more difficult to maintain the trails. In addition to financial burdens, a cultural shift in Vermont has also changed snowmobiling, according to the VAST officials. Locke and Tetreault explain that the sport has its origins in Vermont’s traditional agrarian communities, where the snowmobile was first and foremost a piece of farm equipment. Farmers would ride on the weekends, joining snowmobile clubs and traveling to neighboring farms after a hard week of work. A cultural shift away from farming has created a situation in which just the most traditional Vermonters make up the base of the state’s snowmobilers, according to Tetreault. “Years ago there wasn’t video games and basketball and piano and dance and ballet and all the things that kids have to choose from,” he says. “Nowadays, there’s a lot of different things going on and our lives are busier.” Still, the tradition of snowmobiling continues to power economic activity in rural areas of Vermont and federal grants and the statewide association provide an added boost. VAST’s next project, The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, will connect Swanton in the west with St. Johnsbury in the east. The flat, year-round trail, which was a former railroad line, is open to snowmobilers, walkers, bikers, equestrians, snowshoers, dog-mushers, and cross-country skiers. VAST has also focused on outreach, including the hiring of a new Media Manager and the production of the new Snowmobile Vermont Magazine. The USDA grant program will continue in 2015, as will a grant program through VAST. “The more we can promote snowmobiling,” said Brady, “the more we can attract people to the area and the more money we can put in the pockets of local businesses.” Members of the Hawks Mountain Ridge Riders, staff representing Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Peter Welch, and USDA Rural Development State Director Ted Brady celebrated the arrival of a new snowmobile trail groomer outside the Route 106 North Market and Deli in North Springfield. Photo by Troy Shaheen Members of the Hawks Mountain Ridge Riders, staff representing Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Peter Welch, and USDA Rural Development State Director Ted Brady celebrated the arrival of a new snowmobile trail groomer outside the Route 106 North Market and Deli in North Springfield. Photo by Troy Shaheen Filed Under: People & Places Tagged With: Sno-Cat, Springfield, USDA, VAST, Vermont Association of Snow Travelers Troy Shaheen Troy Shaheen