8988-R5_MSA_March2025_Newsletter_Web

From The Executive Board

H i Folks,

18-wheeler truck. Recently, I got a call from a crying friend telling me he had just lost his best friend’s son. While going up a moun tain, the sled was up straight, came back, and landed on him. Tragedy. All three. So, what do we do? We continue to preach safety to kids and adults, and we provide edu cation and more education. Many riders think they are invincible; they can handle a snowmobile even though they have not ridden one in a long time. They think it’s cool to ride fast, and they think they’re NASCAR race drivers riding in the middle of the trail. Well, guess what? You’re not. Inexperienced and inconsiderate riders cause lots of problems. They think it’s cool to chase wildlife, go off trail, and rototill the trails after our groomer operators work all night to make the trails the best. And then there’s your loud exhaust. Hopefully, the fine goes up this year. I think you should be more responsible and

W ell Things look much better, a little more snow, not a lot and all the groomers are out, and we are getting very favorable comments. It was sad to see my sleds and trailer go away a couple of weeks ago, but my new Polaris side by side has arrived, not putting tracks on till next year (had another back surgery #8 and have to be careful the rest of winter). Still very weird why we aren’t getting any BIG storms, we definitely don’t want them like last year after everything was basically thawed. It is great to see all the posting on Facebook, rides, grooming, beautiful sights, keep them coming. With any luck we will travel north for March meeting, always a joy to be there in person. See you later, GOD BLESS Jerry sentations to the 2025 scholarship winners. As always, we committee members are will ing to help in any way answer questions or con cerns or even help support a fundraiser that your club might want to do to support our cause. and the recent snowfall has brought a wave of excitement to the area. For the snowmobile clubs, the fresh blanket of snow means the trails are now open and ready for adventure. Members have been busy prepping their machines, ensuring everything is in top condition for the rides ahead. The trails, which wind through picturesque landscapes and offer breathtaking views of the coastline, are now bustling with activity. Local businesses are also feeling the positive impact, as snowmobile tourism boosts the economy. Lodges, restaurants, and gear shops are seeing an influx of visitors eager to experience the thrill of snowmobiling in Maine’s coastal region. The community spirit is high, with clubs organizing group rides, safety workshops, and social events to celebrate the season. For many, this snowfall is not just about the sport but also about coming together and enjoying the unique charm of winter in Maine. Matt respect our sport. Landowners are the top priority. It only takes one or two off-trail riders to shut down a vital trail to our system. Every trail in the state is important. It’s a piece of the puzzle that connects us to those supporting businesses that count on Maine Snow mobiling to take them through to the next season. Snowmobile safety starts before you ride: trailering, personal items, safety equipment, and an emergency kit. Plan your trip and let someone know where you are going; bring a first aid kit. Watch out for Grooming operations; make sure you’re registered. Be careful crossing roads. Drive slowly, and make sure your registration is up to date. Don’t consume alcohol. These are just a few suggestions to make it through the season. Please be sure to be safe! Ride right, be careful, and have a great time doing it! Hope you all have a safe and healthy off-season Thanks, AL the trails. Speaking of families, it’s not too late for MSA members with children in college, any post high school program and high school seniors to consider applying for our schol arship. We have been told by many that the application process was not as time consum ing as they had thought. Our committee is always trying to promote our program and to keep the process streamlined and simplified as to encourage as many members as possible to apply. Please remember that the scholarship application deadline is April 1st for the paper work to be at the MSA office. Still time to get it done! Recently the scholarship amounts have been increased to $1,500 with two winners chosen each year. This year we are very excited to announce that there will be 3 winners awarded, two in mem ory of T-Bone as his Limerick Club did a major fundraiser in his memory and another scholar ship dedicated in memory of one of our com mittee members Larry Lafland. Both are very bittersweet but so very appropriate, the commit tee hopes that many will join us at the Annual Meeting in April when we make the awards pre

Safety Committee

These last few weeks have brought me to meet many students in area schools. Medway is always an excellent place to kick off snowmo bile safety. Then, off to East Millinocket Middle School. Year after year, I get lots of good feelings and laughter from it. The mighty East Branch Snowmobile Club hosted the event once again. I’m off to Rangeley. This was a neat day! One school, 200 kids later, and it was awesome! There were lots of comments and questions. The Blessing of the Sleds in the Dixfield/ Mexico area was also special. A safety pre sentation was well received., These are a won derful group of MSA folks. We have snow Statewide, and that’s a good thing, but we still have serious accidents and fatalities. We should not ride alone. We lost a fellow rider while he was alone enjoy ing a nighttime ride. Another, it appears that he went through a stop sign and hit a large equipment maintenance. Sledders from near and far have smiles from the miles of great riding our system offers. The snow conditions also tend to highlight mapping issues. More specifically, I’m talking about electronic mapping applications. I have fielded several concerns from landowners about sleds riding on discontinued trails. There are many sources of electronic navigation. BRP Go, Polaris Ride Command, GPS Trailmasters, and Onyx to name a few. This technology is great as long as the onboard data is accurate. Unfortu nately, we all know there are in season changes for any number of reasons- logging, landowner issues, weather related damage- that can and do make tracks inaccurate. I would remind all riders, that regardless of the technology you use – even a paper map—it is simply a GUIDE meant to show you a connection between two points. When you are in quandary on the trail because your screen points you straight but there is a SIGN that points you left, PLEASE turn left. ALWAYS DEFER TO THE LOCAL SIGNAGE ON THE TRAIL! The Trails Committee and State Snowmo bile Programs continually educate clubs on signage. There is a published standard and defined sign package deployed throughout the state. We also inspect signage throughout the system as we ride. The clubs work their butts off to place signage appropriately to ensure safe travel and clear navigation. PLEASE READ and HEED the SIGNS. Until Next Month… Brent to advocate for these objectives and we will share more information as it is finalized. Sales Tax As I have mentioned in previous articles, Senator Russell Black has submitted legis lation on behalf of MSA that would dedicate a portion of the sales tax on snowmobiles to Maine’s snowmobile program. This is a sim ilar model to what happens with the sales tax on motor vehicles being dedicated to the high way fund. As of today we are awaiting the bill to be printed and scheduled for public hear ing, where we hope that some MSA members will be able to come and testify in support. We will keep you posted on more details. It is important to note that the state budget does not have the luxury of excess funding like it has in recent years, and any request that requires funding (which this bill would do), will be more difficult to achieve. With that said, MSA feels strongly that we should continue to talk about and promote the benefits of better fund ing Maine’s snowmobile trail program. ATV Weight Restrictions, Joint Registra tions, and more! Earlier in February the IFW Committee of the Legislature heard a bill proposing to increase the weight limit of ATVs from 2,000 to 2,500 pounds. Size and weight restrictions have become a hot topic in Augusta, and we anticipate at least a couple more bills seeking to do the same. Additionally, we are hearing about some potential bills that would allow a joint-use (snowmobile and ATV) registra tions for some ATVs that have tracks. These discussions are all in the very early stages of deliberation, and MSA is keeping an active eye out on all of these issues. We are actively engaged with stakeholders and state agencies, and will keep the membership apprised of any new developments. I hope you all enjoy a safe and snow-filled end to this riding season! James Cote, MSA Lobbyist

Alan Swett 207-872-7282 234 County Rd, Waterville ME 04901 snowtraveler@roadrunner.com

Trails Committee Chair Report

Scholarship Committee

Brent Spaulding, MSA Trails Chairman 207-944-7762 41 Madison Ave Brewer ME 04412 msatrailchair@gmail.com G reetings from Brewer, Yes! The snow Gods finally blessed us! I hope all of you have gotten out and are still able to ride as of this publication. I have had some great rides – one during February that was 735 miles over 7 days! Good times! With the good snow conditions comes great atti tudes and eagerness amongst our army of volun teers that have finally gotten to fire up the groom ers after hours and hours of trail prep, bridges, and

H ello friends and fellow snowmobilers, the season got off to a late start but the past few weeks have been nice in Central Maine and pretty much Statewide. March is always a great month to ride and hopefully we will continue to have good conditions. It has been refreshing and rewarding to see many people out riding, nice to see the fruits of so many clubs and volunteers labor being appreciated by others. Looks like many of the riders I see appear to be families out enjoying Harvey Chesley, 207-314-0637 25 Hillcrest Dr, Clinton ME 04927 harv.chesley@gmail.com

MSA Lobbyist Capitol Report

Western Region VP

James Cote MSA Lobbyist

G

reetings Maine Snowmobilers! It sure is nice to be seeing a bit more snow in the forecast these days. Keep it com ing, Snow Gods! The State House is finally starting to heat up and MSA is working on a number of fronts to represent Maine’s snowmobiling community. Trails Bond Our highest priority in the near term is to help support and facilitate the successful implementation of the trails bond funding. MSA continues to advocate for the most user friendly grant requirements that also achieve maximum transparency and compliance. We know that club volunteers are often faced with limited time and resources and we continue to talk to key staff and program stakeholders about the need to make the grant application process as simple as possible. The ultimate goal is obviously to put these dollars to work as efficiently as possible and enhance the qual ity of our trail systems. As of today, we are hopeful that a grant application process will open later this spring so that clubs can begin to put some of this money to work in advance of next season. MSA leadership will continue

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

Matthew Baron, 207-608-3737 92 Emery Corner Rd, Limerick, ME 04048 msacoastalregion@gmail.com F inally, snow has arrived in the coastal region of Maine, much to the delight of snowmobile enthusiasts and local clubs. This winter season has been eagerly anticipated,

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