9211-R1_MSA_November2025_Newsletter

MSA Club News

In September, we set up tables at the 52 nd International Seaplane Fly-In on Moosehead Lake for our annual Pig Roast. Thanks to so many supporters, it may have been our most successful fundraiser. We sell super raffle tick ets and make a little money but the real pur pose is to raised awareness for trail grooming and maintenance needs. We are looking now to see what trail work will be needed and how to get it done before the snow flies. Clearing blow downs, brush ing, repairing bridges and replacing trail signs are endless tasks needed every year. Replac ing a blocked culvert now means less chance of a midwinter closure or hazardous condition. (New pre-cast on Prong Pond ITS 85/86).

Club meeting 7:00 p.m. Sunday December 14 th Christmas party with gift exchange follow ing meeting Club supper 6:00 p.m. Club meeting shortly afterwards Christmas party with gift exchange following Trails We are meeting every Sunday at 7:30 a.m. at the clubhouse for trail work. If you have other times or days that is more convenient please let Troy know and we will try to get help. Also, if you do any work on your own, please log your hours. We still have some work to be done on the new addition / groomer Barn and that could be done weekdays after work etc. In closing I want to say thank you to all those that have donated or volunteered their time this year. We couldn’t do it without all of our volunteers. It certainly takes a team to keep this Club rolling! Hope to see you at the clubhouse or on the trails! Troy G Trail Grunt https://sites.google.com/site/shirleybogtrailbusters/ email: shirleybogtrailbusters@gmail.com fb: Shirley Bog Trailbusters Last month we wrote about our newly elected board members and this month we want to tell you that they have started out the year with full steam ahead! We all want to welcome Jeremy Hargreaves (President), Marc Costantine (VP), Derek Heady (Trail Master), Dennis Paine (Trea surer), and Hannah Pratt (Secretary). Grant applications have been submitted; spaghetti dinner plans are in the works; spon sorship opportunities are being formulated… and much more. Watch our news for specifics on Face Book, emails, and the SBTB website. NEW GROOMER SBTB had a great opportunity appear which the board went after. We recently purchased a “new to us” Massey Ferguson groomer with a red arrow drag. This new piece of groom ing equipment will significantly improve our grooming capabilities. Yes, we will have the club name/logo added to the groomer soon! This brings up sponsorship opportunities to discuss, as we will be offering drag sponsor ships, “adopt a trail” sponsorships and others. TRAIL INTEL Our club is excited to announce our new partnership with Trail Intel—the industry’s leading information platform for both clubs and riders. Trail Intel offers GPS mapping, turn-by-turn navigation, and real-time rider updates on trail conditions and points of inter est enhancing both convenience and safety on the trails. As part of this step forward, we’re also introducing online membership registra tion, making it easier than ever to join and stay connected. Trail Intel links clubs across the region, improving communication and creat ing a better, more informed riding experience for everyone. VOLUNTEERING FOR FEB. 7, 2026 WILDERNESS SLED DOG RACES Although it may seem early to bring this up, it’s time to start thinking about planning to fit this into your schedules for early Feb. For many years the club has been very fortunate to have club members volunteer at the annual Wilderness Sled Dog Race held in Greenville. They will again need members who can arrive by snowmobile and help patrol Trail master Derek Heady driving the “new” groomer SHIRLEY BOG TRAIL BUSTERS Shirley, ME

the crossings on the roads and trails. This can also be a great opportunity for the entire fam ily volunteering for a crossing. Please respond to Debi Baker: debilyn nebaker@gmail.com. A nice showing of the SBTB members at this event would be great! THANK YOUS We really want to send out a big thank you to the past board members that have “retired” this year. All have dedicated many hours of time to the club over the past 15-years! Past President, Charlie Baker; VP, Roger LaBonte; Trail Master, Hutch Gagne; Secretary/Mem bership, Debi Lynne Baker and Treasurer, Pegeen Ranhoski. GLENBURN LAKESIDE RIDERS sc Glenburn, ME Welcome Snowmobile Enthusiasts, Here we go into another winter season of snowmobiling. Really depends on which Almanac, Weather Station, Acorn Quantity, or any other indicator - what kind of winter that we may in store for. Let’s just all continue to do the Snow Dance and get the sleds ready to go. We have had a couple of meetings to date (1 st and 3 rd Wednesday’s - 7:00 P.M. at the GLRSC Clubhouse on 2838 Ohio Street) All are welcome! Eddie, Bradley, Gene, Tim, and Barry have been doing some much needed renovations to the garage / storage part of the clubhouse. We have opened up the area to make it easier to drive the Kubota and sleds straight through, instead of backing in. This give us more room to maneuver and organize our equipment and tools. Also, we will be in the process of put ting up new plywood and then insulating the area (should be money well invested to save on heating bill). In addition to that, we will be adding a 7’x9’ overhead door and replacing the rear exit fire door with money raised from this summer’s fundraising activities. By the time you are reading this, we should be well into trail work. The usual tree cutting with chainsaws will still be needed as always (need more volunteers on Sunday’s to get this done). But we did get a break and got a new Bushog to go behind the tractor to replace one that we had for many years -it finally pooched out. This should be more efficient and save on down time. Working with landowners to secure permis sion to use their property again this year - as every year, including this one, there may be some trail re-routes. Please be sure to note the changes and stay on the marked trails. New ITS maps are available at the local stores as well as the Town Office, and local businesses. Our local maps are still being finalized, and may be available soon, more to follow on this. We are very fortunate again this year to be able to set up shop in Village Variety Store and sell MSA Super Raffle Tickets on Friday nights (come on over and buy some more) - they are still only $2 each . This is a great fundraiser for the clubs and with this year’s added prizes, it’s even more exciting. Also, thanks go out to local supporting businesses that allow us to put a stack of tickets and post ers to augment our sales! Many thanks go out: Tocci’s Checkout Convenience Store White Lighting, LLC Denise Gross Club Reporter

See You Soon!

Ragged Riders T2R13, ME

Hello from Ragged Lake. Looks like another snowmobile season is fast approach ing and the club is working hard to get the trails and equipment into tip-top shape for the coming snow. For those who don’t know, we are the club that grooms and maintains the trails around Ragged Lake. Our trails link to Chesuncook Village trails at Grant Farm and Maxfield Stream Road. We also maintain an access trail to Caribou Lake. Using our trail system and other connecting trails, one can loop around Ragged or visit Kokadjo, Northeast Carry, Pittston Farm, Chesuncook Lake Village and the trains at Eagle Lake. The “new” groomer has been started up and checked out, oil changed, all grease fittings have been given a squirt, diesel tank will be filled, and spare hydraulic fluid is stockpiled. Trail master Andrew Smith has been out with his tractor bush-hogging some of the narrower trails also did some high limbing with the pole saw. I would like to thank Andy for his gen erous contribution of time and equipment for this project. We still need to get a small bridge over a brook on the Verizon Mt. Trail; a couple of crane mats will do nicely. President Bell reports that the Landowner has agreed to give us a lease for the building site and as soon as all the paperwork and per mits are issued, we can start to put up a storage shed for the groomer. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will happen this year.

Much of our trails are on woodland prop erties and coordinating with harvest plans are always a challenge. We hope to maximize trail availability through advanced planning. Our trails include the ITS 85, 86, 88 and the 110 connector. So north, south, east or west, we have you covered. Ample trailer parking is available throughout the winter at the Snow don Trailhead Parking Lot on Depot Street in Greenville Junction. Now is the time to get your ride serviced to beat the rush with the onset of winter. Many trails are remote without cell phone coverage. A broken belt, weak battery or loose track stud could mean an unexpected overnight stay in the forest. You know what they say about an ounce of prevention. And on that note, consider carrying a ditch bag with essentials for an overnight or medi cal emergency. Plan longer trips with another rider and leave travel plans with someone at home. For everyone else, stop and offer assis tance whenever you see a sled along the trail. You may be the next in need. Check out destinationmooseheadlake.com and make a reservation before the crowd arrives. EASTERN MAINE SNOWMOBILERS Holden, ME EasternMaineSnowmobilers.com Welcome to Fall and busy season for snow mobile clubs! We are working busily on trails, main tenance of snowmobiles and trail working equipment, and gearing up for fall and winter club meetings. The MSA snowmobile show was in October and that always is a reminder to get moving and get moving fast. Winter is coming. Fundraising If you have not rejoined the club with your membership or are waiting to join as a new member we would appreciate it. Money from each membership helps the club and goes to support the MSA. Super raffle tickets are out and available for purchase and also available to purchase online and you get to click which club you would like the money to go to. 300 Club Each season we print 300 tickets total. Starting in December for the next 5 months we give away $1,000 a month. First prize is $500, next is $200, then $100 and 4 at $50 each. Your number stays in all season so you can win once each of the five months if you’re that lucky! These tickets are $30 total for the season. See us at the club for more information. Upcoming Events Sunday November 16 th Landowner appreciation dinner 6:00 p.m. Thanks for your support. Bob Ludwig, Secretary raludwig184@gmail.com

Our junior riders program started last year with a decent turnout of about six kids taking part. Sponsor response to the program has been most satisfying. Any adult with a family membership can sponsor a child under age 18. Our attendance at meetings seems to be underwhelming this year so far. One thing we are trying to do this year is have meet ings around holidays when there might be more people up around the lakes, we’ll see if it works. We move the meetings around to different camps with potluck meals after the meetings, many of the camp owners have developed interesting specialties and there is always plenty to eat. Hope to see you on the trails and remember, “Keep the rubber side down”. Jr. Rider, Jackson Smith receiving a cup of Hot Choc at Northeast CARRY

David and Pat Dunn with Plague for 30 years of service to Ragged Riders.

MOOSEHEAD RIDERS sc Greenville, ME

Our President, Jon Gray reports that the groomers and drags are ready to go for the snow that starts in December. Let’s hope for record accumulation this coming winter.

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