NEWRY – Members of the Windy Valley Snowmobile Club said they were happy to learn Wednesday that a grant application they wrote last year finally came through.
Late Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is supporting the investment of more than $21,260 in snowmobile trail grooming equipment destined for use in Oxford County.
Of that money, the Newry club will get $20,260, according to the senators.
“Snowmobiling is a popular, family-oriented recreation in Maine, and, in these regions in particular, is an important part of the economy,” the senators said in a joint statement. “We applaud the Department of Agriculture’s ongoing support of Maine’s rural communities, which both enhances recreational opportunities in Maine and promotes economic growth.”
Windy Valley Snowmobile Club trailmaster Leon Dunn said the Newry group applied for the grant to purchase more powerful, heavier trail grooming equipment to do their 60 miles of trail through the rugged Mahoosuc Mountain Range.
“Everywhere we go, it’s uphill and really rugged,” Dunn said. “We go through Grafton Notch, through the state park and up to Andover and over to Newry Corner. So we need a better trail groomer and drag, something more heavy duty with more power.”
In addition to Dunn, groomer Bill Wight of Newry also appreciated learning that the grant application was approved.
Dunn said the club also seeks to purchase the heavier equipment to better and more easily connect their trail system to Intraconnected Trail System 82, which runs from New Hampshire across Maine.
“We’re only 18 miles from the New Hampshire border and we have to go through the Mahoosucs. That means three to four days a week of grooming with our smaller machines. But with this new equipment, hopefully, it will cut us down to one to two days a week and enable us to make better groomed trails. Now we should have a really good trail connecting us with Umbagog, Erroll and Berlin, N.H.,” Dunn added.
tkarkos@sunjournal.com
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