MEXICO – Leaders behind a grassroots effort trying to induce Maine landowners into closing their property to snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles to leverage reduced taxes shared their reasoning in a two-hour meeting on Monday night in the Mexico town hall.

Convened by the Mexico Trailblazers and Dixfield Poodunck snowmobile clubs, the session also gave snowmobile and ATV club members a chance to air views about reduced access and the future of their sports that annually bring into Maine half a billion dollars.

On Feb. 2, Freemont Tibbetts and his son-in-law, Danny McKay, both of Dixfield, closed their lands in Dixfield and Mexico to snowmobiles, restricting access to two state snowmobile trails.

Since then, they’ve talked four other landowners into joining their cause, prompting Monday night’s meeting with Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Dixfield, Rep. Sheryl Briggs, D-Mexico, Maine Snowmobile Association Executive Director Bob Meyers, and Robert Duplessie.

Duplessie coordinates recreational access and landowner relations for Maine.

“The government has used all of our lands for years and we get nothing. Nothing whatsoever,” Tibbetts, 78, said Monday night of allowing access for recreational uses.

Tibbetts said the onus is on snowmobile and ATV club members and landowners to work out the issues on the local level and not through politicians.

“I’m just a little guy and we call ourselves grassroots and we ain’t going to be taxed,” Tibbetts said.

“When Freemont closed his land, it was a protest, a movement he wanted to start,” McKay continued. “In a matter of a few weeks, we had six people willing to close their land.”

McKay said he has no problem with snowmobile and ATV club volunteers working to grow the industry. However, due to a dearth of volunteerism, McKay said problems involving a lack of respect for property will only worsen.

“This is something the state can’t fix. This is something we have to fix. If you can show generosity to a landowner, he may be able to show you generosity,” McKay said.

In compromise, he suggested that snowmobile and ATV clubs establish a fund to help people heat their homes during the winter.

That didn’t set well with some club members who argued that the protest amounted to a tax on snowmobile clubs.

“You’re trying to blackmail us,” said one man who suggested they instead take their protest to the State House in Augusta.

“We’re trying to work with you, but you’re trying to get landowners against us,” another man said.

Meyers said Maine snowmobile clubs aren’t flush with money and cannot help beyond what they’re doing already.

“We’re barely surviving and right now, we don’t need a black eye at a time when snowmobiling across the state is down,” Mexico Trailblazers member Jim McDonald said. “If you shut (land) down, it’s going to hurt.”

After more discussion, both Tibbetts and McKay said outside they thought the meeting was pointless because nothing was accomplished.

“All I heard in there was whine, whine, whine. They got problems and don’t know how to solve them. We just aired some things out, but we won’t give up. The trail clubs really need more volunteers to take care of a lot of landowner issues.

“I really think the key to success is volunteerism. … We can’t look to the state anymore,” McKay said.