BUCKFIELD — Some years, Streaked Mountaineers Snowmobile Club President Mike Fox, 50, spends three or four hundred hours on the trail.

Not riding the trails, even though that was the passion that brought him to his first Streaked Mountaineers meeting some 20 years ago. Instead, he grooms, clears and maintains the 50-mile trail system, sometimes by himself.

“I spend way more time maintaining trails and grooming than I ever come close to riding,” said Fox.

The Streaked Mountaineers are a small club, of about 40 members, based in Buckfield. Most are in their 30’s and 40’s.  Fox doesn’t see a lot of fresh blood.

“It seems like the younger generation has a lot of people riding, but they don’t seem to have any interest in helping us with the trail work we spend hundreds of hours a year on.”

Trail work is intensive, and can be grueling. Typical projects included hauling out lumber for new bridges and structures, and subsequently building them. It’s grunt work – clearing, hauling and disposing of brush. During the winter, Fox goes out at night to groom trails – often from 7 p.m. to the early morning hours. During the night, there’s little traffic to interfere, and the trails freeze over.

Oftentimes, there’s very little help.

“It’s hard to ask a friend who works in the morning to go out at 7 p.m and get back at 1 a.m,” said Fox.

Rob Mowatt, 46, president of Norway Trackers Snowmobile Club, has similar struggles.

The Trackers maintain 70 miles of trail. Same amount of work; similar turnout.

“We have approximately  40 to 50 regular members,” he said. “20 show up at a normal meeting. During a scheduled work day in the fall, 8-12 show up. I’d like it to be more. We’ll take all the help we can get, for sure,” he said.

Most Norway Tracker members are in their 50s, and many have full-time jobs. Mowatt said the two youngest people in his club are his own sons. 

Mowatt said in the past,  he’s reached out to Oxford Hills High School, asking for help from students who required community service hours to graduate. He snagged a few interested teens, but no steady help, and now, it’s back to square one.

“It’s one of the big areas of concern; how do we reach out to the younger kids and get them involved. It’s hard work in the fall.  It’s not easy to pick up and throw brush, and to maintain it throughout the winter, keeping the trails marked and safe,” Mowatt said.

Mowatt said he does his best to advertise and use social media to draw volunteers to clean-up days. But the generational gap is evident.

“We do advertise our work days on social media and Facebook. I’ve talked to other clubs, to see what they’re doing, if anything, and they’re all in the same boat. It’s hard to communicate with (the younger) generation, and I’m not sure why,” Mowatt said. 

Maine has a vast amount of snowmobile trails, all interconnected.  There are more than 14,500 miles of trails in Maine, and riders can access anywhere in the state through a trail system; from Norway to Jackman, and in-between. There are 289 clubs in Maine, each responsible for maintaining their own trails.  Ninety-five percent of trails are owned by private land-owners who agree to allow the trails on their property.

Bob Meyer, executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association, said snowmobiling is a $350 million dollar industry, with 3,200 hundred equivalent full time jobs. For the past three years, snowmobile registrations have averaged between 80,000 and 82,000. Meyer said approximately 20,000 of those were non-residents.

The State has very little involvement with the upkeep of the trails.

In some states, like New Hampshire, anyone who registers a snowmobile is required to join a club. In New York, Fox said, all trail grooming equipment is run by state and maintained for clubs. In exchange, the state can tell the clubs when to open and close trails, and some see that as a loss of independence.

Fox thinks mandatory club membership could work in Maine. At $46, Maine is one of the cheapest states in the country to register a snowmobile. Fox said that extra revenue and help could make his situation easier. 

“Money isn’t always the answer to fix things, but at least if we have money we can hire excavators and rent some equipment to make our lives easier,” he said. But he admits cash can’t replace the value of work.

“You can have all the money you want, but that doesn’t give you the 10-12 guys you need on the weekend when you’re building a bridge,” Fox said.

Both Mowatt and Fox say a facet of the problem is the current marketing of snowmobiles; the younger demographic seem to be trending towards off-road [trails] machines, and that poses problems for delicate trail systems that rely on landowner generosity.

“I’ve seen more of them on the trail, kids standing up with their dirt bike helmets on, looking for places to go off trail. We don’t have a lot of places where they can go off trail really easily. There are lot of land owners that want them to stay on the trail,” Fox said.  

“That’s what the kids are all buying up these days,” Mowatt said. “It’s really creating an issue with the Maine Snowmobilers Association as a whole,” he said.

But that’s just a facet of the problem. The guard is changing; as members get older and age out, Mowatt’s worried that there won’t be enough young people to take the reins. He said his sons, both involved with the club, know the day to day operations, and the effort it takes to keep the club above water.

“They see my passion for it, and know what it takes to keep it going. Eventually the older people are going to stop coming, and they’re the next line,” he said.

It’s not all apocalyptic doom and gloom; though many clubs are struggling with membership, the Hillside Riders of Lewiston stand out as beacon of hope.

Eric Spear, president of the club, said the Riders have about 130 members, with a healthy member demographic.

“We have older teenagers who are doing work, involved from fundraising or trail-work, up to guys who are retired,” said Spear.

While other clubs struggle to find the help needed to maintain their trails, Spear said it’s easy for the Hillside Riders to find the needed help. 

“We do a very good job. We have a lot of interested people. We have fun, and everyone can pick a task. No matter the age, we try to respect everybody, and let them have a shot at something they enjoy,” he said. 

Spear said he tries to distribute the work evenly, and allows younger members to find an upwards trajectory through the ranks.

“(A teenager)  can start picking up brush, when someone cuts brush. They can help build bridges, help put up signs, pound stakes in. As they get older, more of an adult, they learn how to groom with grooming equipment, and they take care of the trails.  Some help out with fundraisers; either collecting stuff for raffles or selling tickets or writing newsletters. It’s all over the place,” he said. 

Spear said his willingness to step aside and let club members take up new tasks drives a sense of community in his club.

“Some say, no, I’m have to do it all myself, and make sure it’s done right. I don’t have that attitude. I try to convey that to people; give somebody new a chance. Not necessarily young, but give somebody new a chance to learn a little and improve themselves,” said Spear.

Spear said he’s gone around to local clubs to try and help them drum up support, but he finds combating pessimism and “can’t do” attitudes difficult.

“I attend a lot of area club meetings, checking out other clubs and trying to help them. I’ve gone to Sabattus, to Auburn, to Greene, and Lisbon. I’ve tried to help out. The problem is everybody likes doing the things they like doing. They say ‘oh, we don’t have enough people to do that.’ Well, try,” he said. 

“A lot of people don’t like to have an open mind when it comes to stuff like that. They want to stay with what they’re doing. They’re the same people that complain about not having enough help.”

Spear also said many clubs don’t do nearly enough networking.

“If you’re not putting yourself out there, attending meetings, meeting people, and networking, then that’s why you’re not doing well. I think that’s part of the failure of a lot of these clubs. That’s why you don’t have any help,” said Spear.

But the fact remains that even larger, more established and respected clubs have a difficult time attracting younger help.

Jonny Wakefield, board member of the Rangeley Lakes Snowmobile Club, said Rangeley Lakes, one of the largest clubs in Maine, struggles.

“It doesn’t matter the size of the club. A lot of the clubs talk and work together, I don’t know of a snowmobile club that has the volunteers they need, never-mind that they want,” Wakefield said. 

Rangeley Lakes is a 800-member club, comprised of mostly middle aged members . Wakefield said if he needs 20 people to help, he’s lucky to get 10. Wakefield said day to day operations for the club have become brutal.

“We could use more hands on deck all the time. It’s constantly the same eight to 10 people who do a majority of [the work],” said Wakefield. 

Wakefield said the club has an operating budget of about $280,000, but money doesn’t negate the effects of a shortage of volunteers. With more money, there’s more trails to maintain (the club maintains about 200 miles of trails), and more landowners to work and negotiate with. Everyone on the board has a full-time job, and balances family life with the demands of the club.

“It gets pretty daunting,  and we get worn out pretty quick. If we didn’t have some really good members that keep us motivated – we’re very fortunate. We have a lot of members that say ‘thank you’, and help us when they can. But the local involvement is definitely disheartening,” he said. 

And for a town like Rangeley, which has been been coping with the inactivity of Saddleback Mountain for four years, the thousands of snowmobilers who ride the area trails are an absolutely vital part of the town’s economy.

“We’d put a closed sign on this town if it wasn’t for the club and the chamber,” he said.

Regardless of the potential economic impact of member large-scale member shortages, many club leaders yearn for an opportunity for their older members to relax and enjoy the ride.

According to Fox, some of his club members are reaching their golden years, and should be able to retire from the demands of trail upkeep. 

 “It would be nice if some of the older people, towards the end of their life, didn’t have to work so hard, and could get out and enjoy the trails,” said Fox.

jbolduc@sunjournal.com