Quote:
Originally Posted by Outdoorsman
This may not be a post that some of you want to read, but.... Lets face it, riding in Moultonboro and surrounding areas has been marginal at best. I have seen post by Moultonboro club members that tout riding in the North Country for better riding.
If NHSA could place the money where it makes for better trails, where people actually ride/visit, why the discord?
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I have been involved with the Moultonborough club for many years first as a volunteer, then director, and finally president. I don't think anyone would argue that the riding up north is typically better than central NH, however not everyone in NH has the time, inclination or financial wherewithal to trek to Pittsburg or similar to snowmobile. People do want to ride and visit here. We are the third largest club in NH with over 700 members.
I volunteer because it is good for my town and the area. When I drive by gas stations and restaurants and see sleds parked at those establishments it make me happy, because, absent those people, many businesses, and more importantly, their employees would suffer. Those riders are typically locals or people that own vacation houses here. Many places just survive the winter while waiting for the summer boon (kind of the opposite of the Pittsburg and similar areas that survive summer while waiting for winter). If they don't survive the winter, they won't be here for the summer. Mostly gone are the days of a true summer seasonal business in the lakes region.
Snowmobiling in central NH is facing two major challenges- weather and land development/ ownership changes leading to trail closures. We cannot change either. We can try to do a good job of maintaining our trails and promoting our trail system. We receive grant-in-aid (GIA) from the state via registration dollars to groom trails and buy grooming equipment. The NHSA has zero to do with GIA. They do not distribute any of the monies that they receive to clubs or trail maintenance. The rest of our funding comes from the $25 that remain after we send $10 to NHSA or added contributions from our members who appreciate what we are trying to do. As Lake Geezer notes above, taking the clubs out of the process hurts our ability to directly interact with our members.