Snowmobile Fee Increases
Get ready to fork over more money for your next snowmobile permit. The 2011 snowmobile season is the next stage of a new fee structure for fees. The price for a permit is $45, an increase of $10 over last year. The fee will remain $45 through the 2015 snowmobile season.
A state law signed in 2008 provided for the incremental increase in snowmobile trail fees, which support maintenance and grooming of the state’s snowmobile trail network.
“We have strong relationships with our partners in the snowmobile community,” said Jim Radabaugh, section manager for the DNR’s Recreation and Trails Program in the Forest Management Division. “It is because of our partnership with 68 snowmobile trail sponsors that Michigan is able to offer over 6,400 miles of designated, groomed and signed trails.”
The fee increase is said to be necessary to offset the increasing snowmobile grant sponsor costs — such as fuel, engineering services and insurance — to maintain the designated and groomed trail network, and to fund long-term trail infrastructure needs, such as bridges and culverts.
“When it comes to keeping Michigan’s trails safe and groomed, a little goes a long way,” added Lynne Boyd, chief of the Forest Management Division at the DNR. “This fee increase is a way for every snowmobiler to do his or her part toward providing season-long access to miles and miles of magical Michigan trails.”