We offer winter lodging at Clementz’s Northcountry Campground and Cabins and have trail access 1/16th of a mile south of us. Please visit our website at www.northcountrycampground.com. We still have openings through out the month of December.

I am also the trail reporter for the Eastern U.P. and Secretary for TASA. We have PLENTY of snow. We have started grooming our #9 North trail and hubby Groomer Dan is out on the South trail (headed to Cut River and Rexton).

Check out our website, email me at cclementz@lighthouse.net or call at 906-293-8562

We hope we can be a part of your plans!

Posted December 4, 2007

Man, pregnant woman swim 50 yards for help after snowmobile goes through ice

Crystal Lindell of The Northwestern

A 22-year-old pregnant woman and a 29-year-old man were cold but otherwise unharmed when their snowmobile fell through the ice on the Wolf River early Sunday morning.

Jennifer Pliska of Stevens Point and Shaun Wenzel of Fremont had to swim about 50 yards to get help after their 2001 Ski Doo snowmobile went through the ice at 2:59 a.m. Sunday.

Pliska, who is six months pregnant, was taken to Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca, said Winnebago County Sheriff\’s Department Lieutenant Todd Christopherson.

\”They were driving on the Wolf River and fell through some thin ice,\” he said. \”The snowmobile is currently at the bottom of the Wolf River.\”

Pliska was listed at the driver of the snowmobile and Wenzel as the passenger, but the snowmobile was not registered to either user.

Paul Jenson, spokesman for Riverside Medical Center, said Pliska was treated and released from the hospital after the accident.

Christopherson said the ice is not thick enough for people to be using their snowmobiles on the water yet.

\”That\’s not a very good idea right now, especially on a river with the currents,\” he said. \”That\’s the last you place you want to be and even when the lakes freeze, the rivers are always the last to freeze.\”

Typically, ice should be at least 12 inches thick before people ride their snowmobiles on it, Christopherson said.

Crystal Lindell: (920) 426-6668 or kebert@thenorthwestern.com.

First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone for contacting my office this morning concerning the lack of snowmobile grooming in northern Michigan.  It is through communications like yours that help my office respond to such matters.

I have been working with the Michigan Snowmobile Association (MSA) and local clubs regarding yearly grant agreements between snowmobile clubs and the MDNR that provide for such things as reimbursement for local grooming.
This morning, after receiving your e-mails, I personally contacted the MDNR.  Unfortunately, it has taken more than three week for the department to compose the new agreements pursuant to its meeting with MSA in early November where a compromise was reached.
I am afraid the MDNR doesn’t quite understand the urgency and importance that grooming provides to both tourism and the snowmobiling in northern Michigan.  So, I have taken the liberty of sharing your sentiments with them as well as my own in order to remind the department how essential grooming services are us in the north.
In conveying our concerns and frustrations to the MDNR, it is my understanding that the department will be sending out grant agreements to local clubs tomorrow morning.  Every club should have them within the next day or two. I would urge local clubs to review and sign the agreements as soon as possible.
According to the MSA, these agreements should now reflect the compromise reached back in November.  In the interim, I am placing pressure on the department to allow the local clubs to begin grooming operations upon the signature of the local club.
I would encourage you to keep me aware of anything you might be hearing locally concerning this issue.  I continue to stand ready and willing to assist local businesses, snowmobile groups and citizens that have any further concerns about this matter.
Thank you again for contacting me.  I appreciate everyone bringing this to my attention and hope things will be expedited as a result of our pressure on the MDNR.
Sincerely,
Kevin
—————————————
Kevin A. Elsenheimer
State Representative
105th House District

Contact Information:
State Representative Kevin A. Elsenheimer
Michigan Legislature, 105th House District
PO Box 30014
Lansing, MI  48909
kevinelsenheimer@house.mi.gov
Toll Free: 1-877-536-4105
(517) 373-0829
Fax:  (517) 373-1841

It has been very difficult to be excited about all of the snow (upwards of 3’ in places) with the lack of a grant looming over the heads of the clubs that groom the trails.

HOW many years has it been that we have waited and prayed for a start to the snowmobile season such as we have now??? ALL this snow, even on the south trail, and no grant in hand to allow us to groom! Oh, we COULD groom, but we don’t know if we would get reimbursed for it. Even snow plowing the staging areas is on hold until we have a grant number to assign to the bid tabulations sheet! There is a LOT of snow in the staging areas.

Some clubs have started grooming and hope that they get reimbursed for it. TASA will be making that decision in the next couple of days. In the meantime though, SUPPOSEDLY AN AGREEMENT WITH THE DNR HAS BEEN REACHED and grant sponsors (the clubs) are being directed by MSA to sign the grant and over night it to Lansing. The HOPE is that the clubs that have already started grooming (basically laying down the trail so they can get to the real business of grooming), will be able to be reimbursed for their efforts thus far but that is an “unknown” yet too.

If I receive more information today, I will post it on the message board and at www.thetrailblog.com. Keep your fingers crossed.

CATHY CLEMENTZ, SEC FOR TASA

The following info pretty much came straight from the horses mouth so to speak. It was sent as part of the trail report from Seney. Don Reed has been elected President of MSA so he and his wife Diane KNOW what is going on Clubs are in a world of hurt.

RUMOR CONTROL: “There was a lot of rumors and publication about not having groomed trails this year. MSA, representing the grant sponsors, has been battling proposed changes from the DNR all summer long. A compromised was finally reached when they went over their heads to the NRC (Natural Resource Commission)last month; we thought. But when the addendum came out last Friday disappointment prevailed. Again the DNR reworded the handbook but didn’t change the content. Most grant sponsor are refusing to sign the grant application until the changes are made as agreed upon. What that means to you is that we don’t have a signed grant for grooming operation this season yet, which means we don’t get paid to groom. Many other organizations are in this predicament. Most grooming that is taking place right now is with out a signed grant and out of their own pockets. If you come north to ride right now, be aware if this and contribute heavily to the area you are riding in to cover the cost.”

TASA IS IN THIS SAME BOAT, ALTHOUGH WE DON’T NORMALLY GROOM UNTIL WE CAN OPEN THE GATES ON THE NORTH TRAILS (after muzzle loading season) AND IT HAS BEEN YEARS SINCE THERE HAS BEEN ENOUGH SNOW SOUTH TO EVEN THINK ABOUT GROOMING THIS EARLY.

Cathy Clementz, Secretary and Trail Reporter for the Tahquamenon Area Snowmobile Association, Newberry

MORE INFO AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE;

November 8, 2007

To All Snowmobile Grant Sponsors;

Dear Grant Sponsors,

This morning a meeting was held in Lansing, MI with the following people. Keith Charters, Chair Natural Resource Commission, Frank Wheatlake Commissioner, Mindy Koch, Deputy Director DNR, Lynn Boyd, Chief FMFM, Jim Radabaugh, State trails Coordinator. Other attendees were myself, Ken Scott, Lake Gogebic, Don Reed, Seney, Martin Cottle, Sault Ste. Marie, and Bruce Wood, Charlevoix.

The meeting was held to discuss the last item of the 2008 Snowmobile Grant Handbook. These sections were (b) Equipment Purchased 2002-2005 and (c) Equipment Purchased 2001 and older. Many of you expressed concerns for many different reasons on these two topics. The meeting was civil between all parties and each party gave their reasons and views on these issues. When all was said and done, all parties have agreed on course of action that may affect all sponsors differently. The participants at the meeting felt that this agreement will be workable for all.

I do not have the exact words in a document yet, the department is working on it now, this is my view.

On equipment purchased in 2002 -2005 the statement “MUST be traded in” will change to “MAY”.

If equipment is sold or traded the sponsor will get 100% of their original 40% or 25% investment returned to them. If the Sponsor has a note on that equipment for more that the % returned the program will cover that amount over the % returned.

On equipment purchased 2001 or earlier, the statement “MUST be traded in” will change to “MAY”. again when the equipment is sold the sponsor will get their original % back from the program. Any additional money received over the original % may only be spent on grant supported items.

At the conclusion of the meeting the department informed us that they had taken a poll of the sponsors to ask if they were going to sign the 2008 Grant Agreement. They told me that they were concerned that I and MSA were intimidating many sponsors into saying that they would not sign. I know that there is still a lot of confusion about this issue but let me state this.

I as Chair of the SAC committee committed the rest of the SAC committee to be the fact finder and eventually the negotiators of all of the issues related to the handbook. The SAC committee members put lots of their time and effort to doing what the majority of the sponsors wanted to see remedied in the handbook. When we heard of discontent in the sponsors and the threat of not grooming we all felt it was our duty to get the issues taken care of. Our goal is twofold, to make the Michigan Trails the best there is, and to do this make the Grant Sponsors feel good about what they do for us! We don’t intimidate, we respond.

Bill Manson
Executive Director
Michigan Snowmobile Association

Cathy Clementz, TASA – cclementz@lighthouse.net
Newberry
November 08, 2007
I JUST RECIEVED THE FOLLOWING INFO FROM BILL MANSON, MSA;Snowmobile Industry Avoids
Trail Shutdown for ’07-’08 Season
DNR & Trail Volunteers Poised to Sign Agreements to Open Trails Dec. 1
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Today the Michigan Snowmobile Association (MSA) announced that trail grooming clubs, known as grant sponsors, reached an agreement with the Department of Natural Resources to avoid a shutdown of Michigan’s snowmobile trails this winter. A prior disagreement regarding ownership rights of grooming equipment threatened to cripple the industry.

“The grant sponsors had very serious equipment ownership concerns that were addressed under the handbook agreement. We were at a critical stage where it could have gone either way, so I am relieved that the industry and the businesses that rely upon it will thrive this winter,” said Bill Manson, Executive Director.

The handbook agreement means that sixty-seven grant sponsors will sign this year’s “Grant Sponsor Handbook” with the DNR. The handbook establishes a binding financial agreement to administer the trail grooming snowmobile program. Trail grooming is absolutely essential to the snowmobiling industry. Trails must be groomed, have visible signage, and be free of debris for safe riding. Moreover, it is mandatory for access to many remote trail networks throughout the state.

The grooming program is funded entirely by snowmobile trail users, and not from tax dollars. User fees are administered by the DNR so the grooming clubs must get reimbursed for purchasing tractors and other equipment. The equipment is very expensive requiring many of the non-profit groups to obtain personal bank loans for purchase and maintenance.

The trail grooming program still would not be possible without the volunteer services of the grant sponsor clubs, which are very passionate about making Michigan’s trails the best in the country. The clubs keep 6,400 miles of trail network operational; last year the grant sponsors groomed over 352,048 trail miles, during a season with poor snowfall.

The trail grooming agreement was facilitated by members of the Natural Resources Commission. Chairman Keith Charters and Commissioner Frank Wheatlake played a key role in resolving the dispute.

“The MSA is thankful for their leadership on this very important issue, and we applaud their service to the public. We would also like to acknowledge the commitment on the part of the DNR to reach this agreement,” said Manson.

Acting on behalf of the DNR was Mindy Koch, Lynn Boyd, and Jim Radabaugh.
Snowmobiling is a crucial segment of Michigan’s tourism economy. It generates over $1 billion annually for the state’s economy through purchase of related goods and services like snowmobiles, equipment, food, lodging, and gasoline. Over 7,000 direct jobs are supported by the state’s snowmobile industry.

“Snowmobiling is absolutely essential to our winter tourism season. We look forward to a
successful snowmobiling season that will benefit the entire tourism industry,” said Manson.

The trail grooming sponsors are comprised of snowmobile clubs, business groups, or a combination of both. Snowmobile trails in Michigan are open from December 1st through March 31st.

hallalujah!

The word is out that there is a meeting of the DNR today (Thursday) that will discuss the trail grooming contracts between the DNR and the Michigan Snowmobile Clubs. We have posted below some information from the message boards regarding the issue. If you have any updated information on this issue please post it here. Thanks.

From the MSA website – (from an article by Jim Duke)

When the first draft of the “revised Handbook” was presented to SAC members, not one deletion that was requested could be found. In fact, not only did the revision look identical to the earlier model, now there were additional objectionable issues to be worked on. After two more trips to Lansing to meet with the DNR players and multiple revisions to the “revised” copy submitted, there still have been very few changes to benefit the sponsors. We seem to be getting nowhere. All in all, it appears that we are very close to seeing groomed trails become a thing of the past.

As this goes to print, the majority of grant sponsors are very dissatisfied with the program in providing adequate compensation in return of labors and sacrifices. Approximately half of the 64 sponsors have expressed intent to refuse signing of the grant contracts. Should this happen, we may be riding on ungroomed trails this season. This will be disastrous to the winter economy for those who so desperately depend on it.For More, Click Here