The state’s snowmobile industry had one of its best seasons last winter after enduring one of its worst.
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- The Chamberland Snowmobile Club of St. Agatha — formed in the early 2000s by five brothers from the Jean Paul Chamberland family and since that time extended to relatives and friends — gathers for a week each February to ride the trails of northern Maine. This photo was taken in early February along the ITS 81 trail between Van Buren and Grand Isle. (Courtesy Eric Michaud)
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- Youngsters compete in the Tame the Track snowmobile races in February 2017 in Houlton. (Staff photo/Joseph Cyr)
Snowmobilers registered 85,035 sleds in Maine for the 2016-17 winter, according to just-released figures from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife — good news for an industry that supports much of the recreation economy of northern Maine.
That’s $4.88 million in registrations fees, which the state uses to pay for trail maintenance.
“It was a great year,” Bill Swan, IFW’s director of licensing and registration, said of 2016-17. “It was fairly consistent snow conditions for a fairly long part of the winter, so that really helps things out.”
The 85,035 registrations represent a 44-percent increase over the previous winter’s registrations. To find fewer than 59,000 registrations in a year in Maine, you have to go back to the 1980s.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “For snowmobilers, last winter was one for the books,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Nick Sambides, Jr., please follow this link to the BDN online.
