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18 Snowmobile VERMONT Magazine by Matt Tetreault VAST Trails Administrator TRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILSTRAILS REPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORT As you read this we will be just a few short weeks away from yet another snowmobile season. From the tall grass dust rocks dirt fields and woods roads the VAST volunteer effort has created a magnificent trail system for all to enjoy this winter. The brightly colored signs are starting to appear in many locations which only means one thing...Snow is just around the corner. I may sound like a broken record once again as I am going to cover some of the same things I do each season in this early winter article. One item I am going to cover and cover yet again is what I mentioned above. The volunteers who work behind the scenes throughout the year to make the trails appear from nothing are becoming a skeleton crew throughout much of the state. VAST and the local clubs need your help. If you ride you can certainly help out for a half a day on a weekend or if you really want to get into it talk with your local club about adopting a section of trail. I am sure most clubs would love to have a new member who was responsible for working with the landowners maintaining and signing a particular section of trail even if it is a mile or two near where you live and ride. Every bit helps. This system works well and saves on volunteer burnout. Attend some of your local club meetings so you know what is going on. Please get out there and help or there may not be trails to ride any longer. I will keep writing about this in my articles until there are some results. Now to inform you as to what is going on at the VAST office. A good portion of the late summer and fall season has been spent working on mapping changes. Yes we are coming out with a new map this year We will also have new MicroSD cards for sale and an updated Interactive Map and phone app. I looked back at the article I wrote for the season opening edition of the Snowmobile Vermont last year and I made the comment that we should have a pretty accurate map after all of the changes last year. I almost think that we have more map changes this year than we have ever had. Just when you think you have them all another club reaches out with some changes. I strive to deliver a very accurate quality map that will aid the membership in safely navigating our trail system. I think we have a pretty good product but our work is never done. While the map is printing again this year the trail system will be changing in one way or another and ultimately it will be inaccurate before it is ever touched by the first rider out on the trail. With that depressing thought behind me I want to note how much I appreciate all of the clubs who have helped in the mapping effort. It has been a pleasure working with each of you and once again our map will show the fruits of your labor. This is also the time for emergency projects. As clubs are working with landowners and installing signs they are discovering that trail relocations are necessary beavers have dammed up culverts and bridges or Mother Nature has wreaked havoc in an isolated are on a mountainside at some point during the summer. It has been a mild summer and fall once again in terms of horrific storm events and overall the system is in good shape and will be ready for the snow. A total of eight Emergency projects have been submitted thus far and I have been contacted by at least eight more clubs who are planning to submit emergency projects in the next few weeks. Some of the projects are only 300 and others are 25000. The average is somewhere around 2000 but even with a fairly reasonable average a 40000 emergency budget does not go very far especially with a 25000 bridge replacement project throw in to the mix. As the saying goes it all comes out in the wash and eventually once again we work something out and there is enough funding to get the trails relocated and rebuilt and ready for the season.