18 | Snowmobile VERMONT By Patty Companik The Scholarship and Recognition Committee is pleased to announce the winners of two VAST $1,500 scholarships for 2018. Cameron Burkhardt of Newport, R.I. is a member of the Cavendish Green Mountain Snow Fleas. Cameron regularly helps the club with trail cleanup, bridge building and club- hosted events. He is planning to attend Vermont Tech in the fall with his major area of study in Agribusiness Management. Cameron’s Essay: I am from Rhode Island but in the winter I am in Vermont. I was introduced to snowmobiling at the age of three and have always enjoyed it. Snowmobiling in Vermont is my home away from home, and in order to have and maintain anything nice, you have to take care of it. That is where volunteers and landowners come into the picture. In order for this hobby to continue, we need landowners’ permission to use their property and many of the landowners are happy to help the community. There was a person who passed away and was a landowner who volunteered a lot. His name was Darryl Stones and in his will and deed it stated that the trail was to run through the property no matter what. Because of people like him, we have this incredible activity. However, there are landowners who are very concerned about people snowmobiling on the trails that are on their property. If someone goes off the trail or thinks a person’s driveway is the trail, the landowner may say you can’t use their property. When this happens, the club has to find another way around the house in order to get to the other part of the trail. The club can sometimes get a new landowner or even multiple landowners. This is why it is important to maintain a healthy relationship with the landowners and address their needs and concerns. My club has an annual pig roast for the landowners just to thank them for letting us use their property. We raffle off prizes and some of the landowners are so generous they give us stuff to raffle even though it’s for them. This just shows the bond we have in the community. The club does all the trail work to uphold the relationship and talk with the landowners to see if they have any concerns for the upcoming winter. Another aspect of this relationship is that the riders should respect the landowner’s wishes and follow the trail signs. If all riders did this, then the landowners wouldn’t take trails down. One thing that a person should do when buying a house with a trail is to check the deed to see if the club has permission to use the trail. The landowner should also talk with the club and ask them questions and get involved. The less educated they are about the trails, the more annoyed the landowner may become. The only thing that holds this relationship together is the open communication between landowners and the clubs. This is why it is important to keep a healthy line of communication open with landowners. SCHOLARSHIPS