b'TRAILS REPORTBy Matt Tetreault, VAST Trails AdministratorWinter is around the corner, and clubscan accomplish and only so manywhat has happened over the last two are busy piecing the trail system backcontractors and resources to go around.seasons, please see the statistics below:together after yet another wild summerAs a result, some trails will be closed- 152 Flood Relief Trail Projects - FY 24 here in Vermont. Normally, this timefor the upcoming winter. Clubs are(from July 2023 flood) $480,000 spent.of year we would be talking aboutaware of the damage to these trails, and installing sign stakes and puttingin many cases are working closely with- 34 Flood Relief Trail Projects - FY 25 finishing touches on the trail system.the landowners and land managers(leftover from July 2023 flood) $261,000 While some clubs are in this stage ofinvolved to supply a remedy to thefunded.trail readiness, others, mainly in theproblems that exist. The Acceptable- 70 Emergency Projects - FY 25 (from North Central and Northern Counties,Management Practices (AMPs) for trailJuly 10th & 30th 2024 floods) $250,000 are weeks away from signing andbuilding have been altered significantlyfunded.finishing touches. Eroded trails stillbecause of the weather events in the- 10 Unfunded Emergency Projects - FY need repair, bridges need replacement,last two seasons. Everyone is doing25. $612,000 requested.and culverts need resetting, amongtheir best to rebuild infrastructure that other things. This work is in additionis more resilient to the weather we areTotal Requests for 100% of all to the routine maintenance clubexperiencing regularly now, and thisEmergency projects from FY 24 & FY 25 volunteers address annually along theiralone has increased not only the scopethus far: $1,681,000.trail system. but also the costs of many projects- Clubs are finding additional washouts As we all know, our hearty volunteersthat need to be completed. Some ofand damage every week, so this figure battled this same nemesis last summerthe trails that remain closed for thewill continue to grow.and late into the fall, and evenseason often contain large bridges and/early winter, with a mid-Decemberor culverts that need to be replaced- This does not include $305,000 spent flood event that not only melted thewith much larger bridges and culvertsin FY 24 on regular trail maintenance/early snow but also crippled ourthan what was in place prior to thedebrushing projects or the $700,000 infrastructure once again. With theflooding. Other larger projects involveallocated for trail maintenance/mediocre winter, coupled with thethousands of yards of material to builddebrushing projects in FY 25.fact that multiple trail systems werethe trail base up to a usable standard.The most up-to-date information will weakened and/or work was not yetMuch or all of this material needs to bebe shown on our interactive map and completed from 2023s mayhem, thebrought from offsite, as everything onour apps at www.vtvast.org. Please use addition of this summers floodingsite is practically washed away. Thesethat as the go-to source for up-to-date was extremely detrimental to our trailmore significant projects are takinginformation, especially as the season system and our mental well-being.a great deal of time and effort, anddraws closer. However, the map shown Unfortunately, the July 10th, 2024,as a result, some of them have beenhere is a quick look at what we know of rainstorm impacted some of the sameplaced on the back burner for the timefor closures right now.areas affected in 2023, notably thebeing, while clubs work to maintain Northern and Eastern areas of Centralas much continuity along their trailI will close with a reminder that we Vermont and Washington County. Thesystems as possible. Collaboratingneed everyones support more than only silver lining here is that manywith landowners and their needs is aever this winter season. The volunteers of the trails and bridges rebuilt sincecontributing factor, as is the availabilityare continuing to do their best to piece 2023 were reconstructed to be moreof contractors willing to do the workthe trail system back together. This resilient than before, and much of thisin some of these hardest-hit areas. Inwill happen right up until opening work held up to this years deluge ofother instances, there are loop trailsday. Thanks to these efforts, along water. On the contrary, areas that werewith multiple bridges and/or washed- with those of local contractors and the weakened by the multiple weatherout areas that, truthfully, need angracious landowners who have all events in 2023, along with areas thatevaluation to determine if the juicesacrificed and donated to the cause, were not fully repaired, took the worstis worth the squeeze. Despite thesewe will have a great trail system to of it. The most significant devastationlarger projects being placed on holdride this winter. If any of you are came from a second storm on July 30thfor a while, there will be good ridingquestioning where your TMA dollars that significantly impacted areas thatopportunities available everywhere thisgo, please review the figures above had previously been spared by thewinter, with plenty of access to servicesonce again, and note that this does peril earlier in the month of July. Thisand many of the same loops/trails younot include funding that is used to storm, which dropped around 8 inchesenjoy awaiting your arrival. We havehelp clubs purchase $260,000 pieces of of rain depending on location in a shortdone our best to maintain as much trailgrooming equipment or the hundreds time span, was concentrated in Essex,continuity and access to your favoriteof thousands of dollars spent on paying Orleans, and Caledonia Counties,destinations as possible, but pleasethem to operate the equipment on a causing much of the Northern trailunderstand we are not miracle workersper-mile basis. Support your local clubs systems to become a crippled mess. either! and support local businesses. Vermont For a quick summary/synopsis ofneeds it! If this were easy, everyone There is only so much the volunteerswould be doing it!12 | Snowmobile VERMONT'