14 | Snowmobile Vermont
By Matt Tetreault, VAST Trails Administrator
REPORT
TRAILS
Northeast Acronyms
To get myself motivated to throw some
thoughts from my crazy head onto a
computer screen, or paper, I had to
look back at what I wrote about last
year at this time, as well as the year
before that. I always have a lot I could
write about, but truthfully no one
probably wants to hear what I have
to say, yet here I am anyways. You’re
welcome!
In my review of my articles from the
past seasons, I seem to write about my
Northeast Chapter Ride experiences,
which I am going to once again
enlighten you with whether you like it
or not.
For those of you who still aren’t sure
what the Northeast Chapter Ride
is, I will admit I am disappointed in
you for not going back to find old
Snowmobile Vermont magazines to
read my articles and learn about this.
I am kidding, and I am not even sure
I have ever explained what it is, so in
this article we are going to dedicate
some time to that.
The Northeast Chapter is an affiliate of
the American Council of Snowmobile
Associations (ACSA) and the
Canadian Council of Snowmobile
Organizations (CCSO) … We like our
acronyms! We are comprised of the
states and Canadian provinces with
Snowmobile Trails Programs in the
Northeast, which include: Snowmobile
Association of Massachusetts (SAM),
New Brunswick Federation of
Snowmobile Clubs (NBFSC), New
Hampshire Snowmobile Association
(NHSA), New York State Snowmobile
Association (NYSSA), Newfoundland
and Labrador Snowmobile Federation
(NLSF), Snowmobile Association
of Nova Scotia (SANS), Maine
Snowmobile Association (MSA),
Ontario Federation of Snowmobile
Clubs (OFSC), Pennsylvania State
Snowmobile Association (PSSA),
Prince Edward Island Snowmobile
Association (PEISA), Quebec
Federation of Snowmobile Clubs
(FCMQ) and, of course, the Vermont
Association of Snow Travelers (VAST).
The Scandinavian Snowmobile
Association (SNOFED) was part of this
organization in the 2004-2010 era, but
political climate (I guess that is how
I would describe what little I know
about it) has halted this involvement in
recent years.
Despite this, we still have a large
group of states and provinces who
are regularly active in the Northeast
Chapter. And again, as I noted, we
sure love our acronyms here in the
Northeast. There is a quiz later in the
magazine to see if you can remember
all the acronyms mentioned in this
article, so pay attention!
The mission statement for the
Northeast Chapter: “Dedicated to
the preservation and promotion
of environmentally organized
snowmobiling and snowmobile trails
in the Northeast.”
The objectives of the chapter are as
follows:
• To encourage the safe, courteous,
lawful and responsible use of
snowmobiles.
• To promote the orderly development
of snowmobiling in the Northeastern
United States and Eastern Canada,
through the cooperative efforts of the
member states and provinces.
• To act as a medium for the exchange
of information and ideas between the
participating state associations and
provincial organizations.
• To promote the exchange of
information and ideas between this
chapter and other regional chapters of
the American Council of Snowmobile
Associations, Canadian Council
of Snowmobile Organizations,
International Snowmobile Council,
the International Snowmobile
Manufacturers Association and any
other organization involved with
snowmobiling.
The Northeast Chapter meets three to
four times per year, and sometimes
more if there are smaller breakout
groups working on initiatives or major
issues. We get together for a ride and
meetings in February, again in June
at the International Snowmobile
Congress (ISC), and typically hold one
or two additional meetings via Zoom.
There are also a Mid-West Chapter and
a Western Chapter for the states and
provinces in those geographic areas.
All our work and the work conducted
in each of these other chapters is
reported to ACSA, CCSO, IASA and
ISMA at the ISC.
Please let me know if any of that made
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