Saucier bill
will boost snowmobile industry local economy
As the days grow colder and snow accumulates, Maine’s snowmobile industry really begins to take off. The hundreds of miles of groomed trails attract people from all over New England and Canada.
These visitors eat at our restaurants, stop at our gas stations, stay in our hotels and shop at our local stores. Their visits boost our economy and help the people of Aroostook County make a living. A threat to the snowmobile industry prompted me to submit an after-deadline emergency bill.
Two years ago, plans for the construction of a new bypass in Presque Isle slated for the spring of 2016 started to be discussed. From the beginning, the Maine Department of Transportation planned to include a multi-use rail trail on the outer edge of the highway so that the northern Maine snowmobile trails could remain connected.
Late last year, however, I was alarmed to learn that this trail could not be created due to language in Maine statute that forbids the operation of an ATV or snowmobile on a controlled access highway. This would hinder any opportunity to connect the trails and could greatly impact the snowmobiling economy. My bill would amend this statute.
Legislative leaders allowed the bill in, and it will now be heard before the full Legislature. If passed, my bill would allow the commissioner of transportation to permit the construction of all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile trails within the right-of-way limits of controlled access highways in areas of new construction.
If the bill is successful, a trail would be created that connects the multi-use rail trail from Houlton to Presque Isle with the multi-use rail trail on the north side of Presque Isle proper that continues to Caribou and New Sweden and connects to the trail north to Van Buren and south to Mapleton.
This would be huge for The County. Think of the people we could attract with this trail!
Maine’s snowmobile trail system includes over 14,000 miles of trail, including 3,500 miles of primary trail known as the Interconnected Trail System. The economic value of snowmobiling in Maine is estimated to be in excess of $300 million, according to Bob Meyers, executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association. This number could continue to grow as we attract more people to come and snowmobile in our state.
Currently, snowmobilers who are registered in Vermont and New Hampshire may operate their sleds in Maine for three consecutive days without being registered in Maine. Last session, we extended this provision to snowmobilers registered in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. This offers the opportunity for snowmobilers from Canada to come to Maine to do what they love, while enjoying what our state has to offer.
The more people visit our area, the more our economy will benefit. I am committed to the health of the snowmobile industry in Maine.
Rep. Robert Saucier is in his second term in the Maine House and represents part of Presque Isle. He serves on the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee and the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. He is also House chair of the Maine Citizen Trade Policy Commission.
