Eastern U.P. Snowmobile Message Board, Eastern U.P., Michigan

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><P><H3>Eastern U.P. Snowmobile Message Board, Eastern U.P., Michigan</H3> <P><P><A HREF="http://www.michigansnowmobile.com/boards/comments.php?DiscussionID=8">Click Here</A> to access the page.<P> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>Cathy</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:cclementz@lighthouse.net">cclementz@lighthouse.net</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>Newberry</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>April 13, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">City approves sale of I-500 track<br><br>Developer to pay up to $3.25 million for 65 acres<br><br>By SCOTT BRAND<br><br>SAULT STE. MARIE - A $3.25 million property sale approved at Monday's meeting of the Sault Ste. Marie City Commission will send the organizers of the International 500 Snowmobile Race scrambling to find a new home for 2009.<br><br>But, then again, maybe not.<br><br>The city has agreed to part with up to 65 acres of land at a rate of $50,000 per acre - clearing the way for developer Philip Garforth of Legacy Quest to build a biodome, water park, theaters and 300-room hotel on the property. Under the terms of the agreement, the city will get all of the money up front at the June 15 closing date with a formula in place to refund a portion of the purchase price, up to $30,000 an acre, if Garforth meets all of the established goals by Jan. 1, 2013.<br><br>“What we're proposing is a clear sale of the property,” said City Manager Spencer Nebel, leading up to the vote. The city had previously toyed with bonding and benchmarks to assure the property was properly developed but, in the end, opted for the cash in hand route with potential rebates.<br><br>City Attorney Steve Cannello provided additional re-assurance, terming this a “no-risk deal.”<br><br>Garforth came under some fire from Commissioner Ray Bauer who had come up empty while researching claims made during the developer's original presentation.<br><br>“I was not able to find evidence of many things you claimed to be part of,” said Bauer.<br>Garforth countered that Bauer's findings were irrelevant to this transaction.<br><br>Under the terms of the agreement, the city will get cash in hand before turning the land over to Garforth. The biggest risk, it appears, would be the city sells the land at the established $50,000 an acre and construction does not occur on the property. If this did occur, the city would have more than fair-market value for this parcel and adequate seed money for a new I-500 Track.<br><br>The commission also agreed to set aside $800,000 from the purchase price for finding and building a new I-500 Track. A committee will be appointed at the April 21 meeting for this purpose.<br><br>“I've already got about $1.3 million into this project,” said Garforth before the commission voted. “I'm very excited and very dedicated to this project.”<br>The developer also indicated he had a very aggressive time table.<br><br>“I'm not going to be sitting on my hands, I want to get this project started as soon as possible,” he added.<br><br>The commission voted 5-1 to approve the purchase agreement, with Commissioner Bauer providing the lone opposition.<br><br>The money and property are scheduled to change hands on June 15, if all goes according to plan. But, if something happens to derail this transaction, the I-500 could again be running at that site next February when the green flag drops for the 41st race<br><br> </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>Cathy Clementz, TASA</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:cclementz@lighthouse.net">cclementz@lighthouse.net</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>Newberry</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>April 09, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">Just thought I’d bring you all up to date on the TASA photo contest. It was a bust! How disappointing!! And most of you know how much I enjoy photography so I was very excited about the contest. <br><br>In January when I hadn’t received any entries, I asked (via the message boards and TASA TALK mailing list) if people had opinions as to why no one had entered yet. I only had 3 or 4 responses and they agreed the reason THEY weren’t entering was because it was geared towards SAFE FAMILY FUN on the trails and while they had photos they could send, the photos did NOT include children. So I “relaxed the rules” about that, made the announcement via TASA TALK and various message boards as well as the 3 trail reports that I do, but still no entries! <br><br>I also think possibly another draw back was the fact that when we started the contest, TASA did not have a self maintaining website with a photo gallery so photos had to be REAL photos and mailed to me. Now, TASA has that self maintaining website and we CAN put photos in a photo gallery! If TASA decides to try a photo contest again next season, photos can be emailed to me and displayed on the TASA website (there will be a KB/pixel size set for the photos). <br><br>In the meantime, TASA wants to once again thank the following businesses for their donation of a prize; Comfort Inn of Newberry, The Island Grill, The Fish and Hunt Shop and Sedar’s Pizza. We also want to thank Newberry Motors for making the colored flyers for TASA. <br><br>On another matter, our Treasurer/Grant Writer Judy Brown presented a report at the TASA meeting last night that you might find interesting. She put a lot of work into creating this report and the board felt it was valuable and interesting info. <br><br> <br><br>First of all, TASA groomed 19,016 miles for this season! It is approximately 25,000 miles around the earth…hmmm, pretty impressive, huh? Can’t you just picture a groomer making the trek around the globe at a top speed of 8 mph!<br><br><br>The biggest categories are obviously fuel for the groomers and fuel for heating the barn (not to mention repairs, parts, etc). So just to give you an idea of how money is spent (again, this is just the biggest categories, it is not ALL of our expenses)<br><br> <br><br>2006-2007 2007-2008<br><br>GROOMER FUEL $19,114.86 $38,472.53<br><br>HEATING FUEL 2,979.35 3,473.84<br><br>PAYROLL 25,528.75 31,677.79<br><br>PLOWING STAGING AREAS 3,982.50 3,922.50 (DON’T HAVE LAST BILL YET)<br><br>PORT A JOHN RENTALS 910.00 980.00<br><br> <br><br> <br><br>INCOME<br><br>DUES 8,229.00 7,180.00<br><br>DONATIONS 7,050.00 2,592.00<br><br>START UP MONEY 8,775.00 8,640.00<br><br>JAN. GROOM FROM STATE 8,862.28 20,652.80<br><br>FEB. GROOM FROM STATE 26,239.44 28,858.94<br><br>MARCH GROOM “ “ 16,014.60 20,532.94<br><br> <br><br>So you can see how very important it is for you to purchase trail permits and support the sport if you want to continue to be able to ride great trails! (You can also see that ya can't put a table in the message board so it lines up properly! Sorry!!)<br><br> <br><br>The snow is slowly melting and it has been raining since midnight! That will help settle the ground up! We hope spring has finally sprung! <br><br>We will catch up with you again at a later time!<br><br> <br><br> </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>St. Ignace Visitors Bureau</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:info@stignace.com">info@stignace.com</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>St. Ignace, MI</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>April 07, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">As of April 7, 2008, for the most part, trails are no longer rideable.<br><br>See you next winter!<br> </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>Bill Sloan</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:sloanjobi@charter.net">sloanjobi@charter.net</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>Linden, MI</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>April 04, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">I rode with old friends and had a good time. I rode with new friends and had a good time.The trails were the best I have seen in 30 + years of riding Thanks to all the people who take care of the trails and the people that support them.<br>Old Bill </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>St. Ignace Visitors Bureau</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:info@stignace.com">info@stignace.com</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>St. Ignace, MI</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>April 04, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">The trail out of town, with its ice base, has held up beautifully, and there is at least 4” if not 6-8” of ice on the railroad grade headed north of town. This is always the first trail to go bad, and since it received more rain then any other section of our trails, we believe they are totally ridable for the weekend. So, things are very hard, and kinda icy, but after all, it is APRIL 4th!<br><br>Information provided by the Straits Area Snowmobile Club. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>St. Ignace Visitors Bureau</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:info@stignace.com">info@stignace.com</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>St. Ignace, MI</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>April 02, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">We received over 12 hours of good rain on Sunday night. It turned to snow about 8:30 am on Monday, and snowed off/on until afternoon. We really did not get much accumulation in the Straits area, but did get a couple of inches of fresh stuff on the North side of the trails. We lost about half of our snow to the rain. The result is some very hard and sometimes icy trails. The groomers will not be running again until Friday, and that will be the last day for our club unless we get 12" of snow like the West end of the UP.<br><br>You can currently ride out of St. Ignace on an icy RR grade. We have not gotten a recent report, but will guess that the snow is holding up by Trout Lake and riding out of Moran or Brevort will be just fine through the weekend.<br><br>Information provided by the Straits Area Snowmobile Club.<br> </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>BRENT C, GATECLIFF</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:bgatecliff@pipesystems.net">bgatecliff@pipesystems.net</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>WATERFORD, MI</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>April 01, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">WE RODE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY THE TRAIL FROM NEWBERRY TO PARADISE AND THE WERE GROOMED BOTH MORNINGS AND ABSOLUTLY WONDERFUL! WE TRIED THE TRAIL FROM NEWBERRY TO GRAND MARIS ON SUNDAY AND IT WAS TOO BAD SO THAT IS WHY WE DID THE PARADISE TRAIL AGAIN. IF THEY GET THE SNOW FORCASTED AND IF THEY KEEP GROOMING WE WILL BE BACK AGAIN THIS WEEKEND. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>St. Ignace Visitors Bureau</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:info@stignace.com">info@stignace.com</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>St. Ignace, MI</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>March 28, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">Considering it’s March 27, the trails can't get any better then they are now. Everything has had a fresh groom in the last 48 hours, which is plenty with the traffic that is out there right now. Two different groups of guys just got back from riding out of the ice rink lot, one went to the Soo, the other went almost to Paradise. Both said that there is nothing to worry about out on the trails, except getting through the towns, which is expected.<br><br>It got a lot warmer then forecasted yesterday. The RR grade out of town turned rather slushy, much more than expected. It got a fresh groom while it was warm, so froze nice and smooth last night. That is also a bit of an issue to think about. The RR grade is going through a freeze/thaw cycle most days right now. It will get a bit slushy in the afternoon, and is rock hard in the mornings, which means a bit of ice on this trail. This is mostly just for the trail from St. Ignace, out 4 miles to the junction of the castle rock road trail (#471). Everything else is pretty much good to go. There are some problems along the sides of the roads, and getting into towns. We would not currently recommend riding up to US-2, lots of pavement on that route, but you can actually ride downtown for fuel in St. Ignace without too much trouble.<br><br>Overall, our trails are in very good condition, and we fully expect to see that last through the weekend. The base ranges from 4-6 inches on the RR grade, to 16-24 inches in the woods trails. <br><br>Information provided by the Straits Area Snowmobile Club. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>Cathy Clementz, TASA</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:cclementz@lighthouse.net">cclementz@lighthouse.net</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>Newberry</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>March 27, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">THIS JUST IN; THE DNR HAS EXTENDED THE U.P. GROOMING SEASON TILL APRIL 6TH. TASA WILL GROOM DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER CONDITIONS. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>Michael </B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:mtaylor3@neo.rr.com">mtaylor3@neo.rr.com</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>Canton, OH</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>March 27, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">Looks like snowmobiling is another victim of the ridiculous fuel prices that are killing us. Cathy Klementz has made numerous comments over the winter about noticing lower hotel occupancy, fewer snowmobilers, etc. and she's right. The problem is you can't afford to go anywhere. Between the economy and the fuel prices, this is the first winter in approx. 30 years that my family and I didn't go snowmobiling. With a family & four sleds to feed food & fuel to, let alone towing expense, it was just too expensive. A friend of mine, also with a family of four, went to the UP for a week this month for his annual snowmobile vacation. When he got back he said that he probably wouldn't be able to go next year because of the expense - and that's assuming he doesn't get out of the sport all together. He said he spent $500.00 in tow gas, $120.00/day for sled gas x 6 days plus approx. $100.00/day for food x 8 days and then the cabin rent of $400.00. He split that with another couple we sled with. Total trip cost for just one week this winter - about $2,500.00. <br><br>I'm sure Cathy saw a decline this year. I wish the businesses that support and form the infrastructure of our sport luck in the future, but I fear this is just the beginning of a greater slowdown in a lot of things. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>Cathy Clementz, TASA</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:cclementz@lighthouse.net">cclementz@lighthouse.net</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>Newberry</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>March 27, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">The past couple of days I have had dozens of phone calls and emails from people wanting to come up NEXT week to ride and wanting to know if we would still be grooming.<br><br>First of all, from talking to various people, many do not seem to realize that the trails officially close April 1st. That means that the DNR NORMALLY does not pay the clubs to groom beyond April 1st. It also means that the clubs leases with private property owners run from December 1st to April 1st so the gates on private property are supposed to be closed EVEN IF THE DNR APPROVES GROOMING BEYOND APRIL 1ST. <br><br>I can't tell you 100% if the DNR will approve clubs to groom beyond April 1st but I am guessing no since it has already been such a "heavy" grooming season and many clubs in the U.P. had to put in for another grant in order to finish out the month of March. And another way that I look at it is this; there really is NOT that many sledders up here and has NOT BEEN that many sledders up here. I would think that money would be better spent by leaving it in the program to put towards NEW equipment for next year. But that is just my opinion.<br><br>Hope this helps clear it up a bit. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>St. Ignace Visitors Bureau</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:info@stignace.com">info@stignace.com</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>St. Ignace, MI</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>March 25, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">Still plenty of snow cover, although we have lost a fair amount in the last 10 days. It also was getting cold at night, so things were firmed back up too. Currently it looks like we have between 1 and 2 feet of snow on the ground, with between 4 and 18 inches on the trail. Off trail, there is still plenty of snow, but at this time, it is mostly packed down, with no powder riding left. The trails are still in good shape, and will easily last through the week for the last weekend of the season. An out of town rider indicated that everything was in good shape, with only mild bumps, no bare spots, and no major ice problems to report. However, the roads are bare, the shoulders may be bare, and a bit tough, but that is to be expected for mid-late March riding. Getting to gas in downtown is still possible, with a little pavement here and there. The trails do not currently need grooming, and we will avoid unnecessary grooming to preserve the trails for the weekend.<br><br>We even got about 1 inch of new snow Sunday morning to brighten everything up. The forecast is possible rain, but likely snow for late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. <br><br><br>There is exactly 1 week left in the official season. Our trails will definitely make it that far, looking at the forecast. There is always talk about extending the season if conditions warrant. You can probably ride for another 2 weeks at least, but grooming will end next Monday, April 1st. Grooming may be extended, but that is doubtful due to the budget.<br><br>Information provided by the Straits Area Snowmobile Club.<br> </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>St. Ignace Visitors Bureau</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:info@stignace.com">info@stignace.com</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>St. Ignace, MI</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>March 25, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">I apologize for the trail report not being updated. The person who usually gives us the trail conditions was out of town, and we were not aware of anyone else updating the info. However, Neil is back, and here is his report:<br><br><br>Still plenty of snow cover, although we have lost a fair amount in the last 10 days. It also was getting cold at night, so things were firmed back up too. Currently it looks like we have between 1 and 2 feet of snow on the ground, with between 4 and 18 inches on the trail. Off trail, there is still plenty of snow, but at this time, it is mostly packed down, with no powder riding left. The trails are still in good shape, and will easily last through the week for the last weekend of the season. An out of town rider indicated that everything was in good shape, with only mild bumps, no bare spots, and no major ice problems to report. However, the roads are bare, the shoulders may be bare, and a bit tough, but that is to be expected for mid-late March riding. Getting to gas in downtown is still possible, with a little pavement here and there. The trails do not currently need grooming, and we will avoid unnecessary grooming to preserve the trails for the weekend.<br><br>We even got about 1 inch of new snow Sunday morning to brighten everything up. The forecast is possible rain, but likely snow for late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. <br><br><br>There is exactly 1 week left in the official season. Our trails will definitely make it that far, looking at the forecast. There is always talk about extending the season if conditions warrant. You can probably ride for another 2 weeks at least, but grooming will end next Monday, April 1st. Grooming may be extended, but that is doubtful due to the budget.<br><br>Information provided by the Straits Area Snowmobile Club.<br> </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>Cathy Clementz, Northcountry Campg </B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:cclementz@lighthouse.net">cclementz@lighthouse.net</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>Newberry</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>March 23, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">I received the following email...hopefully we can help!<br><br>Cathy,<br><br>Hoping you can help me out. I tried to post on the message board but for some reason it wouldn't work.<br><br>We had a camera bag and some other things bounce out of a tunnel bag earlier this evening (Saturday). It was either on the Charcoal grade or more likley on Trail 9 heading towards Wolf Inn. We passed the groomer near 3 mile corner on our way through. There was the camera bag (luckily the camera was in a pocket), some kids gloves, and some other little things. Nothing that can't be replaced but would be nice to find them<br><br>Would you mind posting a message for me on the board asking if anyone found the stuff? We'll be at our cabin near the Wolf Inn until Monday. My phone number is 248-933-4127.<br><br>Thanks<br> </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>Concerned</B><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>All in MIchigan</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>March 20, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">Michigan Snowmobile Association <br><br>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bill Manson: (616) 301-2743 <br>March 14, 2008 <br>Governor Granholm Signs MSA-Backed <br>Law Limiting Noise Emissions <br><br>Grand Rapids, Mich. – Today the Michigan Snowmobile Association (MSA) announced that Governor Jennifer Granholm signed into law PA 530 supported by MSA to reduce noise emissions. The new law will require all snowmobiles manufactured after 1980 not to exceed certain noise decibel standards. <br><br>“The MSA applauds Governor Granholm and the Michigan Legislature for enacting common sense noise regulations for the enhancement of snowmobiling and tourism in Michigan,” Bill Manson, Executive Director of the MSA, said. “With over 50% of the state trails system on private property, this standard will allow law enforcement officials to effectively test for excessive noise pollution.” <br><br>Senator Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) sponsored the legislation co-sponsored by Senators Hansen Clarke, Patty Birkholz and John Pappageorge. The legislation passed the Senate 37-0 and 82-5 in the House of Representatives. The law takes effect immediately. <br><br>PA 530 will allow law enforcement officers and state conservation officers that are equipped with decibel meters to measure noise emissions and ticket them for excessive noise. All snowmobiles with a stock exhaust manufactured after 1980 in working order will pass the test. <br><br>The MSA consistently promotes a strict peer-enforced “Zero Tolerance” for alcohol and riding policy. The snowmobile industry generates more than $1 billion per year for Michigan’s economy and supports over 7,000 direct jobs. <br><br>Michigan has over 6,400 miles of snowmobile trails opened from December 1 through March 31. <br> </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 WIDTH=100%><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><B>Cathy Clementz, TASA</B> - </FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial"><a href="mailto:cclementz@lighthouse.net">cclementz@lighthouse.net</a></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">|</FONT></TD><TD align=right><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000"><B>Newberry</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"> |</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#404040"><B>March 19, 2008</B></FONT><BR><FONT SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000">THE NORTH STORE OFF FROM TRAIL # 9 HAS CLOSED FOR THE SEASON. KEEP THAT IN MIND IF YOU ARE RIDING IN THE AREA AND NEED GAS. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><hr> <form method=POST action="http://trailreport.com/cgi-bin/boards/easternupbrd.pl"> <input type=hidden name="salutation" value=""> <input type=hidden name="firstname" value=""> <input type=hidden name="lastname" value=""> <input type=hidden name="street" value=""> <input type=hidden name="city" value=""> <input type=hidden name="state" value=""> <input type=hidden name="zip" value=""> <input type=hidden name="phone" value=""> <input type=hidden name="fax" value=""> <input type=hidden name="email" value=""> <input type=hidden name="message" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe01" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe02" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe03" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe04" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe05" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe06" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe07" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe08" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe09" value=""> <input type=hidden name="subscribe10" value=""> <input type=hidden name="book" value=""> <input type=hidden name="notes1" value=""> <input type=hidden name="notes2" value=""> <input type=hidden name="Date_Added" value=""> <input type=hidden name="Autoincrement" value=""> <input type=hidden name="checkpassword" value=""> <input type=hidden name="startitem" value="16"> <input type=submit value="View More Messages"></form> <P> </BODY>