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Snowmobile alliance reports land donation, lost easements and grooming plans
Summary
The Ashland Commons Snowmobile Alliance described a land donation for a potential groomer facility, easement losses requiring reroutes, bridge-record follow-ups and coordination with the Forest Service and DOT on trail work.
John Westfall, speaking for the Ashland Commons Snowmobile Alliance, said the alliance rewrote bylaws, restructured committees and elected new officers; Westfall said he was elected president and Don Beal vice president. He reported the alliance received a one-acre donation from Peter Doykin on Hillcrest Road in Mellen that the alliance hopes to clear and use for a future groomer storage facility.
Westfall said the alliance is addressing several lost easements that require trail reroutes, including a previously held 20-year easement that is no longer available and a bridge the group plans to relocate. He said alliance volunteers are coordinating with the U.S. Forest Service for fill on a trail section and are working with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on highway crossing approaches ahead of a state road project.
Westfall and others discussed record searches for bridge installation history; he said county staff would try to obtain records. He also said the club shared grooming equipment across five clubs this winter and that limited snow still allowed enough grooming to preserve grant funding and avoid returning state money.
Westfall and committee members also noted recreational and economic benefits tied to grooming and trail activity; one speaker mentioned a prior survey that estimated lost snowmobile-related revenue in another area but did not provide a source for that figure at this meeting.
No formal committee motions were taken on the snowmobile items at this meeting; Westfall’s report was an operational update.
