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Committee advances $5 snowmobile rental fee to fund grooming and trail repairs
Summary
Sen. Barry Usher’s Senate Bill 165 would add a $5 trail enhancement fee to each snowmobile rental; revenue would flow to Fish, Wildlife and Parks and be returned to local grooming clubs (2% retained for program operations). The House Fish and Wildlife Committee advanced the bill unanimously.
Senator Barry Usher, sponsor of Senate Bill 165, told the House Fish and Wildlife Committee the bill would add a $5 trail enhancement rental fee to each snowmobile rented from a Montana‑licensed vendor and require the money be used for maintenance and repair of grooming vehicles and trails. "This bill provides a trail enhancement rental fee for snowmobiles, providing that the fee must be used for maintenance and repair of the vehicles and trails," Usher said.
Proponents including Fred Bailey, president of the Montana Snowmobile Association, and Connie Walter, the association’s vice president, said heavy tourist use is stressing groomed trails. "Montana has 4,000 miles of groomed trails, and we have 26 clubs that maintain those trails," Bailey said, noting a 2013 University of Montana study that estimated snowmobiling’s annual economic contribution at roughly $100,000,000. Walter told the committee that rough, heavily used trails can create safety hazards for inexperienced riders and harm tourism.
Under the bill, rental companies would collect the $5 fee and remit the money to Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) by the first week of the month following collection; FWP would then distribute funds to the snowmobile clubs that operate grooming programs in the areas where the fees were collected. The proposal includes a 2% allocation for FWP to use for trail‑grooming program operations, including repairs to grooming vehicles. Testimony and the fiscal note cited an estimated increase in FWP revenue of about $380,000 annually from the fee.
Committee members asked whether trails are public or private, who performs grooming, and how distribution would be overseen. Bailey said trails sit on a mix of public, private and timber lands and that most maintenance is performed by volunteers, with some paid groomer operators. Beth Shumate, Parks and Outdoor Recreation assistant administrator for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said FWP would absorb the additional receipts into its regular grant allocation process and coordinate distribution with the Snowmobile Advisory Committee.
The committee moved and, by voice vote with proxy ayes recorded, advanced SB165 unanimously to the House floor; Representative Oblander was named the House carrier.
The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
