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Organizer and residents spar over snowmobile race, town role in Fish and Game permits
Summary
An event organizer asked the Pittsburg Selectboard what local approvals or conditions the board expects after getting a Fish and Game permit; board members and residents raised safety and noise concerns and limited the town's comfort with recurring practice sessions pending written notification and coordination.
An organizer seeking to run a snowmobile race and periodic "test-and-tune" sessions on local lakes told the Pittsburg Selectboard on March 24 that she had emergency services, porta-potties and insurance for the event and had filed a permit with the state Fish and Game agency.
"I pretty much came up with Dieter, who's my new race director, to figure out what implications you would like or regulations you'd like me to enforce moving forward next year," the organizer (S10) said, adding she had already obtained a Fish and Game permit for a race and had emergency procedures in place.
Board members and nearby residents pressed for clearer limits. S3, speaking for several members, said Fish and Game's administrative form appears to require only notification to the agency, not local approval, but the board expects to be notified and to review safety and traffic impacts. "If Fish and Game wants to change their rules, that's up to them to change their rules," S3 said, while adding that town officials should still receive notice so local police and highway staff can plan.
Residents said recurring weekend "test-and-tune" sessions would be disruptive. One resident (S5) said people buy lakefront property for peace and quiet and opposed frequent practice sessions, while others agreed a single permitted race per year would be more acceptable. S10 proposed a compromise: keep the main sanctioned race, limit test-and-tune to occasional practice days, and supply a formal notification and event runbook to the board.
The board and S10 also discussed where events should start and run to reduce runaways into populated shorelines; S10 said she would direct racing toward a less-residential cove and provide a permit letter and event layout to Fish and Game and the town. The organizer also said she had an email from Officer Mike Eastman of Fish and Game confirming the agent had reviewed her layout and indicated approval, but that Fish and Game told her the town's "blessing" was required before issuing a broader permit for future events.
The selectboard did not adopt a new town-level permit; instead members asked the organizer to provide written notification and a formal letter to the board confirming the event details. S3 said that notification satisfies the state procedure in force now and that the board would expect event organizers to cooperate with local police and highway staff on parking and safety.
What happens next: The organizer agreed to submit a written event plan, including dates and safety measures, and to meet again with the board if racers press for more frequent weekends in future seasons.
