22 | Snowmobile VERMONT TRAILS REPORT By Matt Tetreault, VAST Trails Administrator I’m hoping that all of you had an enjoyable late winter and early spring season. As we quickly pass through the short summer here in Vermont, the Grant-in-Aid season is in full swing. Although I am still trying to wrap up the grooming and other items from the winter, the Grant-In- Aid applications make up the lion’s share of my job this time of year. For those that are under the assumption that snowmobiling is a three-month gig, think again! In some instances, there are more hours put in by the steadfast group of volunteers during the other three seasons than during the snowmobile season itself. Volunteers spend hours meeting with and coordinating with landowners for even the simplest of projects. A half dozen or more visits with a landowner may be necessary to simply coordinate the installation of a culvert. Equipment Grants Late this spring, I received a total of 33 Equipment Grant- in-Aid applications for consideration. These applications are submitted by clubs and grooming contractors for either repairs to existing equipment or for the purchase of used/ new equipment. This year a total of 20 applications were for capital repairs to existing equipment, three were for the replacement of drags and 10 were for new or used power units. Current funding levels will allow us to fund approximately half of the applications submitted at reduced levels. This funding will enable repairs necessary to keep some equipment out there working on the trails and will enable two clubs to obtain some newer equipment. As we look ahead at VAST and our complex infrastructure of trails, we continue to take a closer look at how we can provide the same level of grooming with a smaller fleet of groomers. Construction Grants Construction Grant-in-Aid applications were due into the office on June 30. I received a total of 140 applications, and 19 Debrushing Grant-in-Aid applications. The rigorous review process will begin on these soon. Bridges and related repairs are the highest priority, followed by safety related repairs and trail relocations. Installation of gates and culverts is last on the list of priorities. We typically never have the necessary funding to cover work on secondary trails, so any related expenses associated with this work is left up to the counties and clubs. This is where some of the volunteer effort I mentioned in the first paragraph comes into play. If you can offer some help to your local club removing brush or decking a bridge, or if you have a tractor or other piece of equipment you can donate for a few hours, please reach out and offer up your services and time, whether it be for work on a secondary trail or a main corridor trail. It is this effort that has kept the trails open throughout the state for the last 50 years! International Snowmobile Congress I was fortunate enough to attend the International Snowmobile Congress (ISC) in Halifax Nova Scotia in June of this year. When I attend ISC, I meet with the International Association of Snowmobile Administrators (IASA.) This group is comprised of snowmobile trail administrators from the United States and Canada. We are able to discuss issues and potential solutions at a very high level. At the event this year, I was awarded the Administrators Professional Excellence Award. I was nominated for the award by my co-workers. I am very grateful to have received such an award and cannot thank the VAST staff enough for taking the time to nominate me, and my peers at IASA for choosing me as the recipient. It is very touching to be valued by the folks I work with. It is an honor to work with the amazing team here at VAST and I consider everyone here to be like family as the inscription on the award notes. The VAST team/family extends far beyond our little office here in Barre. The strength, knowledge and support received is far reaching around the world!  I value the opportunity to work in an area I am enthusiastic about, recreation and snowmobiling. It is a pleasure to attend ISC and to sit at the table with my fellow IASA peers from around the world. I have a very high level of respect for many who sit around that table. Some I have known for many years. I’ve watched and listened to them speak at the meetings and interacted with them throughout the years at ISC, rides and via e-mail and phone. The amount of knowledge they carry with them, the experiences they’ve had and the things they have accomplished in life both personally and professionally cause me to have the high level of respect for them that I do. Hence, I am so honored to have been nominated and chosen to receive this distinguished award. Any one of my peers sitting around that table with me in Halifax were as deserving if not more so than I. I have expressed my interest in becoming more involved in IASA over the next few years. I have the desire to be more active and to play a larger role and I look forward to achieving this goal in the very near future.  It is unfortunate that I was not present to receive the award, but my other hat as a dedicated father replaced my administrator’s hat late on Saturday and I felt it was appropriate that I arrive home so that I could pick my kids up and spend Father’s Day with them! A big “Thank You” goes out to the VAST staff and everyone who had a part in my receiving this award. There are many good things on the horizon and as one of my fellow administrators noted in Halifax. “There are no problems, only solutions”!