Snow Shoe Rails to Trails Association recently acquired a new tractor for trail maintenance. Pictured is Dave Bundle of Bradco Supply Company, SSRTA President Trilby Mayes, and Wayne Yearick and Seth Green of Bradco Supply Company.
Using grant funding through the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Snow Shoe Rails to Trails Association acquired three pieces of equipment — the latest of which is a John Deere tractor.
The tractor arrived in January and was the highest ticket item among the recently obtained equipment, costing $166,000, according to SSRTA Secretary Larry Mayes.
The association was notified it was awarded grant funding in December of 2021. The program is through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The grants total $258,600.
Some of the funding was used to purchase an excavator to dig and clean ditches along the trail, Mayes said.
The excavator, received in August, already saw action. “We probably did three quarters of a mile of brushing alongside the trail to see how it works,” Mayes said. “It works great.”
Snow Shoe Rails to Trails Association tested out its equipment. Its trail spans over 19 miles.
The association, needing a method to transport equipment, also purchased a trailer, which arrived in December.
“Our trail stretches out over 19 miles from here at Snow Shoe to Winburne,” Mayes said. “We figured we needed a trailer to be able to haul the equipment.”
The tractor expands the areas the association can reach. “We need the big John Deere tractor to reach those high areas and back in off the trail because we have a 66 foot right-of-way,” Mayes said.
Previously, the association spent money keeping the trails maintained. The new equipment allows volunteers to tackle maintenance.
“We get a lot of overhanging limbs that come out over the trail,” Mayes said. “We’ve been hiring contractors for the past ten years.”
Regarding the grant application process, Mayes praised the work of grant writer Michelle Merrow. He expressed gratitude for the association being awarded the funding from the DCNR program.
“This is a quarter of a million dollars,” he said. “That’s a pile of money. We were so fortunate and lucked out.”
SSRTA has ideas for the future, according to Mayes. “Down on our trailhead, we have 20-some acres there. Right above the trailhead itself, where we have four to five acres of parking for people to come in and unload, we’re looking at eventually building a garage down there with an office,” he said. “We could store all the equipment in (it) and free my garage up.”
If this occurred, it would be a multi-year process, he noted.
In addition to pursuing grants, the organization also holds multiple fundraisers throughout the year. The money goes toward paying insurance and maintaining the trail, Mayes said. Last year, liability insurance on the trail was almost $15,000, he stated.
Membership costs $20 a year. Last year was the highest year in paid membership, according to Mayes. The association, which started with 85 members in 1999, has grown to about 4,300 individuals.
SOURCE: The Progress Newspaper
Feb. 1, 2023
https://www.theprogressnews.com/news/snow-shoe-rails-to-trails-acquires-new-tractor/article_2a909a36-a242-11ed-9a4b-4f0c04f066b7.html
