LIVERMORE — This has been a tough season for the Brettuns Wheelers ATV club, compounded by rerouting trails, massive amounts of rain, as well as increased registration costs. Ashley Langlin-Hebert, Brettuns Wheelers ATV Club (BWATV) president, noted that the club has had a tough summer, trying to keep ahead or at least even with issues as they come up.
Toward that goal, club members have put in more than 400 hours working on the trails, but there is still much to do. Brian Milligan, recreational trail coordinator (ATV) completed a survey of the trails in Livermore. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” he said. “You should focus on the main portions of the trails that make connections, like the one to Meadowview.”
From the Crash Road to Canton, the trail has been a constant struggle to keep it open with record setting rainstorms and beaver working in apparent coordination. Last summer the club spent many hours installing pipes in the beaver’s dam to foil them, which worked, until this year. This summer, the same area was swamped, the beaver dam wiped out and the beavers have rerouted the stream that flows through the region.
“To be honest, “ Milligan said, “So much work is needed that I almost shut down your trails, but decided to wait until you closed them for hunting.”
One of the portions of the trail that goes from the Crash Road through to Berry Hill needs a lot of work. It needs ditching, shaping, and it needs to have better drainage. He suggested that the club get a few contractors to give an estimate of the work, not a quote.
“I know that it was almost impossible to find a contractor this summer, everyone was busy due to all the damage done by the rainstorms,” he added, “But that is what is needed for that part of the trail. In the long run, you need to stay on top of the maintenance which will save money in the long run.
The club will look into a municipal grant, which is a grant available to municipalities for sharing the cost of ATV trail development and maintenance. It differs from a club grant in that a town, city or county must submit the request and local matching money must be present.
The deadline for applying is May 30 and the state provides up to 90 percent of the cost of an approved project. The club must provide the remaining 10 percent, through club money raised from dues, benefits and other fundraisers.
For example, if a club and municipality work together on a $20,000 grant, the club would need to provide $2,000.
“It’s a good way for a club to tackle big projects. There’s a lot of paperwork and the club must work hand in hand with the town,” said Milligan.
Unfortunately, there are many people who just want to ride and have no interest in helping the clubs maintain the trails.
Ashley reported that work has been done on the Frank Goodwin property by Dan Wink, David Beckler and Ryan Roy. Goodwin donated $100 towards gravel. Wink put in over 12 hours with his dump truck and skid steer. The club also paid $750 for excavator work to Curtis Soucy.
She also reported that Palmer Hebert closed his property from the Gibbs Mill Road to Haynorville Road . The club will need to find a work around for that stretch of the trail.
The ATV Christmas party will be December 3 at 2 p.m. at the Livermore Community Center. The meal is potluck, and everyone is asked to bring a wrapped gift to swap in the $15 to $20 range.
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