Snowmobiling has a significant economic impact on many Maine communities. More than 280 snowmobile clubs help out, with most of them depending on volunteers to maintain thousands of miles of trails in the state.

Two of these volunteers, Louise and Bob Stickney, ages 73 and 79 respectively, have been members of the Rumford Polar Bears Snowmobile Club since 2000. Bob is currently the treasurer and Louise is the secretary, and both of them are responsible for landowner relations. Bob retired in 1997 from the local paper mill, now ND Paper, as an energy manager, and gradually retired from his side businesses, land surveying and an attorney focused on real estate law. As well as working with her husband in their two side businesses, Louise also performed land title abstracting for local attorneys and developed the local Moving Freely exercise program for senior citizens.

In your 22 years with the club, what do you enjoy most about being part of it? The best part of volunteering for the Rumford Polar Bears has been the wonderful friendships we have made. As with many groups, there is a core of people who are extremely dedicated and give hundreds of hours of their time to make the trails in our community the best they can be. Our friends in the club are always ready to help one another in any way they can, and not just for snowmobile-related issues. We just love our volunteers! They are the greatest, and some of them have been volunteering with the club for many more years than we have. Our volunteer work with the club has been a source of great pleasure since our retirement.

How much time do members spend working on the trails? Our volunteers collectively put in several thousands of hours each year. And that is not an exaggeration. Many people who enjoy the wonderful snowmobile trails in the River Valley are not aware of just how much time and effort goes into creating a great, safe, trail system. Before the first snowflake falls, volunteers are repairing bridges, fixing washouts, cutting brush, removing fallen trees, placing signage, contacting landowners, writing grants, processing membership applications, updating trail maps, and maintaining equipment.

During the winter season, we are grooming the trails and dealing with whatever Mother Nature may send our way. For example, a wind or ice storm will mean groomer operators must be equipped with chain saws to clean up any downed trees as they head out to groom the trails.

What kinds of equipment do you and the club volunteers use to maintain the trails? The Rumford Polar Bears Snowmobile Club, through many hours of volunteer labor and donations from the community, built a Groomer Garage on land leased from the town of Rumford. Having this large building allows the club to safely store and service its trail maintenance equipment. The club owns four utility snowmobiles (we call them work sleds) and drags. During the winter season, these sleds are kept at the homes of the volunteers who operate them. Several of our volunteers use their own personal snowmobiles and tracked side-by-side UTVs (utility task vehicle) to groom trails. The club recently purchased a new 2022 Tucker Snow Cat grooming machine to replace an aging 2003 Tucker. The Tucker pulls an 8½-foot-wide by 18-foot-long drag.

When we first started snowmobiling, the two of us each had touring snowmobiles and enjoyed traveling around the state and even up into Canada. As we became more involved with the club, our focus changed. Now, we are happy just being out on the trails grooming them. We use one of the club work sleds and our own personal work sled. It’s very satisfying to help create those nice smooth trails for the riding public to enjoy!

How does the club get money to fund all this equipment and trail work? The lion’s share of the money comes from sled registrations in Maine. The state and towns collect the registration money and direct it to the clubs. A portion of gas tax money is also allocated to the clubs. Many factors play into how the money is disbursed: number of miles of trails maintained, volunteer hours worked, equipment operating hours, cost of materials, and length of the snowmobiling season. We also receive money from membership dues and donations from club members.

To receive money from the state, clubs must participate in the snowmobile grant programs administered by the Bureau of Parks and Lands Off-Road Vehicle Division. Each club earns its share of the registration money by applying for these grants and submitting its volunteer hours, equipment operating hours, and cost of materials for trail maintenance (i.e., bridge planking, fasteners, culverts, and signing materials). Clubs must spend the money upfront and are then reimbursed by the state for these costs, depending upon the number of hours worked and number of equipment hours accumulated.

Describe the trail network and what the landscape is like and the trails it connects to. The Rumford Polar Bears trail system covers nearly 90 miles of trails. Intrastate Trail System (ITS) 82 is a major trail that passes through Rumford. We have neighboring snowmobile clubs with their own wonderful core of volunteers who maintain excellent trails: the Peru Snowmobile Club, the Andover Snow Valley Sno-Goers, the Roxbury-Byron Slippery Sliders, the Mexico Trail Blazers, the Dixfield Poodunck, the Canton Hi-Riders, the Newry Windy Valleys, and the Carthage Webb River Valley snowmobile clubs.

These interconnecting trails make it possible to access the entire state of Maine as well as New Hampshire and Canada, opening up thousands of miles for sledding adventures! For the convenience of riders trailering sleds, there are two Park and Ride sites, located conveniently off U.S. Route 2 west of downtown Rumford.

Our trails take riders through varied terrain: twisting woods trails up into the mountains for spectacular vistas and down into the valleys through fields with views of the mountains you just descended. There is something for everyone to enjoy, especially if you take the time to slow down and look around!

You rely on getting the permission of the landowners on whose property the trails run through. How many landowners do you seek permission from, and are most receptive to having a snowmobile trail on their property? The Polar Bears Snowmobile Club trails cross the property of over 220 private landowners. We are so grateful for the generosity of these landowners. Snowmobiling would not exist in this area or in this state if it were not for them. Our club has been very fortunate to have some very wonderful landowners who continue to allow snowmobilers access.

We take our responsibility of obtaining yearly permission from landowners very seriously. Whenever possible, we try to put a personal touch on our relationship with them. In the past, the club has hosted a Landowner Appreciation Dinner. This provided a great opportunity to meet many of our landowners and make a vital person-to-person connection. However, because of COVID-19, we have not been able to do this. Instead, we send each landowner a letter expressing our thanks and gratitude for the privilege of maintaining a trail on their property. The letter also provides club contact information should they experience any problems during the snowmobile season. The landowners also have an opportunity to be entered into a drawing for a gift basket full of Maine-made and local products.

In years past, with many acres of land in our area owned by paper companies, it wasn’t too difficult to contact the landowners. But now, paper companies have sold off their landholdings and these large tracts of land are now fragmented. With land changing hands, it becomes a challenge to keep the landowner database up to date. When we have new landowners, the club makes a special effort to provide them with useful information. For example, most people aren’t aware that Maine has a great landowner liability statute which protects landowners who open their property for recreational activities.

How has the snowmobile season been currently this season? We began preparing for this season last September. All our trail prep work went smoothly. By the middle of December, we were ready to go; we just lacked snow! Finally, about a week to 10 days later than usual, the skies showered us with the white stuff, and we were able to safely open the trails. We got off to a late start, but we’re optimistic that the rest of the season will be great with lots of snow!

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