Money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has helped a Windsor County snowmobile club buy equipment that can be operated by people with disabilities.
The $77,000 USDA Rural Development grant supplements nearly $147,000 invested by the Hawks Mountain Ridge Runners in an unusual trail groomer. Cindy Locke, Executive Director of the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, says two of the club’s groomers have disabilities that make using foot controls difficult.
“So by adding hand controls they are able to get out there and to do the work they love to volunteer for this organization,” Locke said.
Locke says the state’s 5000 miles of snowmobile trails are in fairly good shape, but warns that recent storms have created ice and some fallen limbs. She says the new groomer will improve trails in southern Vermont. Statewide, snowmobiling supports an estimated 500 jobs and pumps about $600 million into the state economy each year.
