snowmobile nov 30th

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - A big change this year for Wisconsin snowmobilers.

For the first time everyone will have to purchase a trail pass in addition to snowmobile registration.

"The fine could be over $200 if you are caught without it" explains Bob Van Den Heuvel, Trail Boss for the West De Pere Snow Owls Snowmobile Club.

The trail pass is the cheapest, $10, if you belong to a snowmobile club.

It will cost other residents $30 dollars, visitors will pay $50. Before July of this year, only nonresidents needed to buy a trail pass.

The DNR says the new fees support the upkeep of trails.

"We have not had an increase in over 10 years for grooming and marking and maintaining the trails" says Van Den Heuvel.

The law is also designed to boost snowmobile club membership by offering the discount.

According to Van Den Heuvel "We need to get some fresh faces some new blood into the clubs, and people that are willing to get out and do the volunteer work that we do".

It has been a rough run for local snowmobile clubs and riders. Last year the trails in Brown County did not even open.

"We never got enough snow on the trails" Van Den Heuvel says.

The lack of snow is boosting sales of other off road vehicles.

"A lot of UTVs because people can use them all year long. People can take them on the lakes when they freeze over and have a good time out there hitting drifts" says Danny Holtermann with TEAM Motorsports.

Even though we do not have piles of snow yet it is best to plan ahead and order a trail pass now, especially if you want the discount.

It will take time to enroll in your local club.

However, procrastinators will still be able to ride. "If they purchase a trail pass online or over the counter they will be issued a temporary operating receipt" explains Gary Eddy, Snowmobile Administrator for the DNR Bureau of Law Enforcement.

Snowmobilers will now only have to register their sleds once every three years as part of the new law.