It’s Time To Honor Your Fellow Snowmobilers

It is once again time to nominate your fellow snowmobilers for Snowmobile of the Year, Snowmobile Family of the Year and Dealer of the Year.

Nominations may be made by individuals, clubs and/or state snowmobile associations.

The individuals will be honored at the International Snowmobile Congress in Vermont, on June 10, 2006.

To obtain a copy of the Nomination Form, click here.

38th Annual International Snowmobile Congress

Plans are underway for another fabulous International Snowmobile Congress. The hosts of the 38th annual event are the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST). All indications are this will be an event packed full of informative meetings and fun, provided by the snowmobilers in Vermont and across the northeast region of the U.S. and Canada.

For additional information, click here.

Clean Snowmobile Challenge

The 7th Annual Clean Snowmobile Challenge kicks off on Monday, March 13th.

In the quest to make classroom learning directly relate to real-world problems, the Clean Snowmobile Challenge™, the first event in the SAE International Collegiate Design Series, is a clear winner for engineering students.

The 7th annual Clean Snowmobile Challenge, set March 13 through March 18 at Michigan Technological University at Houghton in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is an intercollegiate engineering design competition that challenges engineering students to develop a prototype snowmobile that meets the 2012 standards for exhaust emissions and noise output. Students re-engineer an existing snowmobile for improved emissions and noise while maintaining or improving the performance characteristics of the original snowmobile. The modified snowmobiles also are expected to be cost-effective. These demanding requirements make this a unique competition in the development of engines, exhaust systems and noise-treatment technologies.

More than 150 students from 15 universities are expected to participate in the Clean Snowmobile Challenge. The defending champion is the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Schools entered in the 2006 Clean Snowmobile Challenge include:

• Clarkson University
• Ecole De Technologie Superieure
• Kettering University
• McGill University
• Michigan Technical University
• Minnesota State University – Mankato
• SUNY – Buffalo
• University of Idaho
• University of Maine
• University of Minnesota – Duluth
• University of New Hampshire
• University of Waterloo
• University of Wisconsin, Madison
• University of Wisconsin, Platteville
• University of Utah

SAE International's Collegiate Design Series challenges students to take what they've learned in the classroom and compete in a real-world setting. Engineering students from all over the globe have the opportunity to go beyond textbook theory by designing, building and testing the performance of a real vehicle. In doing so, they join other students in exciting and intense competitions. For more than 25 years these competitions have not only enhanced the educational experience of engineering students, but also put them in contact with career recruiters.

February Calendar Winners

The winners for the month of February were drawn at the Northeast Chapter Meeting held in New York on March 4th. For a list of the winners, click here.

President’s 2007 Budget Is Released

It appears recreation interests are taking it on the chin in the 2007 Budget.

Of major concern is proposed budget for the U. S. Forest Service. Overall, the budget as proposed by the Administration means the Forest Service would receive $177 million less in FY 2007 than it received in FY 2006. As a part of the cut, the Recreation, Wilderness and Heritage programs saw a 4% reduction, $250,880,000 vs. $261,229,000 enacted in FY 2006. This might not seem like much in the overall scheme of things, but this wasn’t the only thing affecting recreation that is slated for a budgetary haircut.

For example, under the trails program account, the Forest Service maintains and rehabilitates more than 133,000 miles of recreational trails. The budget for this important activity is proposed to be cut by 19.4%! FY 2006 funding stood at $74 million and the proposed budget by the President calls for only $60 million in FY 2007. Historically, funding for trail maintenance has been inadequate and these planned cuts will only make things worse, and add nothing additional to cover the costs that will be incurred in the OHV route designation process.

Funds for road maintenance in our national forests didn’t fair any better. The proposed budget calls for a reduction of 17.7%. The adopted FY 2006 budget provided funding of $222 million and the proposed FY 2007 budget comes in at $182 million. In short, access to our national forests is being threatened because of inadequate funding for trails and roads. If the Forest Service doesn’t have the means to do the job, then the only recourse available to land managers is to close off access to those trails and roads most in need of repair or routine maintenance.