PCEDC trails summit July 16

    GREENVILLE — The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council will hold a trails summit on Tuesday, July 16 from 4–8 p.m. at the Trailside Restaurant at the Leisure Life Resort in Greenville.

    The trails summit will focus on the issues of funding snowmobile and ATV trail maintenance.
    “It has become increasingly expensive for local snowmobile and ATV clubs and towns to maintain the extensive trail systems that attract increasing numbers of visitors to Piscataquis and Somerset counties,” according to a press release from the PCEDC.
    A bill submitted by State Rep. Sheryl Briggs of Mexico earlier this year would have raised ATV registrations by $5 per year with all fees collected going toward the ATV Recreational Management Fund.
    The bill was passed but vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage, and the veto was sustained in a subsequent House vote on June 26.
    The trails summit is sponsored by a grant to the town of Greenville by the Recreational Trails Program administered by the Maine Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
    The summit, which targets Piscataquis County as well as northern Somerset and Penobscot counties, is designed for snowmobile and ATV clubs, county commissioners, town managers, boards of selectmen, state officials and state legislators.
    Anyone interested in participating in this discussion of fees, allocations and future funding mechanisms for trail maintenance and access should call PCEDC at 564-3638 for information and reservations and ask for Ken Woodbury, community development director for PCEDC.
    Reservations are required and a dinner is included.