ddhanna
Active member
WI DNR does not decide how funds will be used. Snowmobile Recreation council (SRC) does a great job with this.
The Future of our sport
- Thread starter attakman
- Start date
hermie
Well-known member
I believe Michigan trail permit is going to be between $62-65 next year. I heard $65 is going to be the number. I also heard from a couple of club members that the $10 trail permit if your a club member and have Wi. registration isn't working out like they hoped. What have you heard Attackman
Airman68
Active member
I wonder why the $10 Wi permit thing isn't working. Seems like a no brainer if you own more than 1 sled to pay the club fee for the discount passes. I do it mainly to support the clubs one way or the other. The MI pass price is getting up there. Personally, if WI has snow, I'm staying down here but the last 2 years gave me no choice but to go up there.
ddhanna
Active member
I think it is working for the sport financially. It just isn't increasing club participation as hoped.
hermie
Well-known member
Yes I believe this is the issue. They were hoping for more participation but definitely hasn't been the case except in rare instances like in Mercer and Boulder in December after the big storm
Same thing...not making enough money...I was told Michigan was thinking about going to $100 dollars for out of state sledders...again just a rumor I haven't been able to verify, that's why I asked here
if you can't get it to open....this is what it says
The bill makes several changes to snowmobile registration and trail pass fees. 1. It increases the fee for a three-year snowmobile public use registration from $30 to $45. 2. It increases fees for trail passes as follows: a. For a snowmobile registered in-state, from $29.25 to $49.25. b. For a snowmobile registered in-state but owned by a person who is both a member of a snowmobile club and a member of the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs, from $9.25 to $19.25. c. For a snowmobile registered out-of-state, from $49.25 to $69.25. Fiscal Effect A. Revenue Sales of snowmobile registrations and trail passes can be difficult to estimate due to weather/snowfall, economic factors, competition from other recreational activities, etc. For example, over the last six years, sales of in-state public registrations varied by over 40,000--from a high of 107,600 in FY 2023 to a low of 62,700 in FY 2020. Therefore, to estimate the revenue impact of the bill, the department is using a six-year average of registration and trail pass sales. 1. Sales of public registrations for snowmobiles averaged 82,891/yr. over the last six years. Therefore, a $15 increase would generate an estimated $1,243,400/yr. in snowmobile account revenue (82,891 * $15). 2. Sales of in-state "non-club" trail passes averaged 74,973/yr. over the last six years. Therefore, a $20 increase would generate an estimated $1,499,500 in snowmobile account revenue (74,973 * $20). 3. Sales of non-resident trail passes averaged 19,919 over the last six years. Therefore, a $20 increase would generate an estimated $398,400/yr. in snowmobile account revenue (19,919 * $20). 4. Sales of in-state "club" trail passes averaged 61,941 over the last six years. Therefore, a $10 increase would generate an estimated $619,400/yr. in snowmobile account revenue (61,941 * $10). 5. In total, based on a six-year sales average, the bill would increase annual snowmobile account revenue by an estimated $3,760,700 (1,243,400 + 1,499,500 + 398,400 + 619,400). B. One-Time Costs Two tasks are required for the department to implement new registration and trail pass fees: 1. Updating and testing in the Go Wild system; and 2. Coordinating with our vendor on the postcard snowmobile registration renewal process. The department estimates that 100 hours of staff time would be required for an IS Business Automation Specialist-Senior to implement the changes within 6 months after the bill is signed into law, at an estimated cost of $6,100 ($41.07/hr. salary + $19.95/hr. fringe benefits = $61.02/hour *100 hours). Note that additional staff time for outreach and communications may be needed if the bill is enacted into law in the middle of a snowmobile season Long-Range Fiscal Implication
The bill makes several changes to snowmobile registration and trail pass fees. 1. It increases the fee for a three-year snowmobile public use registration from $30 to $45. 2. It increases fees for trail passes as follows: a. For a snowmobile registered in-state, from $29.25 to $49.25. b. For a snowmobile registered in-state but owned by a person who is both a member of a snowmobile club and a member of the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs, from $9.25 to $19.25. c. For a snowmobile registered out-of-state, from $49.25 to $69.25. Fiscal Effect A. Revenue Sales of snowmobile registrations and trail passes can be difficult to estimate due to weather/snowfall, economic factors, competition from other recreational activities, etc. For example, over the last six years, sales of in-state public registrations varied by over 40,000--from a high of 107,600 in FY 2023 to a low of 62,700 in FY 2020. Therefore, to estimate the revenue impact of the bill, the department is using a six-year average of registration and trail pass sales. 1. Sales of public registrations for snowmobiles averaged 82,891/yr. over the last six years. Therefore, a $15 increase would generate an estimated $1,243,400/yr. in snowmobile account revenue (82,891 * $15). 2. Sales of in-state "non-club" trail passes averaged 74,973/yr. over the last six years. Therefore, a $20 increase would generate an estimated $1,499,500 in snowmobile account revenue (74,973 * $20). 3. Sales of non-resident trail passes averaged 19,919 over the last six years. Therefore, a $20 increase would generate an estimated $398,400/yr. in snowmobile account revenue (19,919 * $20). 4. Sales of in-state "club" trail passes averaged 61,941 over the last six years. Therefore, a $10 increase would generate an estimated $619,400/yr. in snowmobile account revenue (61,941 * $10). 5. In total, based on a six-year sales average, the bill would increase annual snowmobile account revenue by an estimated $3,760,700 (1,243,400 + 1,499,500 + 398,400 + 619,400). B. One-Time Costs Two tasks are required for the department to implement new registration and trail pass fees: 1. Updating and testing in the Go Wild system; and 2. Coordinating with our vendor on the postcard snowmobile registration renewal process. The department estimates that 100 hours of staff time would be required for an IS Business Automation Specialist-Senior to implement the changes within 6 months after the bill is signed into law, at an estimated cost of $6,100 ($41.07/hr. salary + $19.95/hr. fringe benefits = $61.02/hour *100 hours). Note that additional staff time for outreach and communications may be needed if the bill is enacted into law in the middle of a snowmobile season Long-Range Fiscal Implication
indy_500
Well-known member
Great info. I am ALL for the increases mentioned, except I think $50 to $70 for out of state is too steep. I think a $10 increase would suffice there. The current $30 for 3 years reg, and $10/$30 yearly trail passes is too cheap for how much it costs to operate groomers. For how much everything else has inflated, it only makes sense the price should go up to keep our trail system funded properly.