Dear editor:

The Cody Country Snowmobile Association would like to introduce ourselves. Our organization was incorporated in 1973. We have members throughout Park County and parts of Montana.

We maintain the Beartooth Mountain Snowmobile Trail System. We also own and maintain a safety shelter that is located at lsland Lake in the Beartooths. Our trail system connects to the trail system in Cooke City, Montana. With the connection of these two trail systems, we have over 100 miles of groomed or marked trails. You can snowmobile in both states on one trail. Grooming is paid for by Recreational Trails, Grants and Snowmobile User Fees, lf you like to play in the snow, cross country ski, snowshoe, fat tire bike, or dog mush, the trails are available for everybody’s use. For some folks to say “Plow the Plug” without fully understanding the ramifications is disturbing to us. This section of Wyo. Highway 212 that many refer to as “The Plug” is the only groomed snowmobile trail that connects our two trail systems. We refer to this section of U.S. Highway 212 as Trail A.

Snowmobiling in Wyoming has a very strong presence with a respective income source of over $250 million in revenue. Plus, a very interesting point that approximately 61% of the sticker registrations sales are from out-of-state users. This means folks are coming to our state to enjoy our deep powder snow and mountain terrain.

We look forward to additional dialog with folks regarding what the next few years can look like. For instance, building a new trail would be essential before plowing U.S. Highway 212 in the winter.

Thank you for allowing us to introduce ourselves, we look forward to working with all those who love the outdoors like we do.

Respectfully submitted,

Cody Country Snowmobile Association