One county in upstate New York has come up with a unique way to encourage the expansion of its snowmobile trail network, and a petition in support of the effort has helped the plan gain steam in the state Senate.
According to an article on the Observer-Dispatch website, tax credits would be issued at a rate of $0.10 per linear foot for Oneida County landowners who allow state-funded snowmobile trails on their property. A proposed bill is in the state Senate now, the article said.
Proponents of the bill cite snowmobiling’s economic benefits and improved access to outdoor recreation. “You look at the whole county and there is about 500 miles of trails and there are several businesses along those trails that benefit from the activity they provide,” said county Legislator Brian Mandryck in the Observer-Dispatch article.
The bill’s upside for snowmobilers is that its approval could help expand the trail network because, since a tax break is an easy pill for most people to swallow, it might encourage landowners who have been considering opening their land to finally take action and allow access, the article said.
Here is the full article from the Observer-Dispatch, a daily newspaper based out of Utica.