Some cross-country ski trails in Cass County are in danger of not being groomed this winter, if a club doesn't form and commit to grooming and maintaining the trails.
Without a club to partner with Cass County, the Hiram Trail, Goose Lake Trail, Washburn Lake Trail and Cut Lake Trail will not be groomed and the parking lots will not be maintained.
A Lake Country Nordic Ski Club is in early stages of formation, and seeks members.
People interested in becoming members, volunteering with the club or making a donation should email lakecountrynordic@gmail.com as soon as possible.
The county has never had a club responsible for grooming and maintaining the cross-country ski trails, according to Cass County Land Commissioner Josh Stevenson.
The grooming of trails has varied over time. Initially the Department of Natural Resources Trails & Waterways staff groomed the trails, followed by the State of Minnesota.
When the state transitioned into a Grants-in-Aid trail system for skiers, the Cass County Land Department handled grooming.
The land department staff did it for a number of years until they could no longer afford temporary staff for it, Stevenson said.
"The real problem that we ran into was about four years ago when our average price of aspen went from $70 a cord down to around $23 a cord," he said.
A few years ago the land department staff had to eliminate six positions because of budget cuts.
Individual volunteers were doing the majority of grooming work. "Although the volunteer help we had was great, it was not consistent," Stevenson said.
When the state created the Grant-In-Aid cross-country ski trail grants, the intention was that a club would take over the grant and the county would sponsor the activity, Stevenson explained.
Currently the county sponsors snowmobile clubs in the county that groom snowmobile trails as well as the Grant-In-Aid Soo Line North All-Terrain-Vehicle trail that runs from Remer to Cass Lake in Cass County.
To be eligible for funds through Grants-in-Aid assistance, a cross-country ski club needs to be registered as a nonprofit organization, carry liability insurance, and have a group of interested people who are willing to volunteer their time.
Volunteer activities include clearing branches from the trails in the fall and operating a groomer in the winter. Instead of operating a groomer with volunteers, some clubs hire a groomer operator.
Quite a few of the snowmobile clubs in Cass County hire people to operate the groomers.
The club will need to cover the gap between what the state can pay for through the grants in aid, what the county can contribute out of their forest recreation account and what the actual cost of grooming is.
"That gap varies year-to-year depending on fuel prices, insurance prices, what the going rate is to hire someone to groom, etc.," Stevenson said.
The county does own its own snowmobile, drag and trailer, which could be leased by a club for grooming the trails.
In the past the county has offered a no-fee lease arrangement for grooming equipment for snowmobile trails that were just starting out.
While he can't speak for the county board, Stevenson said that the recommendation from the Land Department would be to do a similar no-fee lease for a cross-country ski club that showed interest.
The county's application to the state for funding for the trails was tabled until a club comes forward.
On Oct. 20 area residents and cross-country skiers Linda McNamara and Jeanette Wolmutt, of Backus, and Don Hoppe, of Hackensack, met to discuss forming a club.
"We're moving forward," McNamara said of the group's efforts to form the Lake Country Nordic Ski Club. Members are sought as the club begins to organize.
"The clock is ticking, the longer we wait, the less likely it will be that the state will still fund the grant," Stevenson said.
Even if the Hiram, Goose Lake, Washburn Lake and Cut Lake trails are not groomed, skiers in Cass County can use the groomed Deep Portage Environmental Learning Center ski trails and the Shingobee Recreation Area trails. Those trails are not managed under the state's Grants-in-Aid program and do not require a ski pass.
