Linn County considers opening trail to snowmobiles

BRANDON – Iowa snowmobilers may get more room to kick up snow this winter.

Members of the Linn County Conservation board said at a meeting Thursday they are considering opening up a section of the county's portion of the Cedar Valley Nature trail that would stretch from north of Center Point into Brandon.

“We're leaning towards it,” said Dan Biechler, Linn County Conservation Board director. “But we've still got a lot of work to do,” he added.

If the county were to allow snowmobiling, Biechler said, it would be on a trial basis.

Iowa has about 5,000 miles of snowmobile trails. Most of them are in the northern half of the state, and zero are in Linn County.

Snowmobile enthusiasts are eager to expand Iowa's trail coverage, which they say would boost local economies. Iowa snowmobiles spend about $76.3 million per year on equipment and activities - $26 million of which is spent out of state, according to a 2010 study prepared for the Iowa Snowmobiler Association by two Iowa State University economists.

But snowmobiles also cause costly wear and tear on trail pavement underneath the snow. New asphalt can cost about $100,000 for each mile paved, according to Vern Fish, Black Hawk County Conservation Board director.

Linn County Conservation Board members also debated concerns about injury liability and potential noise complaints.

But Black Hawk County conservation officials at the meeting said the county's decision to allow snowmobiles on 4 miles of its portion of the Cedar Valley Trail last winter was received well by community members.

“Our experiment has been successful,” said Fish. “The trail doesn't get much other use during the winter, so I thought that was a positive way to do it.”

Fish said he had not received complaints from the public.

Other board members said they were impressed with the excellent organization and attention to safety of the group of snowmobilers who used the trail last winter.

Board members said they hadn't fully taken stock of whether the snowmobilers had damaged trails or streets, but Fish said no damage has caught his eye.

Jeff Van Ree, trail master for the Wapsipinicon Snowmobile Association, which maintains about 150 miles of trails, said his group would work with another snowmobiling group, The Frozen Few, to groom the trails and keep them safe.

Elsewhere, Van Ree said he has set up markers along trails that would help injured riders easily identify their locations on trails.

“We're really looking forward to working together,” he said.