Posted: Monday, October 13, 2003 12:00 am
BEULAH, Wyo. (AP) - An interim legislative committee is siding with a 7-year-old state policy that requires nonresidents to pay a fee to snowmobile in Wyoming.
Since 1996, both residents and nonresidents have paid $15 for a state snowmobile permit. The money is used to fund Wyoming's snowmobile trail grooming and maintenance program.
The Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Interim Committee last week heard debate about creating a state reciprocity agreement that would exempt nonresidents from snowmobile fees. Wyoming residents would then be extended a similar courtesy in those states.
Proponents argued such agreements can boost tourism, but opponents told the committee the additional money from nonresident fees helps pay for maintenance and management costs associated with snowmobile trails.
"We just don't have a big enough population to pay for keeping trails in good shape," said Kim Raap, trails program manager for the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources.
Raap told state lawmakers nonresident trail permit sales have been very successful, adding 19,730 of them bought permits in 2001-02 for a total of $596,832 - or 48.5 percent of annual snowmobile revenue.
Each of those permits, Raap said, pays for 2.8 miles of snowmobile trail grooming - an expense that cost $1.3 million last year alone.
Raap said instituting a reciprocity agreement with other states would cut a lot of money from the state trails budget.
He also said most nonresident snowmobilers - 97 percent - reported they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their Wyoming snowmobiling experience.
"We believe this is directly related to eliminating reciprocity and asking all to pay their fair share," Raap said.
Greg Hill, vice president of the Wyoming Snowmobile Association, said Wyoming's snowmobiling policy has been a huge success story.
"We see other states following Wyoming's example," he said. "We'd like to see Wyoming stay the course."
No one on the committee objected to keeping the current policy.
Sen. Delaine Roberts, R-Etna, said he wasn't advocated reciprocity statewide, but said it may help at border areas such as Wyoming and Idaho, where snowmobile trails go back and forth over the state lines.