Ligonier group gets $95,000 to build, maintain snowmobile trails
Ligonier-based Rolling Ridge Motorsports Club was among seven organizations to receive state grant funding to expand and improve off-road trails across Pennsylvania. Rolling Ridge Motorsports, which serves Somerset, Cambria and Westmoreland counties, received a $95,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation of Natural Resources for equipment to maintain and construct about 30 miles of…
Ligonier-based Rolling Ridge Motorsports Club was among seven organizations to receive state grant funding to expand and improve off-road trails across Pennsylvania.
Rolling Ridge Motorsports, which serves Somerset, Cambria and Westmoreland counties, received a $95,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation of Natural Resources for equipment to maintain and construct about 30 miles of snowmobile trails. Other recipients included Lannding LLC, an off-road camping resort in Indiana County, $586,600, for construction of an ATV training course, parking area and other features in Pine Township; and $100,000 for the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Off Highway Vehicle Association to fund an ATV Trail Ambassador Program and for rider and environmental stewardship educational programs.
In all, the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro awarded $2.2 million for ATV and snowmobile trail improvements to support seven projects. The funding was announced September 16, the latest development in Shapiro’s support for ATV riding and the state’s $20.4 billion outdoor recreation industry.
“Outdoor recreation plays an important role in the economies of rural communities and these grants will help expand safe, high-quality ATV and snowmobile riding opportunities for residents and visitors,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said in a prepared statement. “Organizations and municipalities are encouraged to apply for this funding before the September 30 deadline.”
Somerset County Commissioner Brian Fochtman is spearheading an effort to construct a looping, 15-mile ATV trail in the county, with the Somerset County Fairgrounds in Summit Township near Meyersdale Borough, serving as a trailhead for an eventual countywide network. In addition to Summit, the proposed trail would pass through Larimer, Elk Lick and Greenville townships and the boroughs of Meyersdale and Salisbury.
But at an August 13 public hearing in Somerset, a group of residents spoke out against expanded use of ATVs on public roads, which the Fochtman plan envisions, saying the vehicles were already causing a nuisance with noise and litter and riding in prohibited areas, sometimes called “riding dirty.” Enforcement of registration, insurance and helmet laws was another issue opponents raised since smaller municipalities are often without local police protection.
As of Aug. 11, there were 3,903 registered ATVs in Somerset County, according to DCNR. Final recommendations for a Somerset County ATV trail are due in October from a Pittsburgh area consultant retained by the county.