By Doug Halberstadt

Sports Columnist

Local snowmobilers will have something to look forward to once the ground gets sufficiently covered with the white stuff this winter. Thanks to a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), work is being done this fall to improve the conditions on many of the trails that are used by area snowmobilers.

IDNR awarded $200,000 for upgrades along state trails.

IDNR Director Marc Miller said: “Snowmobiling in Illinois is enjoyed by thousands of people annually, and we always talk about the importance of safety. This money will help maintain trails and help keep snowmobilers safe this coming season.”

The money will be used for trail maintenance, equipment and safety improvements.

Here’s how the local money will be used:

Rockford Park District (Winnebago County), $40,820 to install a new snowmobile bridge, to repair four existing snowmobile bridges, and to purchase snowmobile trail signs and posts to better mark the area’s public snowmobile trails.

Flagg-Rochelle Park District (Ogle County), $11,085 to acquire a 1.7-mile-long, 40-foot-wide corridor adjacent to a proposed bike path in Rochelle.

Blackhawk Park District (Carroll County), $15,000 to upgrade and maintain the snowmobile trail between Stockton and Elizabeth. Funds will be used to repair/replace four snowmobile trail bridges and to add gates and posts.

City of Savanna (Carroll County), $7,110 to purchase snowmobile trail signs and posts to mark two new public snowmobile trails. One trail will extend from Savanna to Mt. Carroll, and the other will extend from Savanna to Thomson.

Freeport Park District (Stephenson County), $8,000 for the out-of-pocket operation and maintenance costs involved with the grooming and maintenance of the area’s public snowmobile trails.

Lena Community Park District (Stephenson County), $16,000 to purchase and replace two rubber tracks on a Tucker-Terra 1,000 snowmobile groomer and to help cover operation and maintenance costs involved with the use of the snowmobile groomer.

Lena Community Park District (Stephenson County), $2,550 to purchase materials to construct a snowmobile bridge, 200 snowmobile trail signs for better marking trails and posts.

Loran Township (Stephenson County), $5,250 to repair seven small snowmobile bridges and to purchase 500 snowmobile trail signs and posts to better mark the area’s public snowmobile trails.

City of Morrison (Whiteside County), $11,085 for the development of a 10-foot-wide, eight-tenths-of-a-mile-long aggregate trail that extends northward from the edge of town. The eventual plan is to develop a trail that will reach Morrison-Rockwood State Park.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the October 28 – November 3, 2009