By KATY SAVAGE
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UNITY — The Sullivan County Department of Natural Resources was named Landowner of the Year by the New Hampshire Bureau of Trails after it scrambled to move a 1½-mile piece of snowmobile trail from private land to public land in the fall.
The award was presented at the annual New Hampshire Snowmobile Association Meeting on Saturday.
“We didn’t know about it,” Sullivan County Natural Resources Manager Lionel Chute said. “It was really nice to see that we were able to make it better for folks that love to snowmobile.”
The trail, just off the Second NH Turnpike, is a key part of the Route 5 Corridor, which extends from Massachusetts to Canada.
Crescent Lake Regional Sno-Riders President Terry Callum said he received a letter from a private landowner in late September informing him that snowmobilers could no longer use the land.
“We would have had to remap this region of the state,” said Callum, explaining the land was blocked due to an issue unrelated to snowmobiling.
“We were shaken up,” Callum said.
Sullivan County used chainsaws and excavators to tear down trees and branches to reroute the trail and make it ready for winter use.
“They bent over backwards to help us,” said Callum, who nominated the county for the award.
About 80 percent of snowmobile trails in New Hampshire are on private land. Crescent Lake Regional Sno-Riders relies on cooperation from landowners.
“This was the biggest reroute our club had done in probably 20 years,” said Callum.
The county owns about 2,200 acres, which Chute estimates is the most public land owned by any county in the state. The county leases lands for hay fields, horses, cattle and maple sugar production.
“What we’re trying to do is increase public access of county lands,” said Chute.
Plans include about $3,000 worth of improvements to the trail in Unity, including new bridges, over the summer
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