DNR: Snowmobilers should stay off trails until given "green flag"

MADISON (WITI) -- DNR conservation wardens are asking snowmobile enthusiasts to prep your sleds now, but to hold off hitting the trails until local authorities give the green flag.

In a news release issued on Monday, December 9th, Cathy Burrow, the DNR snowmobile trails grant manager, says ultimately the decision to open the trails is done at the local level where officials and local clubs care for the trails.

DNR officials say sometimes over-anxious snowmobilers can sometimes create problems by using the trails before they have been officially opened.

Snowmobile trail information such as conditions and openings can be found through county foresters, park and recreation officials, local snowmobile clubs, local chambers of commerce and on the Snow Conditions Report on the Wisconsin Department of Tourism website.

Wisconsin ranks among the top states in providing snowmobile trails, Burrow says. The DNR provides $5.8 million in grants to maintain more than 18,700 miles of trails in the state.