Little progress in Maine-N.H. snowsled fight

SHELBURNE, N.H. – The head of the state Bureau of Trails says New Hampshire and Maine have made limited progress in negotiations over interstate snowmobiling.

Maine has agreed to let New Hampshire snowmobilers use border trails at Evans Notch and Success Road without requiring them to register their machines in Maine, according to Paul Gray.

But Maine is still unwilling to allow reciprocity on all cross-border trails, including trails in Errol and Pittsburg, he said.

For several years, Maine and New Hampshire had an agreement allowing snowmobilers registered in one state to use trails in both. But Maine ended the agreement earlier this year, saying too many New Hampshire riders were using its trails without contributing to the cost of maintaining them.

New Hampshire officials say the lack of an agreement is hurting tourism-related businesses on both sides of the border – especially in Maine. They say 14,000 Granite State snowmobilers spent a day or more in Maine last year, but only 4,000 have bought Maine registrations this year.