TUPPER LAKE - The snowmobile trails in the Mount Matumbla area, near the Tupper Lake/Piercefield town line, should be open for riding today.
Town Supervisor Roger Amell said Saturday he had received the permit to groom the trails late last week and had to rewrite a contract with LandVest, which manages the land and the contract was completed by Friday afternoon. He said he expected the town groomer to be out on the trail early Sunday to get it back in riding condition.
Amell said the local snowmobile clubs will have to police themselves, and riders will not be allowed to cross the Raquette River. He said Larry Denis from LandVest has provided an orange plastic snow fence that will be put up along the river, and some signage will be erected that will make it clear that people shouldn't be crossing the river.
The trail was effectively closed in late January when the town was declined a permit to groom it by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, because it led to the river, which is lined with land classified as primitive. The town had used the trail for years before when it was International Paper Company property, but the state recently bought a conservation easement there.