Today, Wisconsin has more than 25,000 miles of snowmobile trails and the third largest number of riders after Michigan and Minnesota, said Orv Langohr, president of the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs. Rural landowners historically have been generous in granting passage, but as the state's northern counties become more developed and land prices rise, negotiating easements through private property is getting tougher, Brooks said. Some people who are coming up here from Chicago and Milwaukee looking for peace and quiet are less tolerant. In June, the National Park Service banned snowmobiles from 25 national parks and recreation areas around the country, including Wisconsin's St. Croix National Scenic River trail. There are people in Washington who want to close them off to anyone who's not an animal.
Local officials are sympathetic.
It's a way of economic life for a lot of small towns. Snowmobiling weathered the fuel shortages of the 1970s and the recessions of the 1980s and will survive the movement toward land-use regulation, enthusiasts say. The biggest threat is lack of snow. As far as trails being shut down, people are just going to go somewhere else. They're going to get their fill.