Kolves donate groomer to Ponderosa Snow Warriors

The Ponderosa Snow Warriors received a new groomer this year, donated by Glen and Marge Kolve.

The new groomer belongs to the snowmobile club and will give them access to two groomers during the winter season, which will help the club maintain and potentially increase their funding.

"The majority of our funding is tied to groomer hours. The state owns the groomer that we have right now. When Gordy goes out, he gets paid for running on the trail system. We get reimbursed for all his hours, and we get a grant every year. Those grants are based primarily on the number of hours that you do on the trail. It runs through Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. FWP basically provides all the funding, provides all the equipment, provides all the support," said Forest Mercill, PSW president. "If we can double our hours, it's a huge benefit for us going forward. It's a big deal in that regard, just to have a backup for when we actually have snow. It's going to allow us, when the snow shows up, to run nonstop."

The Kolves bought the groomer in Wisconsin and paid to have it brought to Lincoln, said Marge Kolve. She said that one of the reasons she and her husband did so was because they had seen, as snowmobilers, how issues with the state-owned groomer had negatively impacted Lincoln area trails over the past few years.

Last winter, the only groomer the club had access to went down, which left the club with no backup groomer and no way to raise the funds they usually do through trail grooming. The new groomer is smaller, noted Mercill, which will allow the club to use it on some of the tighter trails.

Kolve noted that, with motels in Seeley Lake being sold to provide housing for Paws Up employees, Lincoln might see increased business during the snowmobile season, and having well-maintained trails would be important.

"It affects all of our businesses, all of our restaurants, all of our bars," said Kolve.

Mercill said that club members Allen Brandt and Steve Thurston donated a drag to pair with the new groomer and expressed gratitude to them and the Kolves for the donations.

To go along with the new groomer, designated club members will be attending a groomer training put on by the state in December, which will increase the number of people who can groom trails.

The club has been developing their schedule of fall and winter activities, Mercill said, noting that they have plans for poker runs and additional activities when winter starts.

One of the activities they're focusing on this fall is putting together 5,000 trail maps to distribute to area visitors. The club is prioritizing advertising space for Lincoln businesses and organizations to help promote local services, said Mercill. He said interested businesses can contact Kevin Grantier for more information.

Another activity the Snow Warriors are looking forward to is the Oct. 9 Lambkin Park clean-up day.

"Those things are pretty fun if you get ten or fifteen people out there," Mercill said. Because the club has a shed at the park, which is county property, they agree to maintain the park in return for use of the space.

The Snow Warriors will also be focusing on fixing the parking lot at their clubhouse this fall, said Mercill.