The scramble is on for the New Hampshire Trails Bureau and the crews

Following an assessment of damage in Coos and Grafton counties from the Dec. 18 rain and wind storm, the scramble is on for the New Hampshire Trails Bureau and the crews it contracts with to make repairs to trails before the snow flies. “The northern snowmobile trail system really got decimated,” said District 1 Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, who observed the damage firsthand on a tour last week of southern Coos. “I got a preliminary cost estimate and there’s about $500,000 worth of damage. It could really impede our snowmobile recreation activities this year when the snow begins to drop.” Compounding the problem is that most of the snowmobile clubs have already spent the state and federal grants they receive to prepare the trails for the winter, he said. Meanwhile, the state trails bureau is jockeying to try to shift some money around for repair work, in such places as Jericho State Park and Randolph, said Kenney.