Big Lake's trail groomers are asking the state for a snowmachine

Big Lake Trails, Inc. has groomed about 40 miles of trail around Big Lake since 2008. It is asking the state to help buy the machine that does it.

The group filed notice this month that it will seek money from the Recreational Trails Program, which the state transportation department administers and which covers up to 90 percent of eligible costs against a 10 percent local match. Applications are due Oct. 30.

Equipment has been the group's recurring problem. When its groomer broke down in 2021, the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation put $18,750 toward a Tucker snowcat. In that same winter's state trails funding round, Big Lake Trails asked for $35,000 and received $12,926, about a third of the request.

Two applications from Petersville Community NPC posted the same week, one for a trails and rescue center and one for tundra mats on roughly a mile and a half of the Bonita Loop Trail.