Local economy affected by lack of snow

It’s no secret that the “bread and butter” of the Northwoods’ economy in the winter months is snow and especially snowmobilers.

However, this winter, due to minor snowfalls and warmer temperatures, snowmobilers haven’t been able to get out on the trails.

Jon Cooksey, president of the Cross Country Cruisers snowmobile club, said he’s been a resident of the Northwoods for more than 45 years and doesn’t remember a start to the snowmobile season like this one.

“We can’t even get out there and there’s no snow for us to even work with right now,” he said. “This is a first time for me. I just can’t remember a time (like this) … It was probably more than 20 years ago if it happened at all.”

Cooksey described trail conditions this time of the year as “unprecedented.” 

He also explained how the lack of snow has affected the snowmobile club in more ways than one.

Being a nonprofit organization, Cooksey explained everyone working for the club is a volunteer.

“When we’re not out there grooming, our dollars per mile or funding is not coming in,” he said. “We’re not creating any income to support our efforts — our equipment costs, our maintenance costs, those things.”

Cooksey said the club is also getting a late start as far as generating income allocated for future seasons.

Besides private donations and fundraisers, a lot of the Cross Country Cruisers’ money comes through the county and state.

“It’s gonna have an impact all the way around, just not on our club but snowmobile clubs in general all over the state are feeling the same impact right now because there’s no snow anywhere.” Cooksey said. “And even in past years if we couldn’t ride here, you could go north 50 miles up in Iron County or Michigan and have open trails, but this year that’s not the case.”

President and CEO of the Minocqua Visitors Bureau Krystal Westfahl said she’s talked with area business owners who’ve “been wondering what’s up.”

“Honestly, every conversation I’ve had with business owners, I think everybody is doing OK,” she said. “We came off a really good summer from an economic standpoint. I think, as many folks that I’ve talked to, it sounds like we’re still in a good position, everyone’s doing OK — kind of a relief to be honest.”

Westfahl said the break in tourism for some business owners has been appreciated due to the last four years of what she described as constant tourism traffic. 

“It’s a mixed bag, really, when we’re talking about how folks are doing right now with this,” she said. “Obviously, we’re hoping that we’re gonna get a good freeze and a big dump of snow in February to get our snowmobile season up and running, but yeah it really is a mixed bag of emotion out there.”

Some business owners look at it as a good opportunity to give their workers a break before a big rush of winter sport enthusiasts inevitably make their way here, she noted.

“Others … they’ve been running on such a high for so long, this is jarring,” she said, noting the community has almost forgotten that there are “lulls sometimes in tourism in the Northwoods.”

That said, some resorts have reported strong numbers in terms of bookings, she added.

“If you got a planned vacation, you’re not going to cancel it just because there isn’t snow,” she said. “You’ll just find different ways to enjoy the outdoors if that’s what you’re here for. But a lot of people are just coming up here for the ambiance of the Northwoods of being in a lodge or being in a cozy cabin. And so we’re still seeing the traffic, it’s just not as thick as we’ve been accustomed to through the years.”

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].