Unfortunately not all trail permit buyers are snowmobile fanatics who read snowmobile forums 12 months of the year and will pay anything to ride. Or buy $25,000 snowmobiles every couple years.
There has to be a balance in order to get the local when convenient to ride from home sledders to buy when they might ride the trails a few times a year. For them maybe there is a monetary tipping point.
Last thing anyone on here should do is post up negative comments and make judgement on another person based on financial decisions to buy a permit.
Maybe it is a big decision in a retired guys life to buy a trail permit when he can ride 10 year old sled down a road allowance to the lake and fish and he can be happy with that. Not everyone is as financially secure as most of the guys reading and commenting on this forum.
Part of the problem with this sport is the cost and making it an affordable package to attract the new and hold the old riders
In my mind to survive the trail system needs the revenues from the on the fence to buy permit riders buying also.
$400 dollars who can afford that. I'm never snowmobiling again. I'm going to sell my $20,000 snowmobiles, my $10,000 dollar trailer and I won't have to spend $150.00 a weekend on gas and $200 on food. Never mind the $1000.00 I spend on maintenance on each sled per year..............and think how much I save on the $350.00 belts
$400..................way too much money to spend.