There's guarded optimism among eastern Ontario snowmobilers over the province's promise to put $3.9 million toward restoring the trail network.

Last week, the province said it would be providing the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) with the money to enable "the full reopening of 4,500 kilometres of trails" this winter.

The federation had planned to cut its network significantly due to operational costs that had risen steadily over the past five years, according to John Van Lane, governor of the Upper Canada Snowmobile Region.

Van Lane told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning late last month that grooming the trails made up the biggest portion of that cost.

On Sunday, he said that although it would be a challenge to get every closed trail open, the eleventh-hour provincial fundi

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