Photo courtesy of Keweenaw County Sheriff Curt Pennala Joe Schneller stands next to one of the new emergency response trail markers in Keweenaw County. The new marker replaces one of more than 80 that were stolen, broken or vandalized.

KEWEENAW COUNTY – An effort to replace more than 80 stolen, damaged and vandalized emergency response markers on three designated motorized trails in Keweenaw County is making progress, but still has a way to go, according to Sheriff Curt Pennala. The goal is to raise a total of $11,000 for the sign replacement project. “It’s really going well. I think we have close to $9,000 in the gofundme account,” Pennala said. The damaged markers were discovered in August.

Located on trails 135, 134, 3, and 17, the markers were placed in half-mile intervals, each marker having a number. Dispatchers could then match that number to matching GPS coordinates pre-set to correspond with the trail marker number. “These signs aren’t just markers-they’re lifelines,” Pennala said. “Their removal is not only reckless, it endangers lives. We need the public’s help to both restore them and find out who’s responsible.”

The markers are critical in assisting emergency responders in locating injured or lost riders in remote areas, Pennala said. Without them, emergency responses are delayed, especially in poor weather or low visibility conditions.

The signs were originally installed through donations and volunteer labor. The installation was a multi-year project led by area resident Joe Schneller who began the project in early 2021, in memory of his wife, who passed away from cancer in 2020, at the age of 58. Schneller began raising money through social media to fund the project. In March, 2023, the Keweenaw County portion of the project was completed and then proceeded into Houghton County.

The project goal is to replace the markers with ones made of aluminum. “The original signs were made out of plastic. Like a PVC,” Pennala said. “What we found was during the summer they’re fine; they’re very pliable. It would take a lot of work to wreck one.”

In cold, winter weather, he said, the markers became brittle and were easy to break.

“So that’s what happens,” Pennala said. “Somebody decides they’re going to play a game and break all of our signs.”

Pennala said the original goal was to replace only the damaged and stolen markers, which would cost approximately $7,000. Currently, the gofundme campaign has raised $9,100.

The goal then became to replace all of the markers, which would bring the total needed to around $11,000. Pennala said there has been some pushback on the markers over the amount of signage on the trails, because in 2012, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reduced the types of trail markings along more than 10,000 miles of Michigan designated motorized trail system to improve safety and provide consistent guidance to the more than 90 non-profit organizations that maintain the trails.


Changes included the elimination of 11 workgroup-selected snowmobile signs, the addition of five new snowmobile signs plus guidelines for placement) and a reduction in the size of regulatory signs in the ORV program to make them consistent with snowmobile signage.

“But these signs are obviously related to rescue,” Pennala said. “If somebody gets injured up in the Keweenaw, it’s no different than having a fire number on a house, or a street sign on an intersection, so search and rescue at least has a general reference as to trail locations.”

Pennala said the emergency marker system isn’t just about navigation, it’s about getting help exactly where it’s needed, fast.

“Whether it’s a snowmobiler with a broken leg, an ATV accident in deep woods, or a lost rider with no signal,” he said, “these signs are their lifeline.”

Pennala said the fundraising goal is just under $3,000 short of what is needed to replace all of the markers.

For more information on the project, or to donate, the URL is: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-save-lives-on-keweenaw-trails