Month: February 2017

Partnering for the future of ATVing

ATVMB and SATVA have started collaborating in order to better serve their members
RIDERSWEST
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Manitoba and Saskatchewan have a lot in common, including terrain.— Photo courtesy Con Huberdeau

Manitoba and Saskatchewan have a lot in common, especially when it comes to ATVing. The similarities in the challenges they face and the resources they have are part of the reason the Saskatchewan All Terrain Vehicle Association (SATVA) and ATV Association of Manitoba (ATVMB) decided it was time they work together.

The idea originally formulated in 2015 at the Power Up and Beyond conference held in Toronto, according to Kim Wozniak, ATVMB manager. She and John Meed, SATVA general manager, had a discussion about the similarities between their two organizations and common issues they both face.

“John later suggested that we may be able to learn from one another by sharing our successes and any issues we may face and the best way to do that would be by having a representative from each federation serve in a non-voting capacity on our respective boards,” said Wozniak. “This idea was presented to the ATVMB board of directors who embraced it, feeling that this partnership would be beneficial to both organizations.”

According to Meed, of all the jurisdictions in Canada, Saskatchewan and Manitoba closely align with certain challenges.

Facing the challenges

“Right now, neither of us are getting a tremendous amount of government support, which is one of the real issues we need to overcome,” said Meed. “Support can come in a lot of ways including financially but it also mean support in creating opportunities to develop trails and steward existing trails within provincial forests.”

The two organizations also have issues with resources, with both organizations only having one part-time staff person. They also have roughly the same number of clubs.

“With the two organizations working together, there is definitely strength in numbers,” said Meed.

A provincial partnership

There are a few ways SATVA and ATVMB plan to work together, on top of having a representative attending the other’s board meetings. In the future, a joint board meeting may be held. They’re also playing with the idea of having a trail-building workshop.

“One of the problems we have is the lack of expertise in our area as far as developing and putting together the groundwork to get the support and resources to even start working on a trail,” said Meed. “We collaborated with the provincial government on one trail this past year and that proved to be pretty beneficial. If we did a workshop, we think certain interest groups would also see the benefit and it’d be great to develop best practices in trying to develop a trail system within an area.”

“Sharing of knowledge and expertise in areas where one group excels over the other will contribute to the overall success of an organization,” Wozniak said. “In addition to our individual partnership with SATVA, our connection with the All Terrain Quad Council of Canada (AQCC) expands on that and gives us the opportunity to connect with other similar federations who face similar challenges. Identifying these challenges nationally allows AQCC to better serve those federations by being able to deliver solutions that can work across provincial borders.”

The national scene

The AQCC held its annual general meeting in Halifax in September and both Wozniak and Meed were in attendance.

“One of the big benefits of the AGM is collaboration,” said Meed. “It’s great having all the provincial jurisdictions there and have discussion on what each one is facing. I think the AQCC is also wanting to be more receptive and focused on helping the provincial federations thrive and be more productive. One of the things that came out of the conference was to start rethinking the strategic plan for the organization and how they can help the provincial federations do what they need to do at a federal level.”

For Wozniak, this was her first AQCC and she said she found it quite interesting.

“AQCC is a fairly young organization as far as national organizations go and they are working on how best to serve all ATV federations in Canada,” she said. “Attending the conference reconfirmed that having a national voice is important and beneficial to our provincial endeavours.  I came away from the conference with an interest in assisting AQCC to the best of my ability to ensure that ATV federations across Canada thrive.  We all have challenges in our respective provinces and strengthening our national organization will also strengthen the provincial federations.”

Going forward, both SATVA and ATVMB are looking forward to more collaboration in 2017 and are excited to grow the partnership even further.

Amphibex Icebreakers Begin Work on the North Red River

Manitoba Infrastructure reminds river users to observe warning signs and stay clear of equipment as ice-cutting machines and icebreakers take to the north Red River between Netley Creek and Netley Lake north of Selkirk starting February, 22nd

Safety notices have been posted in areas where the Amphibex machines will be working as a reminder for ice fishers, snowmobilers and other river users.  Ice fishers should remove huts or other material in the areas covered by the ice-mitigation program.  Hikers and outdoor enthusiasts are advised to stay off the ice where notices are posted or where recent ice cutting is apparent.

The ice-jam mitigation program focuses on sections of the north Red River with a history of ice-jam related flooding.  The equipment is operated and maintained by North Red Waterway Maintenance Inc., a corporation formed by the rural municipalities of St. Andrews, St. Clements and the City of Selkirk.  The Amphibex fleet crushes more than 25 kilometres of river ice annually.

Cabela’s GPS Seminar

Our membership had an opportunity to attend a GPS seminar hosted by Cabela’s .  Eastman Members spend over 3 hours with Nick Lisney, Former Optics Outfitter/Current Fishing Outfitter at Cabela’s. We were given the opportunity to learn more about our personal GPS units as well we explore the units offered by Cabela’s. We had over 25 members attend. This session was a great start to learning what we as a club require and how to program and download maps as well as fine tuning our GPS to our personal needs. If anyone has any questions on their own GPS or would like any further information on how to use or buy a GPS to suit their needs, please contact Nick Lisney at Cabela’s. He will spend time in the store with anyone interested on a more personal level. Thank you for making our first event of this king a great success!

 

In defence of the Castle

BY LETHBRIDGE HERALD ON FEBRUARY 19, 2017.

© Lethbridge Herald photo by Tijana Martin Shannon Phillips,  Minster of Environment and Parks speaks to the media on Friday to help clear up some misconceptions in relation to the Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park Draft Management Plan. @TMartinHerald

J.W. Schnarr
Lethbridge Herald
jwschnarr@lethbridgeherald.com
Misinformation surrounding Off Highway Vehicle use in the Castle parks area is undermining the process of “authentic dialogue” between user groups, says the provincial environment minister.
Shannon Phillips said the development of the Castle parks areas has been overshadowed by “disrespectful” language, and that there have been a number of false statements and misinformation spread regarding the issue.
“The fact of the matter is that the previous government recommended in the Porcupine Hills and in the Livingstone recreation area, that there be recreation management planning,” she said.
“The fact is also that the previous government didn’t get around to it.”
Phillips said her government continues to engage OHV users to ensure proper supports are put in place to make sure “high quality” OHV experiences are available to user groups. But, she says, the process is still ongoing.
“I want to be clear right now. The decisions haven’t been made. The plan that is before us is a draft.”
Phillips said the draft was created through consultation with technical working groups who examined the science around recovering the fishery, the wildlife habitat, and ensuring the water supply is in working order.
“That science informed our recommendation that there be a staged, phase-out of OHV use that is causing a great deal of erosion and a great deal of habitat loss in particular for our trout fishery,” she said.
“And a phasing in, in an appropriate way, with the right staging points, the right bridges, and trail networks in places where it is more compatible, and it has less of an impact. I don’t know how the previous governments made decisions, but in our world, a draft means exactly that.”
A number of groups have already engaged the government on the issue, according to Phillips, who said respectful dialogue and participation in the process is more effective than other means of letting the government know their wishes.
“All of them have made really interesting contributions,” she said. “They’ve really taken this on as a draft, and they are very likely to see their input reflected in the final management plan.”
Phillips said the original working groups that contributed to the draft were intended to reflect the variety of interests involved. Municipalities were sought out for representation as well as ranchers and landowners.
“They are the ones who often have to end up footing the bill for much of the activity that goes on in the landscape,” she said.
She said ranchers in particular have suffered from irresponsible OHV use because the activity interferes with their ability to make a living.
“All of those voices were recognized and included around the table,” she said. “As was small business.”
At a recent OHV rally in Lethbridge, Wildrose leader Brian Jean described the decision to phase out OHV use as something that would negatively impact people’s  jobs, their traditions, and their way of life.
Phillips described that kind of talk as inflammatory and unhelpful.
“I would also reject his assessment,” she said. “If he had been out talking to the ranchers I have talked to, and the municipalities I have talked to, he would have a different view of this. It is very clear he has not done that.”
Follow @JWSchnarrHerald on Twitter

Man impaled by branch while on ATV: EMS

ORV’s can be very dangerous and unfortunately we read about people becoming severely injured all to often. Safety never takes a holiday please consider taking a safety course.
As an ORV operator would you consider taking a online safety course?
FILE: A man was flown to the Foothills Hospital Friday night after he was impaled by a branch while on his ATV.

FILE: A man was flown to the Foothills Hospital Friday night after he was impaled by a branch while on his ATV.

Global One / Global Calgary

A A

A man in his 40s was flown to the Foothills Hospital in Calgary Friday night after his leg was impaled by a branch.

EMS said the man had been on his ATV in the area of Highway 40 and Transalta Road west of Calgary when the incident occurred just after 7 p.m.

According to EMS spokesperson Stuart Brideaux, the victim was driven to a main road in a private vehicle with the branch still in his leg when EMS intercepted them.

Crews called for STARS to transport the man to the Foothills Hospital.

The man is believed to have a severe upper leg injury and was listed in serious condition.

Castle Provincial Park the Facts may Mislead You.

Justified science or activist agenda?

BY LETHBRIDGE HERALD OPINON ON FEBRUARY 11, 2017.

Barry Harper

Others have spoken of the Castle South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP) land-use process and its shortcomings re: ignored input from traditional users such as hunters, fishers and OHV recreation. These are the users targeted with reduced access under SSRP proposed parks. I will focus on other aspects of the process followed by this government.

Minister Phillips has asserted that it is the “science” that drives the decision for the parks. That said, as an average Albertan I have the right and obligation to current and future generations to ensure that such science isn’t biased by the activist environmental NGOs I perceive are driving these park decisions. A critical factor being used to curtail OHV multi-use trails is the concept of linear footprint (LP). While science seems related mainly to wildlife mortality on highways, it is being applied to all linear features from highways to static fence lines and, yes, OHV trails.

Clearly, wildlife fatalities on highways is many orders of magnitude different than, say, a seldom-used, single-track motorcycle trail that may coincide with a cow trail. LP should entail on-the-ground research into intensity of use of LPs, duration of same and whether it is intermittent or continuous along with habitual game movement patterns and seasonality. That is not the case; all LPs are deemed of identical impact intensity and continuous per SSRP workshops. I view this as theorizing given, even the Grizzly Bear Recovery Program June 2016 draft, specifically identifies the need for research “to quantify the effect of OHV use” for their study let alone such possible impacts on 200-plus “endangered plants and animals” per Minister Phillips. Most outdoorsmen will tell you linear features, of themselves, do not curtail game movement and may be routinely used by wildlife.

Then there is the crucial “more than 200 species of endangered plants and animals” in the Castle claimed by Minister Phillips. Hey, I am not a biology expert, but I also know there is science and there is peer-reviewed believable science. This led me to ask who the authority in Canada is – it’s the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC Secretariat). A search of their database of all Alberta species at risk as at Feb. 3, 2017 lists 152 species of which 48 are “Not at Risk” and only 32 are “Endangered.” This puts the minister’s 200-plus “endangered” species at 6.25 times the peer-reviewed numbers for all of Alberta. This is an astonishing discrepancy! Given so much is driven these days by environmental activists inserting themselves into government decisions, I ask what affiliations do the minister’s science sources have with such activists and why doesn’t her science have the authentication of COSEWIC?

There are other questions as well, such as why aren’t Nature Conservancy of Canada vast land positions included in the scope of SSRP land use deliberations? They are substantially paid for by the public in the name of conservation. How is it cattle that defecate in our precious watersheds and stomp through riparian areas aren’t excluded from such parks?

As both a non-motorized and motorized recreationist who has random-camped in Alberta for over 40 years, and raised my family to responsibly enjoy these pursuits, I regard myself as being environmentally responsible and take exception to this rushed closure dictate. I have long promoted environmentally responsible designated OHV trails including proper management, enforcement, training, funding mechanics along with tourism potential thereof. I have worked for same at local, provincial and national levels over 15 years. We know how to build responsible trail systems; check with the Alberta Off-highway Vehicle Association for specifics. My experience has been that politicians are consistently deceptive and have managed to screw up even the best and most responsible of past proposals – that hasn’t changed.

Environmental activists such as Y2Y, CPAWS, AWA and adjuncts, seek to shut down the mountain corridor from some traditional uses. That not only includes motorized access, but also effectively impacts hunting and fishing access along with local community economies that depend on access. Their stated and highly promoted scheme is to have the entire mountain corridor made into a continuum of government designated parks, or equivalents, restricting only some traditional users and negatively impacting local communities all along the mountain corridor of Alberta, B.C. and Yukon. Check a map against Y2Y maps and see how many mountain corridor parks and near-equivalents we already have in Alberta. These activist NGOs are the same tax-subsidized, grant-funded and professionally managed NGOs whose politicalized agendas and lobbying attack and undermine our critical resource industries.

Time all Albertans get involved in this potential monumental impact on public access to public lands which, if Y2Y is followed, will amplify throughout all of Alberta.

Barry Harper is a Lethbridge resident who, in addition to being an active outdoorsman, has been involved in seeking responsible solutions to issues of OHV at the local, provincial and national level for more than 15 years.

Concerns grow for off-highway vehicle users in Castle Provincial Parks

 

 Hundreds Gathered for a town hall meeting in Bellevue Tuesday night to express concerns over the NDP’s future plans for the Castle Area, the most contentious issue: phasing out the use of off highway vehicles, Sarah Komadina reports.

A celebration for the Alberta government has turned into anguish for many off-highway vehicle enthusiasts.

Steps to strengthen protection in the Castle Wilderness area, about 250 kilometres from Calgary, include plans to phase out all OHV use in five years.

READ MORE: Off-highway vehicle enthusiasts fight proposed ban in new Alberta parks 

Story continues below

“We have seen a lot of disturbance… And (in) year one, we would be closing the out the illegal trails,” Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said.

More than 600 people, travelling from Medicine Hat, Edmonton and Calgary turned out for a Town Hall meeting in Bellevue Tuesday to voice their concerns.

“There’s people that respect the trails, maintain them, there’s thousands of dollars and volunteer hours that go into maintaining those trails,” said Troy Dezall, a board member of the Alberta Off-Highway Association. “We have to be careful because if they block off one area, they will keep making their way up Alberta.”

“It just makes me almost terrified to think that my kids or other (people’s) kids may never get those memories again,” OHV enthusiast Kolby McCole said.

READ MORE: Alberta to expand Castle area parks, phase out off-highway vehicles

The NDP says the Castle Wildland Provincial Park and the new Castle Provincial Park will protect over 100,000 hectares of land and 200 rare or at-risk species.

The next phase involves two months of consultation to develop a firm management plan.

READ MORE: Doubts raised about plan to protect Alberta wilderness area 

“That is exactly why we put out a draft, to hear from the public and get comments on what people would like to see done,” Phillips said. “I have also received hundreds of letters to our ministry office.”

Phillips wasn’t at the meeting, but the opposition MLA for Livingstone-Macleod was, and he wants more time for feedback.

“I asked for a 120 days consultation… and for the government to come out in that 120-day period to hold that town hall, to give the general public, the end users who have never had the chance to be consulted, an opportunity to voice their opinions to perhaps offer better solutions,” MLA Pat Stier said.

READ MORE: Alberta government moves to protect vast Castle wilderness 

Many from the meeting are waiting for that solution. Hundreds have signed a petition and sent letters to get their point across.

“I think this sends a clear message to the government that we are concerned,” Dezall said. “They’re not listening to us. I don’t know who they’re listening to, but it’s not us.”

Alberta NDP, Wildland Provincial Park sparks anger to Remove ORV Trails

Crowsnest Pass Herald Front Page
Anna Kroupina Photo
Premier of Alberta Rachel Notley speaks at the January 20th press conference at the Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village Museum in Pincher Creek where the final boundaries for Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park were unveiled.
ANNA KROUPINA
Pass Herald Reporter

“Lock her up.” The words, shouted out by a male heckler in the crowd, cut through the air during Premier of Alberta Rachel Notley’s speech for the unveiling of the final boundaries for Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park at the Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village Museum in Pincher Creek on Jan. 20.

The provincial government’s announcement of the park’s boundaries and conditions were met with polarized responses of both backlash and support. Notley and Alberta Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips spoke to a full house of approximately 200 people at the Museum. Piikani Nation Chief Stanley Grier expressed the great significance the land holds to Piikani people, calling it a “historic day for this region.” Renee Richards out of Lethbridge spoke in support of the parks creation from the perspective of a frequent visitor to the area.

Castle Provincial Park and Wildland Park comprise approximately 1,000 square kilometers of protected land, intended to preserve the aquatic habitats and biodiversity in the area, including over 200 rare or at-risk species. The government will also continue working closely with Indigenous populations, for whom the Castle area holds meaningful cultural, historical and subsistent significance.

OHV phase-out

The parks welcome low-impact recreation activities like hiking, organized camping and regulated hunting, trapping and sport fishing. However, OHV enthusiasts feel their wishes and input have been blatantly disregarded and consider a phasing out unreasonable.

“Wild spaces have always been one of most precious treasures in Alberta. In our province, the landscape is part of who we are. We are campers, we are hikers, we are mountain bikers and we are much more,” said Notley, which prompted a yell of, “quadders, snowmobilers,” from a male in the crowd.

continued below …

The government has released a draft management plan for the parks in which they propose a two- to five-year phase-out of off-highway vehicle use on the trails, an outdoor sport that plays a vital role in the lifestyle and economy of the Crowsnest Pass and surrounding area.

Mayor of Crowsnest Pass Blair Painter said that the impact of OHV prohibition in Castle Park will be “huge” for the community, adding that “it drives our economy.”

Wildrose MLA for the Constituency of Livingstone Macleod Pat Stier echoes the sentiment.

“There will be some impacts, I believe, to businesses in the Crowsnest,” he says. “There will be impacts in terms of traffic, there will be concerns about a change of revenues to tourism industries down there. Even the off-highway vehicle distributors, I imagine, would be affected.”

Motorized sport enthusiasts and the towns that depend on OHV tourism feel shunned by the decision and express a blunt lack of consultation on the government’s part.

Although Phillips indicated that alternative infrastructure will be established in the area to accommodate OHV enthusiasts where they can take part in the sport “in places where it is environmentally responsible to have that activity,” president of the Crowsnest Pass Quad Squad Gary Clark sees a bleak future for motorized vehicle use in the area, considering that the Porcupine and Livingstone Range are also calling for the reduction of trails in the area.

“Why build more trails when you have a good, solid trail system now that can be further developed? That’s a much lower cost than building new trails,” he adds.

Clark says that the government is disregarding the important role that OHV use plays in the community.

continued below …

“They don’t seem to realize the economic benefits that OHV use brings into this community,” he says. “I just don’t understand where their heads are because they seem to be putting the cart before the horse.”

Since the group’s creation 20 years ago, the Quad Squad has been an instrumental player in promoting responsible OHV use, and creating and maintaining trails in the Castle area with the intent of ensuring the conversation and preservation of the forest, waterways and backcountry. The organization oversees over 1,300 km of trails in Southwest Alberta and has built over 30 bridges that protect fish habitats in the park area.

Clark concedes that as with anything, there are riders that stray off trails and don’t follow proper OHV regulations, but he encourages better enforcement and signage rather than punishing the entire OHV community for the mistakes of a few.

Insufficient consultation

The draft management plan has been designed following a consultation period that was launched after the initial announcement on Sep. 4, 2015. Minister Phillips stated that the government sought input from key stakeholders to inform the draft management plan, including environmental advocates, hunting and fishing advocates, the Alberta Off Highway Vehicles Association, as well as the Crowsnest Pass Quad Squad.

However, the Alberta Fish and Game Association and the Quad Squad have a very different impression of the government’s collaborative intent.

Clark indicates that while the government did make steps to seek his recommendations and opinion, his input was falling on deaf ears.
“I believe that they have tried to do a public consultation process, but I also feel that they haven’t listened to what we’ve been saying,” he says.
According to Clark, he had many concerns with the overall process that the decision was made.

continued below …

“I was put on the Management Board, which was supposed to be making recommendations to the government, and as far as I’m aware, I haven’t voted on any recommendations,” he says. “So I’m not sure why this board was even convened because the government is obviously not listening to what we are saying. That is my main disappointment with the NDP government.”

Brian Dingreville, 2nd vice president of the Alberta Fish and Game Association, expressed similar concerns, stating that the government released the draft management plan while discussions were still ongoing.

“Over the last several months, meetings took place with the provincial government with regards to a draft that we were supposed to come up with and present to the provincial government, which would then be brought forward to the public and we would be given opportunities to discuss it,” he said. “The meetings have not concluded, firstly, which is a total slap in the face because it tells me that they have no regard or any respect for any of the people that were involved in the working group.”
While hunting, fishing and trapping are still allowed under the draft regulations, Dingreville indicated that he has lost confidence in the government given that the Quad Squad was initially told that there would be OHV trails available for use.

“So does that mean that in a couple of years, we’re going to get booted out?” he says. “I have lost total respect for anything that they have said the past. I have no respect whatsoever for the NDP government at all. None.”

Pat Stier also expressed concern with the government’s lack of transparency and consultation with stakeholders.

continued below …

“I think there could have been a broader amount of consultation held throughout the province on such radical changes,” says Stier. “What is their long-range goal and plan? No one seems to know that. They just seem to be doing herky-jerky moves once in a while. I understand the worries and concerns of the business owners and the impacts to the Pass. I only hope that we can figure out a way to move forward and that it will help our economy and not negatively impact it.”

While the press conference was teeming with environmental advocates, children, the Piikani Nation and supporters of the parks creation, there was a general sense of being ignored on the side of OHV groups and other users of the Castle area. The Pass Herald received a call from the Notley office one hour prior. The Alberta Fish and Game Association was informed of the press conference the evening before it would take place, and The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass was informed only 18 hours prior.

“In my opinion, there was really no consultation between our two municipalities that this was going to take place or that we were fairly engaged with any portion of this consultation,” says Mayor of Crowsnest Pass Blair Painter.

“Ninety percent of the people involved in the working group are working people, so for us to make a decision to get to that would be very difficult. They had no regard for us as a working group whatsoever,” said Dingreville.

On the other hand, Piikani First Nation had time to prepare a dance for the press conference, and conservation activists such as Stephen Legault from Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative had time to make it to Pincher Creek from his place of residence in Canmore.
Draft planning

In addition to land use restrictions, a fee structure will also be discussed at the consultation phase of the project.

“The fee structure will most likely be similar to what we have in other parks,” says Rick Blackwood, Assistant Deputy Minister with Alberta Environment and Parks. “We try to have consistency across the parks system, but during the consultation phase those are all the types of things that we’re still trying to sort out.”

A 60-day online public consultation period has launched where the public can provide input on the parks’ features. While several sections included a box to type in an original response, the majority of questions require multiple-choice answers on a “strongly agree” to a “strongly disagree” scale. Concerning the use of OHVs in the park, it’s not a question of “if”; it’s a question of “is a transition period necessary?”

The public can participate in the Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park Draft Management Plan Survey here: https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca/about-us/public-consultations/

COHV Celebrating Canada’s 150 Birthday

Respecting the Environment and Sustainable Trail Development

Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV) is taking part in Canada’s year-long Sesquicentennial Anniversary celebrations with the announcement of a $150,000.00 sustainable trail development funding program open to provincial ATV/ROV side-by-side and/or off-road motorcycle (ORM) Federations across Canada

The COHV grant contribution for the “Celebrate Canada 150 – Respecting the Environment and Sustainable Trail Development” funding program is up to 70 percent to build or refurbish motorized recreational vehicle trails in each province across Canada.

Projects involving construction, upgrade, renovation or rehabilitation of all-terrain vehicle / off-road motorcycle / ROV side-by-side vehicle trails are eligible.  More specifically these projects include:

  • New trail construction; Trail upgrade/improvement;
  • Bridge and water crossing installation and upgrade;
  • Trail signage installation;
  • Trail rehabilitation.

This funding program applies to the 2017 calendar year. As such, projects should be “shovel ready” and of a scope and size that can be completed by December 15, 2017 by the successful applicant.

Across Canada trails are stimulating tourism and recreation-related spending. Local trail users and visitors provide direct economic benefits to hotels, restaurants, retailers, gas stations and other businesses as a result of increases in trail activities.

COHV, its member companies and provincial federations want to leave a lasting legacy that will show Canadians we are proud of our accomplishments and what it takes to build an off-highway vehicle (OHV) trail that’s both fun and sustainable during Canada’s 150 year celebration.

For more information check out: www.cohv.ca

 

“EASTMAN 2017” Membership Renewal Time

 Riding Season is Fast Approaching!

It’s hard to believe that another year has passed by for Eastman ATV Association.  It was a very busy and productive 2016, with a very exciting riding season, the Ride for Mom, a lot of trail work and new members joining Eastman. We finished out the year with ninety two paid family memberships. We would like to thank you all personally for coming out and making Eastman a great group to ride with. We are laying out the groundwork for the future of our sport, as there is certain to be changes on the horizon to the locations where we can ride.

Please know that by supporting Eastman ATV Association and being an organized club we have a voice and an opportunity to show the general public that the sport of ATV riding can be a family sport and a great way to get out and safely explore this great Province of Manitoba.

We will be facing many new challenges in the coming year. By continuing to support Eastman and working as a team we are sure to accomplish great things for our sport and our communities. I would also like to hear ideas and ways we can improve our club, for all to use and benefit from for many years to come.

Please take the time to visit our website and fill out your membership application renewal for 2017, at eastmanatv.com. The Annual General Meeting for Eastman ATV Association will be on April 2, 2017, we will be looking for you to come out and be involved! Please bring your ideas and support, as this is your club, be a part of its future.

By being a paid member of Eastman ATV Association, you are also a paid member of the All Terrain Vehicle Association of Manitoba (ATVMB).  The Annual General Meeting of the All Terrain Vehicle Association of Manitoba will take place on Saturday, March 18, 2017.  This is an opportunity to learn about what ATV Manitoba has been doing on behalf of all ATV Enthusiasts and to hear from guest speakers.

We will be looking for you on the trail this summer and please remember this is your club, as a paid member of Eastman ATV Association you have a vested right and an opportunity to make a difference and to be a part of the development and decision making process for the future of the ATV Community here in Manitoba.

Renewal Eastman Membership 2017

We accept Visa, Master Card and PayPal.

*** Please note the we will be handing out the membership cards at the Eastman ATV Association AGM in April. Date and location to be announced shortly. *** 

Thank you!
Deborah Nicol
President, Eastman ATV Association

Help support responsible riding, “Join Today”

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