The All Terrain Vehicle Association of Manitoba Annual Report to Members
March 2018
The past year has been another busy and successful year for ATV Manitoba with much work being accomplished both in the Board Room and outside on the trails.
COHV Canada 150 Grant Program
In honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council announced the Canada 150 Grant Program, which was made available to Federations for trail work in 2017. The ATVMB Board decided to offer this grant program to our clubs and four clubs submitted applications for trail projects. ATVMB then combined those applications into one provincial application, which was accepted by COHV and the work began.
Belair ATV Club:
The Belair ATV Club submitted an application for a bridge washout repair on the new Whistle Pig Trail. This was a major project with work being done to repair and shore up a trestle bridge along this decommissioned rail bed. In addition to the repairs required to make this trail safe, signage was also added and the trail is now ready for anyone who is looking for a great destination ride. The trail runs from Hwy 59, just north of Gull Lake, to Pine Falls Manitoba. For more info on trails in the Belair area visit the club website, www.belairatvclub.ca/
Eastman ATV Association:
The Eastman ATV Association applied for funding through the COHV Canada 150 Grant program to facilitate a trail expansion project on their Eastman ATV Trail – Trail with a View, Celebration 150. The expansion added an addition 17.5 km’s to the existing trail for a total of 73.5 km’s of trail. The trail now runs from the Eastman staging area, running along the famous Dawson Trail, then loops southwest to hook up with the original Eastman Trail. For more information please visit their website, https://eastmanatv.com/the-trail
South Interlake ATV Club:
The South Interlake ATV Club was granted funding through the COHV Grant program to update Interlake Pioneer Trail kiosk signage with their new club logo and website information. The IPT is a multi-use trail shared by ATVers, snowmobilers, hikers, mountain bikers, geocachers and horseback riders and has been managed by SIATV since 2009. The additions to kiosk signage will provide trail users with up- to-date information about the South Interlake ATV Club, the Interlake Pioneer Trail and will provide users with a contact to convey feedback or notification of any issues encountered on the trail. For more information on SIATV and the Interlake Pioneer Trail please visit their website, http://www.siatvclub.com/
Woodridge Sandhogs:
With the help of funding through the COHV Canada 150 grant program, the Sandhogs were able to reroute their trail to run through the forest, rather than along a transmission line. The trail required reclamation after a devastating winter storm in 2012 and the project resulted in 13 km’s of trail being added to their existing trail, for a total of 85 km’s of trail in the area. For for information please visit their website, http://woodridgesandhogs.ca/category/trails/ .
Rock road ATV Club
The Rock Road ATV Club, formerly known as the Portage Off Road Vehicle Club, went through the process of changing their name this year to better reflect their membership. RRAC continues to maintain their ATV riding park near Portage la Prairie, offering members the opportunity to come together and enjoy safe, responsible outings with family and friends. Visit their Facebook page to connect, https://www.facebook.com/groups/256315857824507/about/.
Trail Development:
ATVMB is happy to report that our Manitoba ATV trail network is growing! Over the past year, the Belair ATV Club successfully negotiated an agreement with the RM of Alexander to manage a recently acquired decommissioned rail bed from Pine Falls to Gull Lake as a 30 km multi-use motorized recreational trail. The former rail bed was acquired when the Central Manitoba Railway company (CEMR) no longer required it to service the recently closed Pine Falls paper mill. The wooden ties and steel rails were removed, but fortunately the five large wooden trestle bridges were left intact. Through club fundraising efforts and grant funding from the RM and the Canadian Off Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV), the club undertook several major projects to repair a bridge approach washout and also install hundreds of feet of safety railings on all the trestle bridges. In addition, the entire length of the trail was signed to ATVMB standards and is now open for use. The rail trail has been christened the “Whistle Pig” trail. During the upcoming fiscal year, the Belair ATV Club will negotiate with the RM of St. Clements to acquire multi-use motorized trail status for an additional 75 km’s from Gull Lake all the way to East Selkirk.
Over the past two years the Belair ATV Club and ATVMB have been planning and negotiating with the Province of Manitoba for the right to maintain and sign 120 km’s of trail within the Belair Forest, which will provide connectivity to the Whistle Pig Rail Trail and also connect trail access to communities within the East Beaches catchment area. These trails feature outstanding forest vista’s and a
sandy trail base, which provides for excellent trail durability. Negotiations have now been completed with the Province resulting in ATVMB and the Belair ATV Club receiving conditional approval to sign and maintain the trails, which will now be part of the ATVMB managed trail system in Manitoba. It is anticipated that these trails will receive final approval this spring with signing and trail improvements to occur over the summer of 2018.
Safety:
The promotion of safe riding is part of the ATVMB mandate and over the past two years ATVMB has been working with Manitoba Public Insurance on safety promotion. MPI generously donated the time and expertise to develop the artwork for a safety poster and handle bar hangers that will be displayed in power sport dealerships.
The ATVMB Safety Committee has been actively pursuing partners to work with us on delivery of a recreational ATV safety training program with the hope that we will be able to offer the Canadian ATV Safety Institute (CASI) training program to our members in the future. CASI is the program endorsed by both AQCC and COHV and is offered in many provinces across Canada. While ATV safety programs do exist in Manitoba, such as the one offered by Safety Services Manitoba, uptake by the general public has been extremely low. Ultimately, we would like to be able to offer the CASI program as the ATV safety program of choice. The Federations that have had the most success with the CASI program are those that have legislated ATV safety training as mandatory for certain age groups. ATVMB believes that it is all about educating riders regarding the need for training, particularly for young riders. It is a bit of an uphill climb, but we will continue to focus on promotion of safe riding.
Membership:
Membership is growing at the Club level with an increase in membership numbers over last year and in addition, we are happy to report that a new club has formed called the Nopiming 4 Lakes 4 Wheelers. Please join the Board in welcoming our newest ATVMB Club! We look forward to getting to know the members in the months to come.
In an effort to increase membership, ATVMB in cooperation with a number of member clubs, developed a “Free One Year Membership” program in partnership with the Mid-Canada Marine and Powersports Dealer Association dealer members. This is an “opt-in” program that clubs can participate in if they want to grow their member numbers. Anyone purchasing a new ATV or side-by-side will have the opportunity to join a participating club at no cost for a period of one year.
Member Benefits:
The benefits of being a member of a club and ATVMB are not always clear. There is the obvious benefit of belonging to a club where you are able to interact and socialize with like-minded peers and then there are benefits that have a direct financial impact, like discounted insurance coverage through the Oasis “Got Toys” Program, http://www.insuretoys.ca/.
One of the biggest benefits of ATVMB membership is the club insurance coverage. All ATVMB clubs are covered by Commercial General Liability and Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance. The CGL policy covers the trail and protects the club in the event that they are sued by someone using the trail, or during an organized ride or social event. The Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance protects the personal assets of board members in the event that the organization is sued for any wrongful act or mis-statement during the course of day-to-day activities. Both of these policies are critical to the success of an organization and both are offered to ATVMB clubs at a significant discount.
Then there is advocacy, this activity very often goes unnoticed by the average member, however, it is a critical component to the success of a club and important to individual members. ATVMB is your voice when dealing with Government. It is through the advocacy efforts of ATVMB that we have been able to successfully designate ATV trails on Crown land. ATVMB is advocating for sustainable funding, which when received will benefit all ATVMB clubs.
ATVMB also responds to the threat of trail closures and works with various levels of Government to mitigate the impact of potential trail closures.
ATVMB Clubs also benefit when grant funding becomes available. Whether it is through the National Trails Coalition as was the case in 2014, or through the COHV Canada 150 Grant program in 2017, membership has benefits! Our trail development would not be what it is today if not for the opportunity to apply for funding through various avenues.
Public Relations:
ATVMB once again participated in a number of public relations activities. These events provide an opportunity to connect with the public, government and riders for the purpose of promoting responsible recreational riding in our province. Over the past year ATVMB has participated in the following PR events: In April 2017 we attended the MTCML Trade Show in conjunction with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities Municipal Officers Seminar. This event provides us with the opportunity to network with Municipal Officers from across the
- In October 2017ATVMB participated in the MMPDA Powersports Show held at the Red River Exhibition
- February 2018 ATVMB had a presence at the Manitoba Outdoor This was the second year for this show, which saw a marked increase in attendance over last year.
- The MMPDA has been invited ATVMB to participate in the 2018 RV show which will be held March 8 – ATVMB will be present on the weekend in the “What To Do When you Get There” section of the show. Should be fun!
Thanks to all of our volunteers for participating in these various events. We would be lost without you!
National Representation:
The All Terrain Quad Council of Canada held their conference and Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg in September 2017. ATVMB President Armando Brambilla was in attendance and Executive Director, Kim Wozniak was part of the planning committee for the event which included a panel discussion on Thursday evening involving ATVMB members and Federation representatives from across the country; the conference and AGM followed on Friday; and the event wound up with an ATV ride on the Little Big Foot Trail in Woodridge. Kim Wozniak is now the AQCC Second Vice-President and continues to keep the ATVMB Board updated on national activities.
AGM 2018:
The ATVMB Board of Directors look forward to meeting with members at the 2018 AGM on March 17th, beginning at 1 p.m. at the Transcanada Centre in Iles des Chenes, Manitoba.
Due to dry windy conditions and high fire dangers, all burning permits in eastern, central and parts of western Manitoba are cancelled. New permits will not be issued until conditions improve. Travel restrictions are also in place for eastern, central and parts of western Manitoba as well as the Mars Hill Wildlife Management area, and southern Manitoba parks. Campfire restrictions are also in place for all provincial parks in southern Manitoba. Visitors to provincial parks should check with park staff for updated information (
