Haliburton County is a flagship for snowmobiling and the continued promotion and maintenance of the area’s vast trail network is essential to the future of the sport.
That was the message from Bruce Robinson, president of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs, as he spoke at the annual general meeting of the Haliburton County Snowmobile Association at Halls Lake’s Sandy Lane Resort on April 28.
“Haliburton and snowmobiling just kind of go in the same sentence,” Robinson told a room of about 30 association members. “Haliburton just kind of owns snowmobiling.”
He said reasons for this include consistent snowfall, strong permit sales and good municipal support.
Haliburton’s landscape also makes it a popular destination for snowmobile enthusiasts, Robinson said, but noted that the county’s sought-after rugged terrain can also be a bit of a hindrance.
“You’ve had some challenges,” he said, adding that the area’s rocks and lakes, while beautiful, make it difficult to install and groom trails.
Robinson said there is added pressure for Haliburton and Muskoka to keep their trails as pristine as possible since they are the province’s “high-profile showcase areas.”
“It’s important to showcase snowmobiling in order to keep new people coming in,” he said. “The biggest thing to getting a new customer is giving them a good first experience.”
Since Haliburton and Muskoka comprise the province’s most coveted snowmobiling region, Robinson said the provincial federation would continue to try its best to ensure the area’s clubs have access to the resources they need in order to maintain their trails.
And the trail system here is vast.
During the 2009/10 season, association volunteers and OPP officers patrolled 3,700 kilometres of trails in the county, checking for permit violations.
In all, 3,750 sleds were checked and $7,360 worth of fines were laid.
This year, the association sold about 1,700 permits, down slightly from more than 2,000 sold during the previous season.
Association president Rosemary Vanstrien said the slight drop could have been caused by this year’s shortened season due to the mild weather or the slumped economy.
While the association generally enjoys healthy permit sales, Robinson ventured that many of those permit-buyers were likely not year-round county residents.
“I suspect you have a volunteer problem,” he said.
Vanstrien said it could sometimes be a problem to attract the 50 or 60 people a season the association requires to patrol trails, repair bridges and perform various other duties.
Robinson’s wife, Liz, heads up the federation’s Volunteers in Action committee and spoke about the importance of volunteerism as it applies to snowmobiling.
“The volunteers won’t come to you, you have to ask them,” Liz said, adding that if each of the club’s volunteers just tried to recruit one other person to volunteer, that could go a long way.
She said it was important to find the right person for the right job and to make sure that volunteers feel appreciated.
“It’s doesn’t take long to say, ‘Thank you,’” she said.
And the association did thank a number of its volunteers last week, handing out plaques of appreciation.
Scott Doan was named the association’s Rookie of the Year, Guard and Jean Campbell won Family of the Year, Mike Donnelly was Volunteer of the Year and Patroller of the Year, Rick Armstrong, received an engraved stop sign for his efforts.
The 2009/10 was a big one for the association in terms of infrastructure projects, said trails coordinator Andy Chvedukas in his report.
“I can’t remember so many projects being taken on at once,” Chvedukas told the room.
Two such projects included the installation of the floating bridge in Minden, which the association paid part of, and the reopening of the trail formerly known as the Gord Hamilton Trail, running from Minden to Pine Springs.
Chvedukas said the association put in more than 2,000 hours of grooming this season.
Vanstrien said for next season, the association is considering the creation of an online forum, where snowmobilers could ask questions about trail conditions, parking, accommodations and so on.
While such a forum would require someone to monitor it regularly, Vanstrien said she hoped perhaps the association could find a tech-savvy, snowmobile-loving high school students looking to clock their volunteer hours to take on the duty.
Eight people, Vanstrien included, were nominated as members of the association’s executive for the 2010/11 season and that group will be meeting shortly to choose this season’s president.
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