not so good news from northern ontario

[skidooboy]

i dont have any info other than what was saw on Luc's facebook page. i am not a facebook person so, i can only see so much of his page/report.

 

Algoma Sno Plan Affiliation about a minute ago . We have been delivered the bad news that the Chapleau Arctic Watershed club has folded which was devastating news to us as their trails are our only connection to our northern clubs of Wawa & Dubreuilville as well as...

 

one more devistating nail in the far northern regions coffin. i hope there is a silver lining to this otherwise dark cloud.

 

posted in the main club forum also for discussion. Ski

[nathangarber]

That is bad news, but not surprising. My hope is that this condenses more riders to the wawa/dub area.miss some of the local trails in those areas but still plenty of good riding there.

[AkronOrange]

I fear the end is near for us touring guys.  It's really sad that Ontario Tourism and the OFSC doesn't recognize the potential and importance of northern Ontario.  The clubs with all of the riders and money have managed to manipulate the system to divert funding and riders to their respective areas, slowly but surely making it difficult for clubs with fewer members to be successful.  The loss of the trails to D16, Foleyette and now the troubles in Chapleau are evidence of this.  "C" trail north of Sudbury could be next.  How far will this go?  I expect that sometime in the near future, you might only be able to ride from place to place in those populated areas, that is, if they have the snow.

[Viperules700]

I fear the end is near for us touring guys.  It's really sad that Ontario Tourism and the OFSC doesn't recognize the potential and importance of northern Ontario.  The clubs with all of the riders and money have managed to manipulate the system to divert funding and riders to their respective areas, slowly but surely making it difficult for clubs with fewer members to be successful.  The loss of the trails to D16, Foleyette and now the troubles in Chapleau are evidence of this.  "C" trail north of Sudbury could be next.  How far will this go?  I expect that sometime in the near future, you might only be able to ride from place to place in those populated areas, that is, if they have the snow.

That isn't true at all. The problem is people in the north are cheating the system (by not buying permits mostly because their town loops have been closed, in order to keep the top trail in-between northern towns open. Take away town loops and locals won't buy permits to ride the same trail out and back into town. The south has sent plenty of money north, even they are getting pinched for dollars now too. Still need people to do all of the back breaking volunteer work too. Some of these northern clubs like duberville have 3 or 4 people do all of the work. Even Luc got frustrated once by lack of help he quit for abit too.

[AkronOrange]

That isn't true at all. The problem is people in the north are cheating the system (by not buying permits mostly because their town loops have been closed, in order to keep the top trail in-between northern towns open. Take away town loops and locals won't buy permits to ride the same trail out and back into town. The south has sent plenty of money north, even they are getting pinched for dollars now too. Still need people to do all of the back breaking volunteer work too. Some of these northern clubs like duberville have 3 or 4 people do all of the work. Even Luc got frustrated once by lack of help he quit for abit too.

 

There are cheaters everywhere.  If you look at it on a per capita basis, I'll bet there are more cheaters in the more populated areas.  No doubt, the north sells fewer permits, they have fewer people, they have less of everything, kind of makes sense.  There needs to be an incentive for these folks to get involved, it's not the same as the south.  C101F was shut down because of lack of support, If our group of 4 had purchased our permits from Foleyet it would have been 1 permit for every 50 people, I doubt too many clubs can boast those types of numbers.  The permit minimum just isn't working.

[Classic]

There are cheaters everywhere.  If you look at it on a per capita basis, I'll bet there are more cheaters in the more populated areas.  No doubt, the north sells fewer permits, they have fewer people, they have less of everything, kind of makes sense.  There needs to be an incentive for these folks to get involved, it's not the same as the south.  C101F was shut down because of lack of support, If our group of 4 had purchased our permits from Foleyet it would have been 1 permit for every 50 people, I doubt too many clubs can boast those types of numbers.  The permit minimum just isn't working.

The incentive is to have open trails if you get off your ass and help the clubs. And buy a permit.

[Viperules700]

There are cheaters everywhere.  If you look at it on a per capita basis, I'll bet there are more cheaters in the more populated areas.  No doubt, the north sells fewer permits, they have fewer people, they have less of everything, kind of makes sense.  There needs to be an incentive for these folks to get involved, it's not the same as the south.  C101F was shut down because of lack of support, If our group of 4 had purchased our permits from Foleyet it would have been 1 permit for every 50 people, I doubt too many clubs can boast those types of numbers.  The permit minimum just isn't working.

Actually cheating this year was way down. . My nieghbour actually bought a permit this year, as a result of the extra incentive. First time in four years and rode 2500kms. Says he is getting another sled this fall too. I never seen one sled in the south this winter using the trails without a permit. Seems most people were satisfied to get extra money off for buying before nov 1. Permit Sales will be strong going into next winter, so it is a chance to raise permit fees to help the awhole system. I think ofsc needs to try and get government of

ontario to give some of the gas money tax back to sledders too, to help keep northern trails open. So far the government hasn't been giving snowmobile clubs even thier fair share back, versus what sledders put back into economy. The north every sledder puts in an enormous mount of dollars into local economy. We defiantly need a way to keep the trails open and viable.

[02Sled]

I found a smaller than previous year number of cheaters in what would be described as the south but they were still there. The most popular was having the permit in the pocket and passing it around. I insisted one rider put the permit that was in his pocket on the sled. He tried every excuse but finally put it on. Then his buddy who had a permit commented. "Your brother's going to be pissed when he sees his permit stuck on your sled"

 

As for the north that Akron refers to... how much money should be sent to the north to keep it going? Is it 20% of the "southern" clubs permit sales or perhaps it's 30%, 40%, 50% or even more. OFSC promotes buy where you ride. Should the clubs that sell enough permits to cover their expenses be struggling to meet those expenses because they sent cash to a club with almost 0 permit sales and a lack of volunteers.

 

There has to be a level of participation from those "northern" clubs in volunteers and permit sales to be able to justify the financial help from others. If they aren't supported locally to even a minimum level why should the rest bail them out to a point of creating suffering of their own.

[Viperules700]

I found a smaller than previous year number of cheaters in what would be described as the south but they were still there. The most popular was having the permit in the pocket and passing it around. I insisted one rider put the permit that was in his pocket on the sled. He tried every excuse but finally put it on. Then his buddy who had a permit commented. "Your brother's going to be pissed when he sees his permit stuck on your sled"

 

As for the north that Akron refers to... how much money should be sent to the north to keep it going? Is it 20% of the "southern" clubs permit sales or perhaps it's 30%, 40%, 50% or even more. OFSC promotes buy where you ride. Should the clubs that sell enough permits to cover their expenses be struggling to meet those expenses because they sent cash to a club with almost 0 permit sales and a lack of volunteers.

 

There has to be a level of participation from those "northern" clubs in volunteers and permit sales to be able to justify the financial help from others. If they aren't supported locally to even a minimum level why should the rest bail them out to a point of creating suffering of

their own.

Very well said 02. The greenstone loop is a great example of this. The two clubs were told to be self sufficient after shutting down for a year due to zero permit sales. I think one club managed 110 permits this past winter and the other around 70. Something like that, but they opened back up and operated on thier own limited funds. I would have no issue if the south gave them some extra help, since I would like to ride there one day too.

[Ox]

Seems like every time I read about the Green Stone Loop, I have to stop and think about where I am, because the Green Rock Trailhead out of Laramie, Wyoming comes to mind first. 

 

 

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