It wasn’t quite a wake, but the atmosphere at the Little Beaver Snow Park definitely was not upbeat when the Sunset Country Snowmobile Club met there last week.
Apart from the board of directors and about a dozen club members, virtually no one from the public attended the meeting, which was called partly to engage the public in the club’s activities.
Board member Dave Hyatt summed up the mood with his opening remarks: “We’re a club that’s in dire straits. Unless we get some more support, this club is in danger of closing,” he warned.
As the meeting unfolded, a number of issues—ranging from lack of snow to skyrocketing insurance rates—were cited as reasons for the declining number of club members and trail permit-holders.
Of particular concern was the absence of anyone from the OPP, which was specifically invited in order to discuss enforcement issues on club trails.
“I’m disappointed there’s not more of the general public here,” Hyatt admitted.
Another point raised was the difficulty in keeping non-members and uninsured riders off club trails. Board member and trail warden Rick Socholotuk said wardens were powerless to enforce trail permits or the Highway Traffic Act on club trails without the support of the police.
“According to the Motor Vehicle Act, you must have a helmet, licence, insurance, and registration to operate a snowmobile on a public trail,” noted Socholotuk, who also is a certified snowmobile safety instructor.
“We can stop people, but we have no teeth without the support of the police,” he added.
It was noted enforcement is further complicated by the fact the vast majority of groomed trails in Rainy River District are on Crown Land and thus open to the public. Down in southern Ontario, on the other hand, most are on private land.
But the issue that prompted the most discussion was trail permits.
Since the club built and maintains a network of trails in the district spanning more than 400 km, there was some concern about people without permits using them and, in some cases, doing so recklessly.
An annual permit here now costs $190 and as of Dec. 1, only 23 had been purchased. Last year at this time, 75 permits were purchased while in 2002, 41 had been sold.
Across the river in Minnesota, a trail permit costs only $16 (U.S.) and is good throughout the state. Furthermore, retailers commit two cents of every gallon sold to snowmobilers to maintaining trails.
There also are more attractive destinations for riders over there.
Here, the trails simply go from ‘A’ to ‘B,’ and there has been no opportunity to have a meal along the way or gas up since LaBelle’s Birch Point Camp on Northwest Bay closed its restaurant and gas facilities five years ago.
“It just wasn’t worth it to keep it open in the winter,” explained owner Dale LaBelle. “We’d have it open all day and get, maybe, two customers, so we shut it down.”
But perhaps the biggest factor over the last five years has been the weather. Club president Rod Stamarski noted the lack of snow over recent winters has discouraged people from purchasing trail permits while sales of snowmobiles—particularly new ones—have dropped substantially over that period.
Bob Fichuk of Pinewood Sports and Marine Ltd. here can attest to that. Fichuk said he’s seen a significant drop in snowmobile sales over the last seven years, which corresponds to the period in which there has not been a severe winter in these parts.
“A lot of people have gotten out of snowmobiling these days,” he observed. “Over the last five, six years, we’ve had a six-week [snowmobile] season.”
One suggestion was to help trail permit sales by having retailers purchase them en masse and include them in the price of machines, but Fichuk was cool to that idea.
He said sales are so slow, it would not be worth the vendors’ expense.
Fichuk noted Pinewood Sports has seen a dramatic shift in the market of late. Where snowmobiles once made up the bulk of off-road vehicles sales, today ATVs are now leading by a 2:1 margin.
Seven years ago, snowmobiles outsold ATVs 7:1.
“Back then, we were selling about 270 units, new and used. Now, we’re lucky to sell 40,” Fichuk remarked.
Club members are hoping the abundance of snow this winter will help turn things around, but the weather won’t help deal with another persistent problem—the enormous jump in insurance rates.
“Last year, insurance costs [for the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs] were just over $400,000,” remarked Hyatt. “This year, it’s $4 million.”
Another idea floated Thursday night was to approach town council to pass a bylaw requiring all snowmobilers to have a trail permit to ride within town limits. That way, it was argued, the police would be able to enforce it.
But former mayor Glenn Witherspoon, who also owns a gas station here, was skeptical about that idea. He suggested the solution to the club’s problems lay within its own hands and inviting governments to solve them was a mistake.
“Sometimes the government is too involved and I think they’re too involved in snowmobiling,” stressed Witherspoon, evidently referring to the burden of regulations the club already faces.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in the States. They don’t do everything right, but they do keep the government out of it,” he added.
There was some good news from the meeting. It was decided to hold a Family Fun Rally on Feb. 7 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The public is invited to come out and participate, but you’ll need a trail permit.
If you don’t have one, you can purchase a one-day permit at Badiuk Equipment Ltd. or Pinewood Sports and Marine Ltd.
Cards for the rally are available at La Place Rendez-Vous.
For more information on the Family Fun Rally or the Sunset Country Snowmobile Club, contact Bill O’Leary (274-2219).
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
