Yorkton's snowmobile enthusiasts have begun a campaign urging ATV riders to stay off of the region's snowmobile trails during the summer.
The Yorkton Sno-Riders club operates 500 kilometers of groomed trails in the area for local and visiting snowmobilers, complete with signage and 12 warm-up shelters. The money to maintain this trail system comes from fundraisers organized by the club and from sled registration fees collected by the province.
But the use of these trails by ATV riders and 4x4 truck drivers in the off-season is endangering the trails' future, according to a series of recent communications from the Sno-Riders and the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association (SSA).
The tires of these vehicles cause considerable damage to the trails, says SSA president/CEO Chris Brewer, which leads to two problems. First, the province's snowmobile clubs lack the budget to repair the damage to the forested portions of the trails, as ATV riders do not pay into the trail fund. Second, portions of the trail make use of private property whose owners have granted permission for snowmobile use only; in the spring and summer, ATV riders cut ruts across pastures and seeded fields, prompting landowners to revoke permission for trail use entirely.
Tourism Yorkton President Neil Thom worries that ATV riders will put a damper on one of Yorkton's biggest winter tourist draws.
"The 500 kilometers of groomed snowmobile trails provide endless recreation and valuable tourist dollars for the economy. The local Sno-Riders club in Yorkton has created an amazing network of marked trails with access to food, hotels, and gas."
No comparable trail system exists in the province for ATVs, and Saskatchewan does not collect registration fees for the off-road vehicles. Thom and the snowmobile clubs think it might be time for that to change.
"I think it is important for ATV users to look at the snowmobile trail model, which includes collecting fees to create their own trails," says the Tourism Yorkton president.
