Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett recently announced the provincial government is following up on its pledge to apply off-road vehicle (ORV) registration fees to fund trail upgrades.
All money collected from ORV registrations, after expenses, is going into a new ORV Trail Management sub account, she explains.
“We have $320,000 in the account and it starts off today,” Barnett says.
Local clubs and societies can now apply to use this money for trail upgrades and new ORV trail systems, from signage and clearing fallen beetle-killed trees to new trails or smoothing over rougher spots, she explains.
Government had made a commitment when voluntary registration at a cost of $48 began for ORVs in 2014, which then became mandatory in 2015, that once the fund got to the point where it paid for itself, the money would go back into trails.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations will administer the fund and project applications will be accepted shortly, once formal guidelines and process are in place.
Registration also means legal owners can prove their status as such when they sell or trade an ORV that previously had no way beyond requesting an RCMP search to ensure it wasn’t stolen.
“This is for motorized vehicles, it is to go back to the people that bought the plates and [registered] their snowmobiles and ATVs,” says Barnett.
In her capacity as an MLA, she worked on the committee working on changes through the initial ORV Act, she explains.
Barnett notes her late husband, Jack, cleared many local trails with his own chainsaw during his time, as did many of their friends, and they all worked as volunteers to fix up whatever else they could.
“I’ve been doing trails work since way back when the first ATVs had three wheels, and this is the first time there has been anything in a [provincial] trail fund, other than grants, in a special program. So this is great news.”
Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail regional management representative Steve Law says this is indeed great news for the community ORV trail users.
“We have been pushing for trail development bucks for many years. So we will [all] be ecstatic that there is money available to hopefully be used for trails in the 100 Mile area.”
The only other trail-specific funding he knows his committee can apply for is federally, through the National Trail Coalition, he adds.
“Donna Barnett is one of our prime supporters for trails. She is responsible for doing a lot of good things with trails, and been very supportive.”
Barnett says some other trail users she has spoken to so far are also “very pleased,” and she is happy there is help for these hardworking trail blazers.
“It’s great that there will be some assistance out there for all the wonderful volunteer organizations that look after, maintain and build these trails.”
