HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1971-11-18, Page 22In a planned effort to deter-
mine what facilities were
Aquired to provide snowmobile
users with opportunities to enjoy
the sport safely and without con-
flicting with other winter sports
Bombardier Limited last winter
carried out an extensive survey
across Canada and the United
States.
What the survey revealed and
requirements that were sug-
gested were indicated recently
by John W. Hethrington, vice
president, marketing at a snow-
mobile and off the road vehicle
research symposium at Michigan
State University.
" - A portion of Hethrington's
remarks follow; .
This year the 20 major snow-
mobile manufacturers produced
563,000 units and over 500,000.
snowmobiles were sold at retail
in North America. This tremen-
dous growth, however, places an
increased strain on our natural
resources.- Unfortanately, as the
number of people who are turning
to the out-of-doors increases - -
in 1970 nearly 400 million people
spent their leisure tinie automo-
biting, camping , hunting, boating
and snowmobiling - the amount
of natural resources remains the
same - - but with careful and
judicious planning more recrea-
tional areas can be developed,
making our natural resources
more productive.
It is up to us in the recrea-
tional industry to assist in
developing methods whereby
these millions of people ca,n make
the most efficient use 'tif the
available land. Governments-at
all levels will have to continue
to invest in more recreational
facilities. But ti.ay need to have
all. the necessary Information to ,
get the Most for the dollars that
the y invest. And the problem
must definitely be approached
with an eye toward the protection
of the environment. In this wayr
the concerns of all people, out-
doorsmen, environmentalists,
conservationist's, sportsmen, et.
al. will be taken into consider-
ation.
we were aware that there was
little factual information about
the development and maintenance
of snowmobile use areas. In an
effort to develop this information,
we undertook an extensive,sur-,_
vey of snowmobile use areas.
During the winter of 1971, we
conducted a qualitative sampling .
of 50 snowmobile use areas
throughout the North American
snowbelt.
To achieve a true cross-
section, our researchers visited
areas in all sections of the United
States and Canadian snowbelts.
Although many aspects of trail
development are universal, we
found that each region has its-
ow n unique problems and re-
quirements.
We undertook this project for
three reasons. First, snowmo-
biling in a well-maintained and
controlled use area 'can elimin-
ate many of the safety problems
which confront our industry today.
We have been studyirig the safety
problem for the past four years
in cooperation with the National
and Canada Safety Councils;
investigations show that a ma-
jority of snowmobile related fa-
talities occur on the roads and
highways. Snowmobiles are de-
signed as off-road vehicles, and
should not be operated on the
road. In most states andyrov-
inces it is against the law to do
so.
Nevertheless, people are
driving their sleds on roadways.
Last winter, for example, of the
51 snowmobilers who lost their
lives in the province of Quebec,
fo rty-three of these deaths
occurred on roadways. Six
people drowned in lakes early or
late in the season when the ice
was not suitable for snowmo-
biling. The remaining two
drivers were killed when their
machines struck hidden or par-
tially -obscured objects. Both
drivers were unfamiliar with the
terrain over which they Were
riding.
Why do people disregard the
facts and continue to operate
International Survey
snowmobiles in dangerous situa-
tions? We feel it is largely
because there are not enough
suitably designed use areas
available for the snowmobiling
public.
Safety problems, therefore,
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arise from irresponsible oper-
ation in the wrong local and are
not inherent in the machines
themselves. Many of these acci-
dents,' injuries and fatalities can
be eliminated through the devel-
opment of well-designed trail
Discloses
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facilities which would put
machine operators in a controlled
use situation and thus foster
safe enjoyment of this family
sport.
The second reason for this
study is that snowmobiling has
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by some environmentalists. Part
of this criticism is justified,
some is totally unjustified, and
much of it lies somewhere in the
middle --in other words, no doc-
umented conclusions can be
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drawn because the problem has
never been thoroughly and objec-
tively researched.
We feel that the environmental
problems that do exist ,can be
controlled with the development
of trail areas designed with
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environmental safeguards in
mind. Trails can and should be
routed so that the noise of the
machines will not bother local
residents. They should be con-
structed away from areas where
wildlife winters and where plant
SEAFORTH. ONTARIO
I • • .••••••••
:life will not be affected. Use
!areas should be developed so
'that they blend in naturally with
the terrain.
Finally, we undertook this
study because snowmobiling has
mushroomed into unbelievable
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proportions in slightly more than
a decade. Last year the industry-
produced 563,000 snowmobiles
with about 500,000 sold at retail.
The number of machines now in
use is 1,400,000 and should ex-
ceed two million by the end of
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, SEAFORTH, ONT., NOV. 18, 1971-7a
next year.' In many areas of
North America where registra-
tion is high especially in the
East, Midwest, Ontario and
Quebec, snowmobilers are
finding that the space where they
can enjoy their sport seems to
become more limited each year.
What are the specifics of use
area development? Let's take a
look at what our study uncovered.
The first concern to any use
area of course, is financing. How
much will it cost to develop snow-
mobile trails? In most cases
'studied, the development of the
trail system itself was very inex-
pensive. A majority of success-
ful trail systems utilized some
type of trails -already in exis-
tence, such as old logging roads,
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bridle Piths, or hiking tails. Over
80% of the use areas sample
relied heavily upon old logging
roads' which created a good
natural trail system that took
on a spider web effect.
If already existing trails or
roads on one type or another are
'used without the construction of
any new trails, development costs
will be minimal. Almost every
trail system that was built on
already existing trails did not
even list a development cost
figure in its books. In most
cases 'volunteer workers using
Main saws, etc. to clear brush
and stumps from the trail needed
mly two or three days to prepare
in area.
The study shows that the other
cost factors to consider in the
development of the trails involved
the building of bridges over land
or water hazards, the clearing
of new or connecting trails, and
the erection of barriers around
darigerous or sensitive areas.
Labor costs for clearing the
trails and preparing them for
snowmobiling, and the cost of
clearing equipment were pro-
vided on a volunteer basis in
the majority of instances. In
much of the snowbelt there still
remain thousands ,of miles of
trails that with a little effort
can be made ideal for snow-
mobile use. Some funds will
have to be spent on building
access trails and linking , to-"'
gether available use areas. In
the future we must be ready to
make the necessary investment
in the heavy equipment that will
be required to develop trails from
- oas fn rc r aFttreaohi.
accurate
development, we have
the areas' that did keep
record of the cost
determined that for each mile
of trail constructed, the cost
ranges between $100 and $150 per
mile, depending on the type of
terrain, equipment, and amowit
.of man-power required.
The report covers a few new
trail systems which were de-
veloped with the help of land-
scape architects,' environmental
experts, snowmobile experts, and
park supervisors. These indi-
viduals were able to design in-
teresting trail systems using
topographica 1 and aerial maps.
These people would also be able
to give advice when already exis-
ting-....trails need to be altered to
make them acceptable for snow-
mobile use because of safety
or environmental considerations.
Most of these people, especially
if they were snowmobilers them-
selves, volunteered their time.
These then are the types of
trails we found available; a
system on public land financed
by snowmobjle 1 registration
fees -- some enlightened govern-
ments have taken definite steps
tci develop the public land under
their jurisdiction; a system on
private or public lands informally
developed by snowmobile clubs;
networks on the property of large
corporations such as paper com-
panies -or land developers; and
regulated area set up by local
businessmen on private land with
use fees and/or rental machines;
or a system on private land for
the use of patrons of a lodge,
(Continued
hotel, or
on
sor Thesepagt.
e10)
last
two types are the most tightly
controlled of all use areas.
fa—THE HURON EXPOSITOR, SEAFORTH, ONT., NOV. 18, 1971