The Brussels Post, 1977-07-20, Page 11WEEKLY SALE ?it
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THE BRUSSELS POST, JULY 20, 1977 Huron farmers feel
Agricultural land ,trails are incompatable
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Twenty-five or 30 Huron
County farmers did their chores
early last Tuesday evening, July
5, and then drove between 50 and
100 miles to attend a meeting of
the Ontario Trails Council in
Owen Sound,
They were on hand to let
members of the council know they
a re worried about the possible .
effects of public trails across farm
land; effects that could range
from a tractor tire slashed by a
discarded bottle to spreading of
crop and livestock diseases.
Organization and individuals
from within the county presented
briefs urging the council to think
well before recommending trails
be established across H uron's
prime agricultural land.
The tone was largely one of
opposition to trails. "We beli eve
that public trails on private lands
in Southwestern Ontario are
incompatible with intensive
agriculture," declared a brief
from the Huron County Feder-
ation of Agriculture.
A private brief submitted by
Jean Moorby and Mrs. Louise
Marritt, farmers from Turnberry.
Township, noted that 'under the
current Petty Prespass Act, "the
farmer is liable for any injury or
loss of life on his land, whether
the persons are there with or
without his permission."
The briefs pointed out the
dangers inherent in trails across
farm land, both to the trail user
and the farmer.
The farmer faces threats of
disease, spread from farm to farm
on boots and clothing; lost
production and deaths among
livestock upset by intruders;
machinery damaged and livestock
killed by litter discarded on the '
land; and fire damage from a
carelessly made or abandoned
campfire.
The unwary user, on the other
hand, faces injury or death in the
form of dangerous animals, such
as a bull or a watchdog; chemicals
and hormones used in farming; or
quicksand around a farm pond.
"People are not educated
enough to,be allowed loose on 'the
land," Bev Bron, a Turnberry
Township pork Producer, ,declared in a conversation several
days after the meeting.
She illustrated her point by
referring to a brief presented by
Sgt. Harold Tye, community
services co-ordinator with the
Mount Forest detachment of the
Ontario Provincial Police. •
Mr. Tye reported 14 persons
have had to be rescued after they
got lost while hiking on the Bruce
Trail this summer. People
venture out without maps or
guides, he said, and are often
completely unprepared to meet
even a minor emergency. They
are not prepared to spend a night
in the 'open, wear improper
footwear and are ignorant of fire
hazards.
There will be trails set up in
Ontario and perhaps they are
necessary to alloW people to
escape the pressures of city life,
Miss Brown said, citing the high
rates of suicide and mental illness
in Toronto, but they should be
kept off good. agricultural land.
The trails council assured
farmers trails will not be forced
on them - no trail can be placed
across private land without the
owner's consent - but there will
be pressure from trail users to
allow access and farmers still face
problems from trails bordering
their properties,
The council showed particular
interest in a brief from Turnberry
Township, presented by Mrs.
Douglas Fortune, that
mentioned unused road
allowances as possible areas for
trails.
These allowances are currently
used and maintained by farmers
bordering on them , commonly
being seeded with crops.
Mrs. Fortune pointed out,
however, that the allowances
belong to the township and not
the province, so approval for their
use must come at the local level.
The Turnberry brief echoed
other Huron County briefs in its
warnings against problems that
would arise from the trails. The
township is not in principle
opposed to the trails, Mrs..
FOrtune said later, but is
concerned that the council face up
to the problems.
"I hope they heard- enough
from Huron County to make them
realize we are extremely
concerned about it,:' she added.
The trails council was first
announced in the fall of 1973 and
was set up by an Order-in-Council
on September 1, 1975, It
comprises 17 members appointed
by the Ontario cabinet, many of
whom represent trail users. Two
farmers, Ronald Jones of Midland
and John JOhnstone of
Tobermory, sit on the council.
Since its inception, the council
has held a series of public
meetings in various parts of the
province, preparatory to submit-
ting its recommendations to the
government this fall. The Owen
Sound meeting was the last of
these.
It was also one of the only ones
near the rich farming country of
Western Ont ario. "Apparently it
never dawned on them they
should hold a session in farm
country," Miss Brown- noted.
It remains to be seen what the
council's recommendations will
be, what action the government
will take on them and how
farmers will be affected. The
Moorby-Marritt 'Wild warns,
however, that, "If people in this
country want a continued source
of adequate, high-quality food,
then the farmer must be allowed
to practice his profession free
from the annoyance, inconven-
ience, expense and worry which
can result from infringement on
private land."
(The Wingham Advance Times)