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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2006-03-01, Page 10Page 10 March 1, 2006 • The Huron Expositor Farmers' protest brin 'S S News �wmobile season to a screeching halt Jennifer Hubbard Ron Williamson of the Seaforth The local snowmobile season came to a screeching halt on Friday, as trails in the Clinton, Blyth, Seaforth, Goderich and St. Helen's areas closed unexpectedly. Despite a nice covering of snow, signs . announcing the closures were posted over the weekend in support of an ongoing farmer -led protest. "We're backing our landowners in this area," said Bruce Howson, of North Huron Trail Grooming Inc., which oversees grooming for the aforementioned clubs. "They've asked that we close the trails and we're doing just that." Pineridge Snowmobile Club agrees that a lot of snowmobilers are stay- ing home to support the farmers. He says he knows of seven miles of trail between Seaforth and Winthrop closed right now. Restricting the use of their agri- cultural land for recreation purpos- es — like snowmobile trails — is just the most recent of many steps local farmers have taken to bring aware- ness to the much-needed risk man- agement program (RMP) and income support programs for Canadian farmers. Nearly 200 Huron County farmers rallied the provincial and federal governments in Guelph and Ottawa late last month. Varna -area farmer Bev Hill said the RMP is necessary for Ontario farmers to succeed because it removes the competitive inequity that currently exists between them and their Quebec and American counterparts. "Now the governments tell us that the public is not prepared to sup- port our industry to the extent that we have proven is neccesary," he said. "We don't think that that's the case, but that's the message we get. We feel that we're obligated to pro- vide the public with the opportunity to demonstrate their support through actions such as those tak- ing place right now." Howson said some snowmobilers ignored the losures, but many trailered up"and went to those open in the Wingham and Lucknow area. Snowmobilers encountering closed signs have been asked to immedi- ately turn around and go back to the last access point. "We want to raise awareness until the government gives us enough money through support programs so that we can stay in business," added Blyth -area Steve Webster. "We don't feel the government is taking the hurt we are experiencing seriously." Webster expected other snowmobile clubs throughout . the province would follow suit and close their trails soon. While the Huron County Federation of Agriculture (HCFA) had yet to take a posi- tion on the trail clo- sures on Monday, presi- dent Nick Whyte said as a grain and oilseeds farmer he understands the serious economic problems that currently exist. • - Representatives from involved parties were expected to discuss the issue further at Monday's HCFA meet- ing in Vanastra. See next week's Huron Expositor for coverage of the Feb. 27 meeting. For now, the trails will be closed until fur- ther notice. Regular updates are posted on the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs website at www.ofsc.on.ca using the District 9 link. "There's no question that we're going to make some snowmobil- ers unhappy and there's going to be some inconveniences, but we don't know how else we can get the public to support us," Hill said. •d "We're hopeful that the response that we get from the provincial organizations comes in the form of a question and the question being, 'how can we help you?'" —with files from Sarah Mann Excavating Inc. Tskait Derrick VanDriel 527-0609 Simon VanDriel 482-3783 �r W�rt•o� rte, Gall us TOY... Excavators, Bobcats, Doeers,lruddng, etc. Comipleti Excavating OV. 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