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On behalf of
the OF4WD board of directors
(BOD) I
would like to commend all of the volunteers who were
involved in the Five Points Trail System Clean Up
Project. As many of you are aware the Bobcaygeon
area was hit by a major storm in early June which caused
extensive damage to the forests. Many roads and
trails were blocked preventing access to cottages
and homes.
Through
information received from our members via the
On-line Trail Reporting system, the OF4WD was
quickly able to assess the situation and put a plan
into action. Our president, Peter Wood, spoke with
the area MNR office and local ATV clubs offering our
help. The OF4WD partnered with Kawartha ATV
association, Halliburton ATV Association (HATVA) and
the Twin Mountain Snow Mobile Club (TMSC) in a
combined effort to restore our trail system.
After the first day of coordinated efforts reports
came in from all user groups stating that the OF4WD
volunteers were well organized hard working
individuals with the right equipment and vehicles to
do the job. After the second day we had almost
cleared one trail completely and all others were
well under way. The local clubs had not expected to
have the trails cleared for this season. The
Snowmobile association thought it could take up to
two years. With a combined effort it took two
weekends to clear all the trails back to 14 feet
across and remove all hanging debris.
 The
OF4WD with all of its clubs and individual members
were able to put in over 1250 hours through over 80
volunteers, a proud moment for all of us. Any one
of our volunteers can attest to the gratitude we
received working along side the ATV, OFSC groups,
local property and business owners. We cleared
roads to cottages for people waiting at the back of
our crews and effectively helped to restore business
and tourism back into the area. Local business
owners came to us with discounts for OF4WD members
in appreciation of our support to the area. (to be
posted on the website soon)
This coordinated effort
is a huge step in the right direction for the OF4WD.
This on the ground contribution has
proven valuable on many fronts;
·
Five Points Trail System is now OPEN for all to use.
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Demonstrated the capability and willingness of the
4x4 community to contribute to maintaining the trail
system.
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Allowed us to open up a strong relationship with
KATVA, so strong in fact we are on their website
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OF4WD, HATVA, KATVA, TMSC have entered into an
agreement to help fix the Old Logging Trail. This is
an extremely important milestone and paves the way
for future joint projects.
·
In recognition of all the hard work, TMSC are
hosting a "Thank You BBQ" in October for all the
volunteers involved
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Proves the value of the user groups working
together. Coordinating and pooling resources allows
projects to be completed efficiently and
effectively.
·
Working together is the best way to ensure a
sustainable trail system remains open for all.
So
once again, if you see one of the volunteers listed
take a moment to thank them for their contribution,
if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have this amazing
trail system to use and enjoy.
To all members; Please continue to submit trail
reports via the “adopt a trail link”, and continue
to build lasting relationships with all users when
you see them on the trail.
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