ATTENTION OFF ROAD MOTORCYCLISTS

From Steve Weykamp

Northumberland County Staff are recommending that Off Road Motorcycles (ORMs) not be allowed to use the trails in Northumberland Forest due to Ecological, Environmental and Noise concerns. This is not necessarily the view of the Northumberland Forest Advisory Committee (NFAC) whose recommendations are not forwarded to your council. NFAC is a committee with no power to vote or make recommendations.

BACKGROUND

The Northumberland Trail Riders and the Ontario Federation of Trail Riders have been involved in this forest since the early 1990s and created multi-use single track trails with permission from the county. The county intends on gifting these trails to other user groups exclusively while they have made no investment in them.

The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan allows use of existing trails prior to November 2001 and the county is claiming otherwise. We have provided research that indicates that our choice of recreation poses no threat to ecology or the environment and the county has provided nothing to prove our use harms the environment. All uses have impact and ours is not problematic according to two studies of the Ganaraska Forest. The county cannot prove their claim. It is assumed that ORMs are causing concern, but there is no data to support that claim.

•The county assumes we do not wish to preserve and protect the forest. This is untrue.
•The county claimed that other forest managers complained about ORMs. This is untrue.
•The county did not consult with Alnwick/Haldimand prior to making recommendations.
•The county produced a Facilitators Atlas as a neutral working document to recommend uses and listed experts who denied participation and were not consulted.

YOU NEED TO GET INVOLVED

If you are an off road motorcycle trail rider, it is time to get involved with the Northumberland Trail Riders (NTR) and the Ontario Federation of Trail Riders (OFTR) or lose your right to ride. Be advised that racing-motorcycles with loud exhausts and irresponsible riding are what has caused these actions and they will not be tolerated by anyone, especially the NTR/OFTR. We have proposed a stewardship agreement based on successful models in other forests in Ontario and they will not give us (you) a chance.

Here is what you can do:

•Attend the Open House on March 26, 2009, at the Baltimore Recreation Center (23 Community Center Road), Baltimore and sign the attendance sheet
•Contact your local Councilor and County Staff via telephone, email or letter
•Join the OFTR/NTR

For more information you can contact Warren Thaxter at 905-352-3336 or visit www.oftr.ca