Winnipeg, MB - The Manitoba government caved to "horseback
riders, flower pickers, and the rest" with its decision to close 65 kilometers (40 miles) of trails to
motor vehicles in the Mars Hill Wildlife Management Area, say Manitoba dirtbike
riders.
"The province has succumbed to
pressure from single-interest groups, i.e. environmental groups, which, in my
opinion, is not doing what's right for the province," said Pat Wickett, a
Manitoba Dirt Riders Association representative.
Mars Hill, 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast of Winnipeg, has been the
site of controversy between recreational users such as environmentalists, horse
lovers, hunters, ATV users and dirtbike riders. The area is also used as an
unregistered rifle range. The province consulted with interested parties for
two years before issuing its decision.
The big losers are dirtbike
riders. All motor vehicles, including dirtbikes, ATVs and trucks, are now
restricted to just 40
kilometers (25 miles) of designated trails within Mars
Hill. The problem had been that the soft sandy terrain and shallow-rooted
vegetation allows dirt bikes and ATVs to drive virtually anywhere in Mars Hill.
In one area, dirt-bike riders created an oval track, dubbed Wolverine Hill,
with single-track trails criss-crossing everywhere. The oval track and similar
trails can no longer to be used. The province also promised to step up
enforcement.
"When a single interest group
(environmentalists) is trying to restrict other bodies accessing the land, I
believe that's discriminatory and our government bowed to them," said Wickett.
He argued off-road vehicles "do less damage to the ground than a 1,000-pound
horse, with four-inch-diameter hooves, and a 200-pound rider."
Manitoba Conservation's Dennis
Brannen, a wildlife biologist who headed the review, said there is nothing in
the Off-Road Vehicles Act that permits government to segregate trails for motorbikes
only.
The definition is just motorized
or non-motorized vehicles. So dirtbike riders must use the same trails as
everyone else.
Peggy Kasuba, a local landowner
and environmentalist, called Manitoba Conservation's decision "reasonable" and "a
first step." She's happy 65
kilometers of trail will now be designated for
non-motorized use. Motor vehicle trails can also be accessed by non-motorized
users.
"There was an awful lot of dirtbike
damage in the forest because they like to drive between the trees where there's
no track and they tear up the terrain," she said. "People say once dirt bikes
make a single track, ATVs follow and make it into a full-blown trail."
Ken MacMaster, Manitoba Wildlife
Federation director, applauded Brannen's balancing act. The wildlife federation
is pleased hunters will still be allowed to take vehicles off-trail to retrieve
game. Trappers have similar rights. There will be no change to the existing
Snoman snowmobile trail.
"It started out as Mission: Impossible,"
MacMaster said. However, the province should have acted "10 years sooner,
before there was so much terrain damage and before people took hardline
positions."
All trails designated for
motorized vehicles will have signs. Enforcement will be phased in over the
coming year, starting with public education. The unofficial firing range at a
Mars Hill sandpit was not part of the review's mandate.
