ATV Association of Manitoba

ATV Association of Manitoba Recent News

All Terrain Vehicle Association of Manitoba 2012 Annual General Meeting
Posted on: Friday February 17, 2012 - 6:09 pm CST
Last Updated: Friday February 17, 2012 - 7:07 pm CST

All ATV enthusiasts are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of the ATV Association of Manitoba. This is your opportunity to find out what ATV MB has been working on over the past year and show support for the recreational activity that you love! ATVMB Members will also participate in the election process.

ATV Manitoba Annual General Meeting
Sunday, March 25, 2012, 1 p.m.
Gateway Community Club, 1717 Gateway Road, Winnipeg

Featuring Guest Speaker:

Dave Amey
of
Enns Brothers

“Partnerships for Success”

Members are encouraged to invite non-members who share your passion for ATVing.

The Sport of Off Road Riding Needs You!

Join us on March 25th to find out how you can be part of the movement to ensure that you and your children will be able to enjoy
Off Road Riding for years to come.

WWW.ATVMB.CA
Posted on: Sunday November 20, 2011 - 11:44 pm CST
Last Updated: Monday November 21, 2011 - 3:23 pm CST

NEW ATVMB WEB SITE! Our original site was meant to get us up and running on the net but the new site has more bells and Whistles. It has been a lot of work for our volunteers but it’s coming together. Over the last 7 months our web site became the pattern for the new site but beyond that, this site is new from the ground up.

It’s not quite done yet, it is still a work in progress, and volunteers are working on it every chance we get. ATVMB also has to learn the new site and its features so we can post news and information.

This is the first chance we have had to log on to the new site. September’s Go Riding submission posted on the Newsletters page was moved to the front page news, as some could not find it.

We also have some interesting documents we are trying to post but we’re having some trouble getting them to load so as soon as we figure that out we will get them up.

Cheers to the New Site!

ATVMB would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank David Lee for his time and dedication building, developing and maintaining ATVMB’s original web site. We would also like to congratulate him for his continued involvement getting the new site organized.

We have a new volunteer Web developer with an amazing level of talent and experience that has already dedicated countless hours of his own time putting this new site together. Armando Brambilla has built this site from the ground up and has really stepped up to the plate for ATVMB. We are back up and running on the net, and soon we will update the new site and start utilizing its many features.

Thank you to everyone dedicated to improving our Web presence and thanks to our members for your patience as we embraced the many challenges 2011 has presented us. We believe the new web site will prove to be an excellent communication tool for our members moving forward.

September 2011
Posted on: Saturday November 19, 2011 - 12:41 pm CST

ATVMB Go Riding Update September 2011

The Province is looking to open the Act that supports the laws that define how we ride our ATV’s in Manitoba. The Off-Road Vehicle act, developed almost 30 years ago has lain dormant as the popularity of recreational ATV riding has grown to what some may see as unacceptable levels.

Revisiting the act is well overdue as the Off Road Vehicle Act was developed long before recreational ATV riding became popular. It is important that responsible ATV riders participate. Prior to ATVMB, the interests of ATV riders were NOT represented by ATV riders, in fact, non-motorized enthusiasts sometimes stood up and spoke for us.

Now that the government has an ATV association to turn to, they have invited us to participate. Eventually, things will start to develop for ATV riders but until then, it is critical that we participate, attend meetings, and be sure that assumptions are not made; questions are answered and show the potential for organized recreational ATV riding. This is our voice, an opportunity to be certain that our best interests are represented.

I commend the Province as they are certainly doing their homework. There are many trail users, motorized and non-motorized and many people to consider when making these changes. Being thorough takes time, but I will say this, although working with government sometimes seems to take forever, they do keep moving forward, and that is the only way things get accomplished. Meanwhile, ATVMB will continue to represent our membership.

Some of the current initiatives ATVMB is participating in.

1. Manitoba Conservation Interdepartmental committee regarding ATV’s
2. Manitoba Conservation ATV Safety Committee
3. Duck Mountains Trail Working Group
4. Mars Sand Hills focus group
5. Manitoba Conservation trail stakeholders committee
6. Mid Canada Marine and Powersports Dealers Association – Powersports committee

ATVMB is also a member and Director for the All Terrain Quad Council of Canada (AQCC) which has introduced the first recreational ATV Safety training course (CASI) developed by the ATV Safety Institute. We are looking for ways to fund this program and subsidize it for all youth and young riders in Manitoba.

These are some of the things we are working on as we try to keep the business of ATVMB moving forward. It is a lot of work for only a few people.

Thanks to all our clubs and members for their continued support. Special thanks goes out to those who take time out of their personal lives to help ATVMB shape the future of recreational ATV and OHV riding. If you are concerned about the future of ATV/OHV riding in Manitoba I encourage you to come to our AGM in March 2012, run for a position and help us make sure our voice is heard.

Regards,
Chris Fox-Decent
President ATVMB

Mars Sand Hills Meeting
Posted on: Monday May 30, 2011 - 6:39 pm CDT

ATVMB is hard at work preparing for the Mars Hills focus group meeting, the meeting is squalled for the first week of June. Hopefully this will be the start of a positive solution. ATVMB has been discussing a strategy for the meeting at its past monthly executive meeting.

Manitoba Eco-Journal, Mars Hill WMA
Posted on: Monday May 30, 2011 - 6:26 pm CDT

Question; from Manitoba Eco-Journal from Tessa Vanderhart - March 18, 2011

Hi there, I'm writing an article for the Manitoba Eco-Journal about the Mars Hill WMA, and I would very much appreciate a quick comment from the association about why it was decided to bring forward the idea of designating Mars Hill a recreational area -- why does your organization think that's a good plan? Apologies for the short notice, but if you're interested in commenting I need just a quick emailed response by midnight or so. Thanks, I'd love to get the ATV Association's perspective.

Response; from Chris Fox-Decent, President, ATVMB:

According to Manitoba Conservation, The Mars Hills Wildlife Management Area is an area of unusable crown land set aside for people?s recreation. It is utilized year round by Off Road Vehicle (ORV) riders. These riders can not ride in our National or Provincial Parks, or ecological areas but we can ride here as there are no restrictions on casual uses to either motorized or non-motorized users.

When the degradation of the trails in the WMA was brought to our attention, The ATV Association of Manitoba (ATVMB) responded by participating in the Mars Hills Interest Group. We tried working towards solutions, offering trail management ideas and initiating the formation of a new ATV Club in the area. The group was not successful in coming to an agreement beneficial for all users and we were asked not to attend any future meetings.

It was decided to put forward the idea of the Mars Hills Off-Road Motorsports Park as this would allow ATVMB to provide stewardship to the area. The Mars Hills is a sand and gravel ridge which is dry, well drained, and a great surface for ORV riding. It is an area utilized by a tremendous number of ORV riders year round and has existing trails evenly spread throughout the entire WMA. The trails are extremely durable and with maintenance can easily provide a safe, responsible place for ORV riders to ride in a designated environment while helping to preserve the area for future users.