ORV GATEWAY TO THE NORTH ISLAND Mike Coulter CR ATV Club Dir CR ATV Club is a member of QUAD RIDERS ASSOCIATION OF BC (ATVBC) CR ATV Club is about 100 members strong. Our basic purpose is to Promote and grow – Safe – Respectful - and Environmentally Responsible ORV Riding 1 North Island Communities are surrounded by a vast forested Area with thousands of kms of FSRs and Trail Routes THANK-YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION OPPORTUNITY This is an information introduction to the concept of: INTER-COMMUNITY ORV TOURISM 2 $$ Off Road Vehicle Tourism Proposal $$ Sayward<->CR<–>Gold River<–>Tahsis<–>Zeballos<–>Woss<-> Port Alice <-> Port McNiell <-> Port Hardy <-> Holberg Coal Harbour? Alert Bay? Malcom Island? Winter Harbour? Anyone Else? 3 SNOWMOBILING - $$ 8 BILLION ANNUALLY IN CANADA 4 NORTH ISLAND ORV ACCESSABLE COMMUNITIES Port Holberg Hardy Port McNeill Port McNeill Port Alice Sayward Pye Mtn Woss Recsite Campbell River Zeballos Tahsis Gold River 5 400 – 500 KM ROUTE FROM/TO – CR – GR – TAHSIS – SAYWARD – ZEBALLOS 6 NORTH ISLAND INTER-COMMUNITY ORV ROUTES Woss Tahsis 7 Average ORV Tourist • Male, Female, Young & Old • Active Rider Age 35 – 70+ (a rapidly increasing demographic) • Spends $160 - $200 per day • Ride in - Overnighting Riders spend 7X the $$ compared to day users Northern Vancouver Island - Trails for Everyone! 8 Some examples of successful trail systems: The Hatfield McCoy Trail in West Virginia – 2000km -- 2006 impact $13 million. 2014 impact $22 million, has connecting trails to services in many “ATV Friendly Towns” The Paiute Trail in Utah: This trail system involves 16 communities and over 800km of trails. Riders can access fuel, food, accommodation, in all the communities along the loops. In 2012 they had 113,713 riders spent approx. $14 million The Haliburton trail network: Ontario, approx. 1700km In Quebec, motorized trails are reported to have provide an estimated 915 million per year to the economy. 9 ORV FRIENDLY can mean $HUGE POTENTIAL ECONOMIC BENIFITS $ 10 11 An Operation Permit may allow an appropriately registered and insured ORV, operated by a person with a valid drivers license, to operate the ORV along a specific, designated public roadway. You may cross a roadway at controlled intersection only if you have an ICBC “crossing decal” You must have a “crossing decal” and an Operation Permit to operate an ORV on or along a public roadway in BC. The penalties for illegal roadway operation of an ORV are quite severe. 12 GETTING ORV ROADWAY ACCESS TO SERVICES Decide on a specific designated roadway route to suggest Appoint a Club Rep to approach your local businesses, and community leaders Initiate an informal discussion with your local RCMP. Inform your MLA and local government regarding your efforts Send info letters to Clubs, Communities, and Politicians Get the local newspaper to do stories on your club activities. Raise awareness of your Club through public involvement. Above all – DO NOT GIVE UP – Remain respectful but determined 13 SUGGESTED ORV ACCESS ROUTES TO SERVICES 14 RESOLUTION TO CHANGE HOW OPERATION PERMITS MAY BE ISSUED PASSED AT AVICC April 2019 – Will be brought forward at UBCM in Sept 15 ORV FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES 16 To date “ORV ride-in privileges” have been established as follows: Campbell River – FSR access to food, and fuel, - No Operation Permit currently required - specific designated route only Gold River – Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - Operation Permit issued in Gold River - specific designated route only Tahsis – Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - Operation Permit issued in Gold River or Tahsis - specific designated route only Sayward – Access to food, fuel and accommodation - Operation Permit issued in Sayward - specific designated route only Port Hardy- Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - Operation Permit issued in Port Hardy - specific designated route only Holberg - Access has been granted. Road access is an FSR. No Permit requirement. Port Alice- Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - Operation Permit Permit issued in Port Hardy - specific designated route only – Port McNeill – Access to food, fuel, - Operation Permit currently required - specific designated route only. issued in Port McNeill Hyde Creek – Access to food, fuel, - Operation Permit currently required - specific designated route only issued in Port McNeill Woss- Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - Operation Permit issued in Port McNeill - specific designated route only Zeballos - Permits soon to be issued 17 GIVEN OUR TEMPERATE CLIMATES – ORV TOURISM COULD BE YEAR ROUND 18 SUGGESTED ORV ACCESS ROUTES TO SERVICES 19 NORTH ISLAND INTER-COMMUNITY ORV ROUTES 20 NORTH ISLAND INTER-COMMUNITY ORV ROUTES 21 To date “ORV ride-in privileges” have been established as follows: Campbell River – FSR access to food, and fuel, - No Operation Permit currently required - specific designated route only Gold River – Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - Operation Permit issued in Gold River - specific designated route only Tahsis – Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - No Operation Permit issued in Gold River or Tahsis - specific designated route only Sayward – Access to food, fuel and accommodation - Operation Permit issued in Sayward - specific designated route only Port Hardy- Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - Operation Permit issued in Port Hardy - specific designated route only Port Alice- Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - Operation Permit Permit issued in Port Hardy - specific designated route only - Woss- Access to food, fuel, and accommodation - Operation Permit issued in Port McNeill - specific designated route only Holberg - Access has been granted. Road access is an FSR. No Permit requirement. Zeballos - Permits soon to be issued 22 NORTH ISLAND INTER-COMMUNITY ORV ROUTES 23 Vast forested Areas with thousands of kms of FSRs and Trail Routes are ideal for ORV riding 24.