A call for membership.
Ontario Trails 6 point program for trails and trail activities:
1. Public Interface: over 1.5 million trail users find trails via the OTC website, this builds 'trails' public profile. #1 referrer site for Waterfront Regeneration Trust Trail, 15% or 150,000 users find your trails through an RTO via Trails Tourism - membership support helps OTC pay for all the hosting, mapping, updates, referrer links, event postings, etc. that makes our websites work. http://ontariotrailsmap.com
2. Education and Best Practices: Ontario Trails continues to deliver on trail education through Algonquin College, in classroom conferencing through our Trailhead Ontario Events at trailheadontario.com and via specific advice through our Ask an Expert or specific committee work, such as our work with The Frank Cowan Company, and Direct Bearing Inc. on Risk Management Practice.
3. Community and Collective Positions on Issues - we work to create collective input and community positions on trail use, conflict reduction, flood advisories, logging open/closed, trail seasonality open/closed, trespass reduction, injury and threat of harm reduction across communities of users (this is real - landowners and users, car drivers and cyclists, dog sledders and animal rights, etc.) this is a constant theme of our work. We answer phone calls, emails, social media and help groups with complaints one way or the other.
4. National and Provincial Representations: the OTC is in the preferred position of advocacy with the federal and provincial governments. Your input on issues and our collective response to funding, legislation, process, issue management, and OTC collective weight, has made and continues to make, a difference in trail operations. Our meetings in December with the federal government we believe this will result in an $11 million dollar envelope of federal funds for trails. Last Friday we met provincial representatives and we asked them to match.
5. OTC Finds Funding for Trails and Trail Activity - since 2003 the OTC has found ways to sustain itself via programs and services. Our key priorities have been sector recognition and member sustainability. This caused our membership to grow from 28 to 240, from $3000 to over $50,000 (when all renewed and paid up). We have secured over $35 million for trails funding, we have written over $4 million in support grants, we encouraged the province to fund Community in Action, CycleOn, Active 2010, TDF, OTF and other funding streams like Great Lakes Guardian, we have written tourism, risk management, trail management, lighting, maintenance and other professional or audit documents enabling trail groups to provide better and safer trails to the public.
6. Policy, Regulation and Legislation: from the Ontario Trails Strategy, the Ontario Trails Act, ensuring trails as part of the PPS (Provincial Policy Statement), securing rail trails against surplus loss, AODA and Ontario Trails Coordinating Committee recognition of 'the natural environment vs. build environment expectation", to direct in community face to face-saving of trails, protections of the OLA, LFA, Conservation, Snowmobile and other Acts; the securing of trails and reducing trails anxiety - these are real policy, real regulation and real ground truths that OTC has had a hand in.
At this time we could use your support. If you or your organization benefit from these actions - please contact the office so we can facilitate your membership!
If you know of a group that should become a member (like you) please forward them this email. Ask them to call and talk to Patrick 613-396-3226
Just today we shared this message with Peter, the President of OF4WDE and he picked up the phone and renewed. We hope you will too.
Regards,
Wayne Terryberry
OTC President
OTC President
