Ontario Trails Council - donate to support our work, take a course, or join us for Trails Talk

Trails Talk

Join us every other Tuesday at 1pm EST for a lively half hour discussion on trail issues of importance to the trails community. We are pleased to have added an additional topic to the Agenda - see January 12th.

We will be using our Google Hangout to facilitate our Trail Talks. So make sure you have a gmail account and the hangout app added to your gplus account.

How to Join a Hangout

Invited presenters include:

February 16th, 2016 - Explorer's Edge - all about the great trails in RTO 12 with James Murphy of Explorer's Edge. Register on Eventbrite

March 1, 2016 - The Georgian Bay Coast Trail - who supports it, what is happening and all about our spring community meeting in Killarney. With Luke Wassegijig and Kirsten Spence. Register on Eventbrite

March 15, 2016 - Trans Canada Trail - with Jane Murphy and Al McPherson. You've heard about it, how is it progressing? How can you support it? Register on Eventbrite

March 29, 2016 - Hiking, what is it? Who does it? What you need to know about community programs, and trail leadership programs - with Bill Mungall Register on Eventbrite

April 12th, 2016 - Trail Building - are you interested? What is trail building all about? Who does it and the skills you need, with stories from trail builder Zane Davies. Register on Eventbrite

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Earn Your Trails Certificate from Algonquin College



 

Trail Planning

Course: OAD3001

This course is listed under the following fields of study:
Community Studies
Health Studies / Animal Care / Nursing
Hospitality & Tourism
Within the trail industry, there are trail standards and maintenance practices to follow. Students acquire base-level knowledge of organizing and planning trail systems and learn to recognize and utilize the necessary steps to plan and create a sustainable trail. This is accomplished through the usage of provincial legislation and the incorporation of interpretive and educational trail signage within a trail system.

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Please consider supporting our work

Please consider making a donation or taking out a membership today! We rely on the generous support of the Canadian trail community to allow us to do our work.

Our Mission - to promote the preservation, management, use and development of trails.

Everyday, somewhere in Ontario we educate, support a group, lead or assist a community improving its quality of life through trails.

Ask us how we make a difference!

Thanks

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Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Download our Educational Poster on Bill 100 and Landowner Issues

Ontario Trails News - Saugeen Valley opens horse trails, and all about Trailhead Ontario 2016, Trailhead North and Trailhead Georgian Bay

Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority to promote horse trail riding!

PRESS RELEASE

For Release:  Immediately
Date:               March 2, 2016
Subject:          Horse Camping at Saugeen Bluffs Conservation Area

  

SVCA Chomping at the Bit to Provide Horse Camping!

Saugeen Conservation is planning a big change this year for Saugeen Bluffs Conservation Area, located in central Bruce County, Municipality of Saugeen Shores. Horse camping will be featured at the park, a first-time venue for this part of Ontario.

“We’re very excited about this new venture”, stated Luke Charbonneau, Chair of Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority.  “We’ve had some difficulties over the past few years attracting new campers to the park and we think this whole new venue may provide some incredible opportunities for horse enthusiasts and put Saugeen Bluffs back on the map”, Charbonneau continued.

“We put some feelers out first to see if there would be a market for this type of thing and the response was incredible”, stated Wayne Brohman, General Manager / Secretary –Treasurer for the SVCA. “There are only two other campgrounds in the province that offer horse camping and both are located in Eastern Ontario.”

Saugeen Bluffs offers scenic vistas and approximately 200 regular campsites.  The property winds along the Saugeen River and is a regular stop-over for canoeists and fishermen.  There is a Camp Store, kayak and canoe rentals, shower building, laundromat, a scenic look-out, trails and more. The horse camping will be featured in Campbell Campground, one of the group campgrounds.

“The development of a horse friendly campground is an exciting addition to the great experiences available across BruceGreySimcoe.  Bringing your horse along on your vacation isn’t something that’s available in very many places across Ontario and we think that being able to explore parts of the Region on horseback will encourage many new visitors to come vacation here”, stated Bill Sullivan, Executive Director of BruceGreySimcoe Tourism or RT07.

Staff have already begun marking out trails on the 300 acre property that will provide horse riders (campers and day users), with some great trail riding opportunities.

Horse camping is just one recommendation included in a new Business / Marketing Plan, developed by staff this year.  “In addition to the horse camping, the Plan recommends other improvements,” reported Charbonneau, “including some new signage, new management for the Camp Store, RV rentals, the conversion of one of the main buildings into an Activity Centre, the provision of WiFi services and much more. We’re very fortunate in that we have an incredible ‘volunteer’ base to work with in making this come together, including our valued seasonals.  I’m very optimistic that we can bring some real positive changes to the park for 2016.” concluded Charbonneau.

The SVCA will also be hosting a Public Open House at the park on Sunday, May 15^th from 1-4pm.  Bring the whole family out to check out the park, hike some trails, take in the look-out and get a personalized tour.

A Grand Opening for the Horse Camp will be featured on Saturday, June 4.  Horse-drawn wagon rides, live entertainment, vendors, equine product sales and more!

For more information go to www.svca.on.ca

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For more information, please contact
Shannon Wood
Manager of Communications
Saugeen Conservation
1078 Bruce Rd. #12, Box 150
Formosa, ON N0G 1W0
519-367-3040 ext. 229 or s.wood@svca.on.ca

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Trailhead Ontario - Renfrew 2016 - Ontario Federation of Agriculture to attend


We are pleased to report that the OFA has agreed to present at Trailhead Ontario. http://trailheadontario2016.com

Trailhead Ontario Itinerary - June 20, 21, 22, 2016 (we are adding a third day for Eastern Canada Trails Training the only federally sponsored trail training in Eastern Canada this year - provided by IMBA Canada)

MORE TO COME!!!!

Monday
8:30-9:00AM	Registration	Coffee Served
9:00-9:15AM	Welcome remarks	Dignitaries
9:15-10:00AM	Presentation	Ontario Landowners Association (Invited)
10:00-10:30AM	Presentation	Ontario's Highlands Tourism Organization
10:30-10:45AM	Break	Coffee Break
10:45-11:15AM	Presentation	Petawawa - the development of our Regional Trail Association
11:15-11:45AM	Presentation	Adirondack to Algonquin Trail Development
11:45-12:15PM	Presentation	Parks of the St. Lawrence
12:15-1:00 PM	Lunch
1:00-2:00PM	Presentation	Updates on the Trails Act and the Ontario Trails Strategy with the Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport
2:00-2:30PM	Presentation	City of Ottawa Trails
2:30-2:45PM	Break	Coffee Break
2:45-3:15PM	Presentation	Trans Canada Trail Ontario
3:15-3:45PM	Presentation	National Capital Commission
3:45-4:15PM	Presentation	Ontario Federation of Agriculture (Invited)
4:15-4:45PM	Presentation	Understanding and Preventing Lyme Disease
4:45-5:15PM	Presentation	Sentiers Prescott Russell and Glengarry Trails
5:15-6PM	Networking	Cash Bar
6PM - 9PM	Dinner & Keynote Speaker	Federal Climate Change Initiatives and Trails
Tuesday
8:30 – 9:00AM	Registration	Coffee Served
9:00-9:15 AM	Welcome remarks	Dignitaries - Madawaska Valley
9:15-9:45AM	Presentation	Madawaska Valley and Township Trail Developments
10:00-10:30AM	Plenary Session	Principles of Trail Risk Management
10:30-10:45AM	Coffee Break
10:45-11:30AM	Plenary Session	Trails Risk Management - How to Say Yes to Trails
Noon-1PM	Lunch	Networking Lunch
1:00-2:00PM	Plenary Session	Water Trails - Developing trails for Use
2:00-2:45PM	Plenary Session	Ottawa River-Keeper - programs and plans for development
2:45-3:00PM	Break
3:00-3:30PM	Plenary Session	Hunting and Fishing Trail Use of MNRF Lands
3:30-4:00PM	Plenary Session	Mattawa Trail Development
4:00-4:30PM	Plenary Session	First Nation Tourism and Trails
4:30PM	Wrap-up and Next Steps	Trailhead Canada 2017!

https://trailheadontario2016.com

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Trailhead North - Marathon

Trailhead North Symposium Itinerary - April 20, 21, 2016

Event Outdoor Hike with Pic River First Nation - REGISTER

Wednesday			Presenters
8:30 - 9:00AM	Registration
9:00-9:30AM	Welcome remarks	Coffee Served	Mayor Dumas, Chief Michano and Liz Michano
9:30-10:30AM	Marathon, Pic River and our Northern Trails	Sponsor	Bob Hancherow, and Chief Duncan Michano Pic River FN
10:30-10:45AM	Break
10:45-12:30AM	Presentation	Parks Experiences - Pukaskwa National Park and Neys Provincial	Roel Teunissen, Park Planning, Ontario Parks. Sharon Hayes, Pukaskwa National Park.
	Presentation	Group of Seven Trail	Kirsten Spence, Quercwood Consulting
	Presentation	Northern Ontario Experiences	Carole Caputo and Paul Pepe, Director of Tourism Thunder Bay
12:30-1:00 PM	Lunch
1:00 - 1:30PM	Presentation	Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport	Jim Antler and Carol Oitment
1:30 - 2:00PM	Presentation	Trans Canada Trail	Mike Goodyear, Trail Director Trans Canada Trail
2:00-2:30PM	Presentation	Path of the Paddle and Trail Auditing	Carrie Nolan, Executive Director POPA
2:30-2:45PM	Break	Trans Canada Trail Ontario - Sponsor
2:45-3:15PM	Presentation	Importance of Trails for Northern Ontario Tourism	David McLaughlan and Susan Forrest, NOT
3:15-3:45PM	Presentation	World Class Cross Country - Destination Marathon	Marathon X-Country Ski, Dr. David Guiliano
3:45-4:15PM	Presentation	Northern Snowmobile Trails	Dennis Burns with Craig Colbourne
4:15-4:45 PM	Presentation	OAC - Ontario Access Coalition - Places to Climb	Jana Wells
	Break
5:30-6PM	Networking	Cash Bar
6:00PM - 9:00PM	Dinner & Keynote Speaker	Trails, Travels and Experiences, A personal perspective	Michael Haynes, Trails Ambassador and Author
	Silent Auction
Thursday
8:30 - 9AM	Registration	Coffee Served
9:00-9:15 AM	Welcome remarks		Kirsten Spence, Patrick Connor
9:15-10AM	Presentation	Funding for Trails with NOHFC, FedNor and Ontario Trillium Foundation	Maureen Brophy OTF,  Sean Irwin NOHFC, and Jamie Taylor FedNor
10:00-10:15AM	Break	Coffee Break
10:15-11:15 AM	Presentation	Aboriginal Tourism Ontario Summit Report	Kevin Eshkawkogan, Aboriginal Tourism Summit
11:15-Noon	Presentation	Hunting and Fishing Trail Use of MNRF Lands	Greg Farrant, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters with Greg Rivard
Noon-1PM	Lunch	Networking Lunch
1:00-2:00PM	Presentation	Outfitters and Tripping - How to Get North	Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership
2:00-3:00PM	Presentation	Voyageur Trail - Developments along the Trail	Carole Blacquiere, President VTA
3:00-3:45PM	Presentation	Outdoor Recreation - the Tourism Experience	Dr. Harvey Lemelin, Lakehead University
3:45-$:00PM	Wrap-up and Next Steps		Kirsten Spence, Patrick Connor

As at 11/2/2016 Program content subject to change based on availability.

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Trailhead Georgian Bay

May 11th, Killarney Park Lodge.

Wednesday			Presenters
8:30 - 9:00AM	Registration
9:00-9:30AM	Welcome remarks	Coffee Served	Kirsten Spence, Patrick Connor
9:30-10:30AM	About The Georgian Bay Coast Trail	Sponsor	GBCT Board
10:30-10:45AM	Break
10:45-12:15AM	Presentation	Killarney Provincial Park - A Lead Partner in Development	Killarney Provincial Park
	Presentation	Friends of Killarney	Friends of Killarney
	Presentation	Trail Experiences - Explorer's Edge	James Murphy, RTO12
	Presentation	Auditing and Planning our Route	Niall Lobely
12:15-1:00 PM	Lunch
1:00 - 2:00PM	Presentation	Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport	Carol Oitment
	Presentation	Indigenous Peoples Economic Development	Local First Nations
2:00-2:30PM	Presentation	Trail Inventories Georgian Bay Partners	Kirsten Spence
2:30-2:45PM	Break	Trans Canada Trail Ontario - Sponsor	Al McPherson
2:45-3:15PM	Presentation	Importance of Variety of Trails	GBBR and GBCR
3:15-3:45PM	Presentation	Great Lakes Guardian Plant and Trail Inventory	Henvy Inlet and Ontario Trails
3:45-4:15PM	Presentation	Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry	Local MNRF
4:15-4:45 PM	Presentation	Relations with Local Landowners	Georgian Bay Landowners Association
4:45 - 5:15	Wrap-up	Thanks	GBCT

As at 11/2/2016 Program content subject to change based on availability.

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Ontario Trails Council - Trailwise, OTC Board meet to discuss Bill 100 and clarifies the Act and its impacts

Ontario Trails Council Board meets again to discuss next steps for trails and Bill 100
 

The Ontario Trails Council Board met March 9, 2016 to discuss Bill 100, damaging media opinion pieces and our next steps.

• The OTC remains committed to the passing of Bill 100
• Our members are going to engage their members to work with landowners locally to correct the anxiety caused by misreporting of impacts
• We gained greater insight into the working relationships some media have with the advocates against Bill 100
• A Public Bill 100 education plan is being developed.
• We have invited the Ontario Landowners Association and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to speak at Trailhead Ontario in Calibogie June 19-21, 2016
• the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has agreed to present at Trailhead Ontario in Calibogie June 19-21, 2016
• The OTC Board passed a motion in support of trails safety, trespass deterrence, and in support of OFA. "The OTC supports the increase in trespass fines to a minimum penalty of 250.00." March 9, 2016.

Please see the itinerary of our efforts below.Media on the Issue this week
March 9^th Board Meeting
Mar 2 – Brantford Expositor - http://goo.gl/yYOp62
Mar 4^th – North Bay Nugget – Jim Merriam article
Mar 4^th – Cochrane MPP speaks to Bill “was not bad, just wants to make sure people understand the Bill – Troy Storms NBCA
Mar4^th – Telephone call with OFA – Peter Jeffery – sorted out positions – OFA speaking at Trailhead Ontario as a result.
Mar 4^th – Interview with Owen Sound News – no coverage
Mar 5^th – interview with London Free Press - http://goo.gl/EsQKxz
Mar 5^th – interview with Arthur Neitzel Eganville Sno-Drifters – letters will be forwarded to the Eganville Leader News
Mar 7^th – Grey Bruce News – from John Howard
Mar 9^th – Manitoulin Expositor – Elizabeth Marshall – opinionhttp://www.manitoulin.ca/2016/03/09/ontario-landowners-stick-guns-interpretation-bill-100/

Public meetings OTC encourages you to attend - the only way we can get the media to focus on the positive impacts of Bill 100 reduce the negative press is if we attend these meetings and express the benefits of the Act.

Mar 12 – OLA Community Meeting Almonte http://goo.gl/jykJbm
Apr 9^th Simcoe County Meeting - http://goo.gl/Mgprkb

Please use our handouts and press releases to enable your information kit.

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Ontario Trails Council continues to track erroneous landowner reporting on Bill 100

Press Release  For immediate release: March 4, 2016
Contact:  Patrick Connor, Executive Director Ontario Trails Council 1-613-396-3226  execdir@ontariotrails.ca

 
Ontario Trails Council Continues to Correct Misinformation about Bill 100
 
The Ontario Trails Council has asked the Ontario Landowners Association to cease or retract misinformation regarding Bill 100, that they continue to circulate through public meeting and the media. We also would ask the media to cease and desist as the information they are provided is being misunderstood.
 
Several respected groups, the Minister of Tourism Culture and Sport, community organizations involving farmers to hikers, and even MPP Randy Hillier (founder of the Ontario Landowners Association) and our organization, wants the closure of trails to stop. We respect landowners and we want to preserve 50 years of friendly relations amongst us.
 
Bill 100 only needs some tweaks and clarifications and this can be done by the OLA, and other groups, working through the OTC.
 
Reports from “The Lanark Era,” have “Randy Hillier Member for Lennox-Addington-Frontenac in Provincial Parliament saying the landowners’ group has misled the public on the benefits and drawbacks of Bill 100, which, in part, would regulate easements on private property.”
 
The OTC is looking to get additional support for other landowner agreements, recognized in the Bill.
 
Further MPP Hillier, “stressed that Bill 100, which has made it through first reading and has yet to be debated, is a positive bill for property owners and land users…” “It creates a new legal mechanism that provides greater certainty to trail associations and to private landowners over the use of land,” Hillier explained.
 
At Ontario Trails Council we are working with Ministry Staff, and through committee, to bring to the Bill changes that will work for trails and landowners. At OTC we are moving forward through communication with the government to secure a positive outcome for all.
 
Despite published clarifications on the part of the Ontario Trails Council and the government, some people and their media partners continue to do damage to trails. Please review our input and work with us to change the Act for the better.
 
OTC Press Release
 
https://www.scribd.com/doc/299473575/Hillier-pans-landowner-views-on-provincial-trails-bill#download
 
If you have any questions about Bill 100 please contact the Ontario Trails Council, 613-396-3226 or email us at: execdir@ontariotrails.ca
 
We are here to help everybody have a better understanding of trails, trail use and management practice.
 
Please read our paper on Bill 100 – it's available here -http://goo.gl/yzlO0X
 
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Ontario Trails Council Educational Posters

http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/learn/educational-posters

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http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/learn/educational-posters

Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Download our Educational Poster on Bill 100 and Landowner Issues

Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Download our Educational Poster on Bill 100 and Landowner Issues

Ontario Trails Council - asks media to distribute true facts about Bill 100

Ontario Trails Council contacts Media, distributes content to members and third parties
 

At Ontario Trails Council we've done more on Bill 100 this week. We've been on the phone with trail groups, landowners, the media and government officials. We've worked to clarify the issue, we were contacted on the weekend before the story broke big and we think we helped reduce the loss of trail through our effort. Please support this by:

• Contact your MP and ask them to support Bill 100
• Contact your Regional Trails Committee and ask them to support Bill 100
• Send the OTC Press Release to area trail and landowners to clarify the issue
• Most importantly - understand what the landowners concerns are and listen to them. If we respond as good neighbours they will understand trail folks are good folks
• Talk to other trail users and tell them - don't trespass, respect private property - that saves trails!

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Ontario Trails Council asks media  - please stop circulating incorrect coverage https://goo.gl/1YITa8

 

“Something that bothers me as a rural property owner is forced easement. If I have an agreement with my neighbour or snowmobile club that is exactly what it is, an agreement,” said Karen Mahon, a West Perth landowner. “An easement on the other hand is registered and runs with the land. You cannot get out of it. That is mentioned in Bill 100 and is easement law.”

Not forced. To continue to publish this is just wrong.

"But according to Elizabeth Marshall, the director of research for the Ontario Landowners Association, Bill 100 would lead private property owners into thinking they can allow trails across their property while retaining the right to shut those trails down. Shutting trails down that have been registered as easements under Bill 100 would not be as easy as it is through direct agreements, Marshall claimed."

There is no leading, this is a position the landowner can pursue of their own volition.

We request that media outlets stop publishing comments that are opinion and that are scaring landowners. The OTC has done interviews with these publishers clarifying our position, the Act and our go forward strategy, as well as getting our Press Release to them.

Know your easement and we are working with landowners to make sure the types of agreements are better understood and enacted by them.
 

Ontario Trails News - London Free Press gets it closest to the mark in reporting on Bill 100

http://goo.gl/EsQKxz

Concerns about Ontario’s proposed Trails Act are, like the trails themselves during spring thaw, “a mess right now.”

That’s the word from farmers and trail advocates who say a provincial bill that would draw together a disparate tangle of rules into one law has received widespread misinterpretation.

The Ontario Trails Act is intended to codify for the first time how public trails are proposed and approved on private land.

But some have said the bill encroaches on landowners’ freedoms — something Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Don McCabe says just isn’t the right interpretation.

“The reality is if you own a farm and somebody wants to go through it (with a trail), you have to sign off on it,” McCabe said.

It’s purely voluntary, he said, and he dismissed as false some claims that farmers risk having their land expropriated for trails.

Patrick Connor, executive director of the Ontario Trails Council, said it could take years to recover from the rhetoric.

“It’s not bad legislation for landowners. It’s not. It’s actually an improvement for landowners,” Connor said.

He said the proposed legislation, Bill 100, draws provisions now under 48 different pieces of legislation into one coherent set of rules.

The intent, he said, is to help build trails that offer recreation for users and legal safeguards for landowners. “This isn’t an us-versus-them agenda,” he said.

There are more than 30,000 kilometres of year-round trails in Ontario, plus tens of thousands of seasonal snowmobile trails.

Many of them run through or adjacent to private land, where farmers have allowed easements.

It says any landowner may agree to an easement, but doesn’t insist that such permission be given, said Neil Currie, general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

“It’s a bit of a confused mess right now,” he said.

Connor said when landowners designate an area for trails, it can lead to less land damage because trail-walkers and -riders will know where the parameters are.

Farmers are often vexed by people in four-wheelers driving through their fields. There are also concerns that people entering a property without permission will jeopardize biosecuruity measures on famrs.

Currie said he has seen photos of someone ripping through a field of soybeans, in summer, with a snowmobile.

He said that exemplefies the lack of respect some people have for private property and the damage that can be done.

OFA says trespassing penalties should be toughened beyond the current maximum $50 fine, perhaps re-defining the maximum penalty as $20,000, the maximum amount that can be collected under small-claims legislation.

“Offering land for a trail to the public is a courtesy that the public has to return,” Currie said.

The bill has passed second reading in the legislature and will go to committees before a final reading.