include benefits of membership and renew ATVBC, via club, online or could win up to $500 simply for having an ATVBC and club membership.

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$987 \ ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue 33 1 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER May 2016 Volume 5.$ re Information R & L and was sent to all clubs include benefits of membership and regarding the ATVBC Trail Development other information items. They will go to and Maintenance Grant Program.

re Information R & L and was sent to all clubs include benefits of membership and regarding the ATVBC Trail Development other information items. They will go to and Maintenance Grant Program.

We are also launching a Board will review all applications at its membership incentive where a member meeting on May 18 th. could win up to $500 simply for having an ATVBC and club membership.

1 987 \ ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue 33 1 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER May 2016 Volume 5. Issue 33 ATVBC Poker Ride Clearwater 2015 PRESIDENTS BLOG by Moira Jaatteenmaki The There Face have to Face been several inational rewritten to releases be more by useful the and BC Government will re Information R & L and was sent to all clubs include benefits of membership and regarding the ATVBC Trail Development other information items. They will go to and Maintenance Grant Program. Some all members no matter how they join or of the COHV funds go to this and rest renew ATVBC, via club, online or comes from the Raffle proceeds. The insurance agent. We are also launching a Board will review all applications at its membership incentive where a member meeting on May 18 th. could win up to $500 simply for having an ATVBC and club membership. Full The AGM is just a few short months details on this are in this newsletter away. There will be several vacancies on (page 4) Members will also be able to the Board and the Nominations Chair receive 10-15% discounts on sponsor Wayne Mercer will be looking for products and Kim is working on this. It nominations. If you are interested or was also decided that starting with the know someone who might be, then next open F2F meeting clubs with travel contact Wayne at wayne@atvbc.ca. of more than 100km will be able to Being a Board member, is both receive $100 towards travel expenses to interesting and fulfilling! attend such meetings, directors not eligible. Also starting in June 2016, Make sure you plan on attending the members taking a CASI safety course Poker Ride in Merritt on July 11 th to 17 th will receive a discount on their ATVBC with the Poker Ride on the 16 th and the membership. We also discussed the AGM at Kamloops August with the draft budget for and are close AGM on the 20 th. Both of these are to a balanced budget. The meetings offering all kinds of rides and events and were very productive even if we did not many members are working hard to manage to cover the full agenda. It is so make these events very special. much easier to have meaningful discussions when you are face to face. See you on the trails! Hopefully, the next Board F2F will be in October. Moira meeting of the Board as well as an open session was held in Langley on April 23 rd, 24 th with open session guest speakers John Hawkins, Director, Recreation Sires & Trails BC and Tennessee Trent, Trails Manager, Recreation Sites and Trails BC and for R&L Vera Vukelich. Ill cover the Board meetings and Kim will cover the Open Session which went very well. The Saturday morning Board meeting was basically an exchange of ideas and how, why and when do we do this and can we do it better. Sunday was the monthly Board meeting. A key decision was that ATVBC will use and the web to communicate with members with only a few exceptions e.g. AGM notices. We have basically been doing this but now it is a clear policy. Therefore, we really need clubs to make sure that the section on the membership form is complete and legible. Some of the items coming from those discussions are a total revamping of renewal reminders to make them easier to renew via hot button, more personal as well as to provide member feedback. The welcoming letters will be president@atvbc.ca or moira@atvbc.ca or

For those of you who have tickets the due date to get them back to the office is August

Once again thanks for all your effort it is your efforts that make this raffle a huge

2 987 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue 33 2 From the Raffle Committee: All the tickets are out there and sales are going well. For those of you who have tickets the due date to get them back to the office is August 12 th Once again thanks for all your effort it is your efforts that make this raffle a huge success. If you have some extra tickets that you feel that you wont be able to sell, please let the office know or myself (ralph@atvbc.ca) as we have some clubs that would like to get tickets. Thanks Ralph Matthews Raffle Committee

We had 14 machines and 18 riders head out on the trails to the Little Horse Lodge Restaurant, then up to Olsens Butte for a spectacular view of Green Lake.

3 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue 33 3 EDITOR MESSAGE By: Ralph Matthews Well the riding season is well upon us now as I hear of multiple club rides happening all around the province. Our first ride in the Cariboo happened on Sunday May 1 st, the sun was shining and the temp. got up to 22 degrees. We had 14 machines and 18 riders head out on the trails to the Little Horse Lodge Restaurant, then up to Olsens Butte for a spectacular view of Green Lake. The Face to face in Langley was a great success with over 60 people in attendance and representing about 15 different clubs. The guest speakers were well received and there were lots of great questions for them. The one question that sticks out with me the most, as I have a granddaughter who will be joining us for rides in a few years, is: but why cant young riders who are riding with their parents ride their own quad as a family unit. As Enforcement says they arent 16 years old and dont have a Drivers License. This is something that needs to be fixed if we want to promote this sport as family friendly. What about some of the people who cant get a license to drive a car because of their handicap? We have a guy up here that has hand controls for his Side X side but cant get a license to drive a car. He has been stopped numerous times and ticketed for driving his quad on FSR roads without a license. This in my opinion is wrong and we need to make the back country available to everyone to enjoy from the seat of their choice whatever it may be. As some of us rednecks say have yea all made your travel plans up yet. Been planning mine for a while and cant wait to get started. We should be visiting 8 different areas this summer for quadding and exploration should be a blast so hope to see some of you at the different events around the province. Ride Safe everyone. A Letter To The Editor While selling raffle tickets for ATV/BC the other day I got this response from a gentleman when I asked him if he would like to buy a ticket. NO! Quads are dangerous. They are the leading cause of all trauma patients to the Prince George Hospital Emergency Unit. When I said I beg to differ, he replied Dont tell me. I have a friend at the hospital who knows these statistics. and then proceeded to walk away. Well, I still beg to differ and though the chances of him ever reading this are slim, this is my humble opinion. An inanimate object, be it a quad, side by side, motorcycle, sled, or even a gun, is not dangerous. The danger lies in the inexperience or stupidity of the operator of these objects. As has been said many times You Cant Fix Stupid. One can only hope that through education and training, if you cant fix the problem, at least it can be improved upon. Nothing will help improve a riders skill and safety than a Safe rider course plus time in the saddle and using good safety practices. Very few accidents are caused by mechanical failure which leaves the vast majority as operator error. Ride safely through the seat of your choice. Bob Stewart

CASI is not a new program it has been around for a while and is available in seven countries around the world.

4 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue 33 4 SAFETY TRAINING COURSE At the board meetings at the Face to Face in Langley, it was decided that ATVBC will be promoting the CASI Safe Rider ATV Course. The Student kits will be available at the office for the instructors to order from us directly by June CASI is not a new program it has been around for a while and is available in seven countries around the world. We are putting together an Instructor training course on July 12 th at the ATVBC poker ride in Merritt. We are looking for a total of 8 people that already have the Safe Riders Course, and are interested in becoming an ATV instructor. If you are interested please contact me at ralph@atvbc.ca, the cost of becoming an instructor is $1550. The course will be a four day course finishing up on the Friday (July 15 th ) before the poker ride. Your response to this needs to be in by June 13 th, as we need to order the manuals for this course. If you are a member of ATVBC and you take and pass the CASI safe rider Course as of June this year you will get a discount on your next years membership of twenty dollars to be sent to you from the office. If you are not sure if there is a CASI Instructor in your area, please call the office and we should be able to find the closest instructor to you. Ralph Matthews WIN UP TO $500 The Board has approved a membership prize to be held at the AGM every year. The way it works is you have to have your ATVBC membership purchased by 30 days before the AGM so the date will change a little each year. You will have a chance of winning a maximum of 500 dollars each year. *For the 1 st draw, if your name is picked by random computer and you are an ATVBC member and a Club Member then you win the full 500 dollars and there will be NO other draws. However, if 1)*if you are a member of ATVBC but do not belong to a club and your name is picked by random computer then you will get 200 dollars and 2) the next draw will be done for ATVBC member who belongs to a club and they will get 300 dollars.

They also had help from local Businesses and lots of volunteers. This site has over 30 campsites with fire pits, a shelter for large groups to gather under if the weather is a little damp.

5 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue 33 5 PYE MOUNTAIN RECREATION SITE So after much hard work by the Campbell River Club the Pye Mountain Recreation Site had its Grand Opening on April 16 th They had a number of partners helping out with the funds to build this site: Rec site and trails BC (RSTBC), The National Trails Coalition (NTC) and ATVBC. They also had help from local Businesses and lots of volunteers. This site has over 30 campsites with fire pits, a shelter for large groups to gather under if the weather is a little damp. The Campbell River club has many events planned for the site in the upcoming future. The site has over 350 KM of Back country trails, some are marked and as time goes on they will be marking more of them. Please use caution when using any back country trails. The Grand Opening was attended by many dignitaries including the local MLA Claire Trevena. There is a coalition of people working on a trail in the north Island area looking at joining up four communities, Campbell River, Zeballos, Tahsis, and Gold River for a 800 km multi use loop trail, which will be the first of its kind in British Columbia. Once again congratulations to the Campbell River ATV Club on a job well done.

The ATV selection included the Sportsman 850 and several models of the 570 machine. They didnt stop with just Polaris.

Included in the ATV lineup was the Honda Rancher.

6 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue 33 6 A Test Drive Sponsored By Polaris Today a select few of the Prince George riders were invited by Polaris to test drive a variety of ATV and SXS machines. The selection to choose from in the SXS department ranged from the 1000 turbo RZR to the 900 Ace, the Ranger, and their new cross over the General which is a RZR with a dump box. The ATV selection included the Sportsman 850 and several models of the 570 machine. They didnt stop with just Polaris. Also on hand in the SxS lineup were a Can Am Commander, the Maverick and their new Defender. As well, Yamaha was represented with their YXZ sport machine and Honda was represented with their Pioneer. Included in the ATV lineup was the Honda Rancher. We spent three hours riding various machines and, although the time was too short, left us all with a big thanks to Polaris for giving us this opportunity to ride their machines and compare them to what some of the competitors have to offer. Bob Stewart The Prince George ATV Club was asked by Cycle North (local Polaris Dealer) to assist in setting up a training facility for the Corporate Polaris group from Missouri, to do their training for the area Polaris Dealers and their staff. The PGATV Club looked at the requests set down by Polaris and suggested to Polaris that we could provide them with training routes that would be more realistic. Polaris brought 17 machines with them, all premium Polaris machines plus competitive machines of most brands, all the dealer staff are required to ride all machines and do an evaluation, in the past they were given a short ¼ to ½ km circular dusty trail to go round and round. PGATV Club provided the riders with a 34km route that has hills, adverse, water, little bit of mud, great scenery, good weather, the feedback from the riders and personnel from Polaris was very positive, said it was their best training event in years, mainly due to the facility provided and the co-operation of all parties involved. As a bonus to the PG ATV riders, Polaris made all 17 machines available for demo rides to consumers over a pre-established 7 km course the day prior to the dealer event. The Polaris staff was impressed with this route, enabled them to stop at the sawdust pile (half way through) and discuss the features and ride with the ATV riders. Another bonus, dealer personnel from Williams Lake, Quesnel, Smithers, Terrace and Prince George were able to get a first-hand view and experience some PG trails on Tabor Mountain, base was set up at the Scott Road parking lot and pit. This was the first time Polaris chose Prince George as the location to do their extensive dealer training. John Ruston President Prince George ATV Club

7 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue 33 7 KIMS BLOG A new season begins! The Spring F2F Meeting in Langley was a great kick off to the 2016 season with valuable information regarding provincial trails and new ORV legislation. We received great feedback from attendees, heres what they had to say: We found it very informing to get this information right from the top. Listening to other people with their problems was great. It was definitely worth the time and trip It was nice to see representation from throughout the province. The speakers were excellent and there was a good question and answer session The Spring F2F provides us with an opportunity to meet and network on a face to face basis to discuss the issues, challenges and accomplishments of the members and clubs that work tirelessly all year to foster our sport and preserve our riding areas. A good example of this is the Arrow Lakes ATV Club, as they have been engaged in extensive meetings with a private group that want to restrict trail usage and greatly reduce motorized use on the rail trail from Nakusp to Rosebery. The club sent a delegation of members to the F2F and met with the ATVBC Executive Board Members the evening prior, to discuss the issues, and also had an opportunity to ask questions and make their concerns known to John Hawkings, the Director of Recreation Sites & Trails BC. Vera Vukelich, Manager responsible for Off-Road Vehicles, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations gave an informative presentation on the new ORV legislation, however there will still be many questions as government rolls out the regulations, therefore Vera has made her contact information readily available, and can be contacted at Vera.Vukelich@gov.bc.ca with any specific questions. Gordon Galloway and Murray Haight from the Elkford ATV Club did a fantastic presentation on all the amazing accomplishments of their club, and have also provided a further interview (see page 13) on how they are able to ride their ATVs on public roads from their homes to the trails. Speaking of networking opportunities, I recently attended the Trails BC AGM in Midway, which was extremely well attended by the motorized sector (at least 4:1) with many thanks to the Grand Forks ATV Club (for a huge showing of support and bright green badges promoting multi-use trails), the Salmo Seniors ATV Club, the Similkameen Valley Riders ATV Club, and the West Kootenay ATV Club. The motorized supporters were informed, well spoken, business and local folks that presented very logical statements in support of multi-use trails. The Trails BC group has a nonmotorized mandate however they have started to recognize ATV use, and a common thread from both sides is that everyone wants to work together for the benefit of the trails. This meeting was a major success for supporters of multi-use trails! Since this is the start of a new season, I wanted to pass along some resources and items to consider when planning for the upcoming year: 1. Free web hosting sites such as allow you to create your own website at no cost 2. TechSoup Canada has software and technology resources for non-profits which allow you to purchase programs such as Windows, Go Daddy domain registrar and web hosting, Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel spreadsheet & Access database), Adobe Photoshop, and many other software programs at a fraction of the regular cost. You must be a registered society to purchase. 3. Facebook there are many sites with helpful tips and suggestions on how to build and boost a Facebook page for non-profit organizations such as Boostlikes which can be viewed here 4. Once you have created your Facebook page, be sure to Like ATVBCs Facebook page to stay updated on current events, information and initiatives. 5. The new BC Societies Act comes into effect on November 28, Click here to view information about what your society will need to do to get ready for the new Act, including transition requirements. A summary of impact to preexisting societies is available here 6. Riderswest Magazine has some great start of season articles posted: -First ATV ride of the season safety check list view here -Photo tips for dirt riders: 10 tips for improving your ATVing photos view here -Going off-road with the Lower Mainland ATV Club view here Heres to a safe and successful season of good riding with good friends! Kim Smith General Manager Land & Environment Manager

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ca) June 26, 2016 Prince George ATV Poker Ride July 8, 9, &

14 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue Corporate Sponsors: CALENDAR OF EVENTS ( June 26, 2016 Prince George ATV Poker Ride July 8, 9, & 10, 2016 KRATV Club Campout and Poker Ride. Noke Creek Campground (Lumberton FSR). (See Page 9) July 9 & 10, 2016 Revelstoke GPS Poker Ride (see page 8) July 16, 2016 ATV/BC Poker Ride Merritt, B.C. (see Page 10) July 22-24, 2016 PGATV 2016 Annual Wells Ride August 17 21, 2016 Jamboree/ATV/BC AGM Kamloops, B.C. (see Page 11&12) (AGM Aug 20 th )

ATV/BC NEWSLETTER. February Mount Baldy (Clearwater, B.C.) October 2014 Q.S.S.C. Ride. Editors notes:

ATV/BC NEWSLETTER. February Mount Baldy (Clearwater, B.C.) October 2014 Q.S.S.C. Ride. Editors notes: 987 \ ATV/BC NEWSLETTER Issue 25 1 ATV/BC NEWSLETTER February 2015 Volume 4. Issue 25 Mount Baldy (Clearwater, B.C.) October 2014 Q.S.S.C. Ride Editors notes: Well I thought winter was over but I guess