Where do you get a pass?

[Summiteer]

Joining the club and lending your opinion to the direction the club is going is much more effective that trying to change things from the outside. You may not be the only one that seeks change.


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[Jvl]

Good point. Best way to make changes is from the inside and I hope people trying to start the new club realize that. I just think that they were tired of not being heard.

 

[moyiesledhead]

You've actually brought up one issue that DOES concern me, and one that MIGHT concern me if I knew more about the club.

Any club having more than one area under a management agreement of any kind does concern me, especially if they can't maintain a proper grooming program on an area for whatever reason yet collect trail passes anyway. In Cranbrook we have only one...Lumberton. That leaves lots of areas for people to ride bumps for free, and I believe that choice needs to be there. I myself am active in the club but rarely ride Lumberton by personal choice. The club doesn't just focus on Lumberton though. We fought hard to keep Perry Creek, Lamb Creek, and the St. Marys valley open to sleds against strong opposition from the Caribou preservationists. We even successully fought for winter access in Englishman Creek close to Yahk even though I doubt anyone is likely to ever ride there.

The issue that MIGHT concern me is payed groomer operators. Ours have never been payed, and we do quite a bit of grooming. We've never had any trouble getting volunteers to run our cat. Getting volunteers to collect trail passes is much more difficult. I say MIGHT concern me because I don't know the specifics around Fernie's grooming program, so I can't make an informed decision.

I now have the information I needed to make an informed decision on this. As far as I'm concerned the FSA is doing just fine. No trail fees for Hartley and groomers are paid with BC Government Gaming Grant money. Couldn't ask for anything more.

So quit whining, don't join the club, and pay for a daily pass when you ride Coal Creek!

 

[Donegal-BCSF]

I really don't know whether too jump in on this or not. I am very saddened by the division I am reading about with the possibility of a second club forming. It has already been proven with the Division of the BCSF with ABC that starting new does not move Organized Snowmobiling forward in BC. It divides our voice and our resources. By buying a trail pass you are in no way buying a membership in the FSA or the BCSF and the money strictly goes to grooming. If you choose to buy a membership you will be supporting your local club as well as your provincial voice the BCSF. You have many members only benefits offered to you that you can check out on BCSF | British Columbia Snowmobile Federation. In reading this, for trails that are not groomed the FSA does not charge a grooming fee and after reading this long discussion I can see that there are several ungroomed options for you to ride. So I feel that your original question has been answered and you just haven't heard. As too the division of the FSA I urge you to work together to come to a compromise that does not include division. If you split your membership neither club will prosper, tourism will go down as they will have to buy two memberships in order to ride several areas, and the locals will also have to buy in both. If an environmental issue comes up you will not have a strong unified voice. This usually leads to being steam rolled by the powers that be. My suggestion is that if at all possible get involved in the existing club. Help make the decisions, volunteer, and move riding in Fernie to be the destination in BC. Someone said that Fernie could never be Whistler...I think you are wrong it just takes active, forward thinking volunteers to make it happen. Imagine years ago when someone said they were going to make Revelstoke a Snowmobiling destination and the challenges they faced

 

[Jvl]

Here's another question then, if the club is doing fine. Since they don't groom Hartley but it is part of there area, is the club in jeopardy of losing that area? I think so. And if so, it may go the way of tunnel. (Some deal with another user group)

 

[tstams]

I dont think the club will loose the area if not groomed have you or someone brought this up with the FSA members, also how many people ride there is there enough volunteers to support that area??

 

[Donegal-BCSF]

My understanding is if the trail is registered to the FSA than they can choose to groom it or not but it is still registered to them and they would have to sign it over to another user group.

 

[Jvl]

Don't they get funding to run the area, and I thought it works like a tenure,if you don't use it they could lose it. The will be classed as a bad operator.

 

[Donegal-BCSF]

I am hoping that someone from FSA can correct me if I am wrong. I am not aware of any funding anywhere for grooming or trail maintenance. It is paid for strictly by grooming fees, club memberships and volunteer efforts.

 

[tstams]

I am hoping that someone from FSA can correct me if I am wrong. I am not aware of any funding anywhere for grooming or trail maintenance. It is paid for strictly by grooming fees, club memberships and volunteer efforts.

I believe you are correct!!!

 

[moyiesledhead]

Don't they get funding to run the area, and I thought it works like a tenure,if you don't use it they could lose it. The will be classed as a bad operator.

No.......and No. I'm very familiar with how a Management Agreement on crown land works. Fernie's in Hartley won't be any different. There is no funding from government to do anything, and as long as the terms of the agreement are adhered to (which can also be modified by either party if required) the agreement will be renewed every 5 years. Grooming is only a requirement if the agreement says so, and even then can be written up as "subject to equipment/operator/access availability" etc.

And just for informations sake.....commercial tenures don't really work that way any more either. Lots of them are dormant, but still exist as long as the paperwork, and more importantly....the fees, are kept up to date.

 

[Jvl]

You seem to know the answers to my concers at times and I thank you for setting me straight on the rules which I may be misinformed about. This whole post started because I didn't want to be a member but wanted to pay my fair share for the grooming. I was also under the assumption that the club gets funding from somewhere for being a non-profit organization (in the form of a grant) or some other government subsidy, all based on #of members. And you should understand how I came to this conclusion. with just reading the comments on these posts from people on here, shocked that I would not want to be a member of their club. Why else would they be so upset if I only paid for grooming and not membership fees? By the way, I was a member in Fernie starting around 1999 when sosnowski was president and most would agree that things needed to change back then. So the club did and I was reluctant to join again for a year or two, then I met someone up in polaris bowl and he told me that we should join the club. Gave reasons like if you get lost and they have to send out search and rescue for you, you would not have to pay the cost of the rescue because you are a member of the club. Then told us how as a club they can fight off other groups which sold me because I want to be able to ride all over the area. Now I'm not sure about search and rescue but most people I talk to think that being in the club doesn't effect the outcome. But the kicker is that the very same bowl that I heard this info in, is now ski hill terrain for back country skiing, which did go to another user group. So why doesn't FSA offer a seasons pass if #s of club members don't get them funding?

 

[t333s]

Obviously Your quite wrong, but you are probably use to being that. As for your rant Take one to know one.

FSA has/had Members who volunteer to groom for free that had experience at the local Ski Hill.

 

[Jvl]

Would like to give the fsa props for offering a seasons pass without buying a membership and giving some attention to Hartley. Thanks.

 

[ferniesnow]

Would like to give the fsa props for offering a seasons pass without buying a membership and giving some attention to Hartley. Thanks.

We doo aim to please John! We just can't please all of the people all of the time. Enjoy our efforts, wherever they may be.