NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO FEDERATION OF SNOWMOBILE CLUBS
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With winter fast approaching, thousands of Ontario sledders are answering an appeal from the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) to join a groundswell movement to protect recreational OFSC snowmobile trails on private property, land access and landowners. This action will also help ensure that OFSC trails generate an economic impact of up to $3.3 Billion to assist Ontario’s economic recovery this season.
The OFSC request to snowmobilers supports the Take The Pledge social media campaign launched by the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA) throughout North America late last week. In an accompanying video, renown ambassadors and influencers from all snowmobile brands speak directly to their peers about only riding where it’s legal to do so.
“With this peer to peer approach, we are confident that many more riders will Take The Pledge in the coming weeks as the entire Ontario snowmobiling community rallies together throughout this winter for this important cause,” stated Ryan Eickmeier, OFSC CEO. “Our aim is to make trespass on private property and entering prohibited areas as socially unacceptable on the snow as not wearing a seatbelt or operating a vehicle while impaired is on the road. We commend Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski-Doo and Yamaha stepping up through ISMA to further strengthen our Stay On Trail message.”
More than 60 per cent of the 30,000-kilometre OFSC trail system are located on private property, so the Take The Pledge Campaign provides co-ordinates perfectly with the OFSC’s well-received Stay On Trail initiative, which includes a hard-hitting Stay On The Trail video set to debut on social media later this fall, an industry-first Code of Conduct For Trail Riders, and many other materials. Their combined synergy will also help foster the recreational, social and health benefits that OFSC snowmobiling contributes to the well-being of hundreds of our snowbelt communities each winter.
By going online to Take The Pledge, participating Ontario snowmobilers acknowledge that illegal off trail riding all too frequently results in access closures for all snowmobilers. That makes The Pledge about more than personal rights or wishes, and primarily about the good of the entire riding community. In Taking The Pledge sledders agree:
• To ride off trail only where I know it’s legal and accepted
• To check before going off trail if I don’t know
• To protect access for future generations by doing the right thing
• To protect access by encouraging those I ride with to also take the pledge
The OFSC invites every snowmobiler to Take The Pledge online.
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