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ATV riders looking for help to clear storm-damaged trails

Kelly Dowling, co-ordinator of the P.E.I. ATV Federation, says it could take years to completely fix the trail. (Stacey Janzer/CBC - image credit)
Kelly Dowling, co-ordinator of the P.E.I. ATV Federation, says it could take years to completely fix the trail. (Stacey Janzer/CBC - image credit)

The Red Isle ATV Club trail in Winsloe, P.E.I., remains off limits to all-terrain vehicles because of damage from post-tropical storm Fiona four months ago.

Kelly Dowling, co-ordinator of the P.E.I. ATV Federation, said the club has already spent about $6,000 to clean some of it up, but expects it'll take another $3,000 for it to be ready for riders.

"The hard part is now that we've got winter weather, no trail work can really happen at this point, so they're going to be at a standstill until the spring comes," Dowling said.

"Then … when spring comes we get wet soil, so we're going to have to wait until it dries up enough to get ATVs and tractors and that kind of equipment so we don't further damage the actual base of the trail."

Dowling said any environmental assessments that were done need to be revisited, meaning it will take much longer to fix and reopen the trail.

The federation plans to apply for a government grant to get some hired help and bigger machinery to get the trail back on track.

"This is going to be years," she said.

Kelly Dowling
Kelly Dowling

Ross Waddell, interim president of the Red Isle ATV Club, said it was overwhelming to see all the downed trees and other damage.

"Then it was discouraging about how much work we had done on that trail up to the point that got washed away, blown away."

The club relies on volunteers to do much of the work, usually the same three of four people. They're always looking for more help.

"Two Sundays ago we had an impromptu trail-work party and we had a total of seven people, and the amount of work that we got done in that day or that afternoon was more than a couple of us would have taken a week to do."