22 Like Us on Facebook: BetterFarmingON Better Farming January 2017 TROUBLE WITH TRAILS I n the early 1980s, as Ontario’s snowmobile clubs were beginning to form and develop trails, Graham Snyder decided to try a trail out for himself. Snyder today farms 500 acres of cash crops on his farm near Breslau in the Region of Waterloo and provides custom farm services. Back then, he didn’t have a trail running through his property. Even though the clubs sold permits to access the trails, he figured he didn’t need a permit to travel locally where he knew the farmers. But as he rode his snowmobile, he discovered the trails were extensive. “You could go for quite some time on the trails, and I really didn’t know a lot of the farmers,” he says. Crossing so much land without permission felt wrong, so he bought a permit. Joining his local club, the Bridge- port Snowmobile Club, came next, and he added two trails to his own property. Local involvement led to 10 years of provincial involvement, including two years as the vice- president of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC). He stepped down from that post earlier this year. So Snyder is very familiar with the concerns about trails that erupted in February following the introduction of the provincial Liberal government’s Bill 100 (Supporting Ontario’s Trails Act, 2016) that introduced the Ontario Trails Act and changes to other laws that support trail access and trespassing enforcement. The bill was first introduced in May 2015 and obtained royal assent in June 2016. Over the next several months, property owners, including farmers, Right of passage The provincial government introduced the Supporting Ontario Trails Act last year. This winter, landowners and snowmobilers continue to debate the use of Ontario’s rural trails. by MARY BAXTER In November, Graham Snyder, who farms near Breslau inWaterloo Region, was busy putting up markers for the two snowmobile trails that cross his property.