The multi-million dollar All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) industry on P.E.I. is booming today. There are four active clubs on Prince Edward Island and three of them are located in Prince County and the other in Kings County. The ATV club in Kings County is called Eastern Kings ATV club, located in Murray River. The Prince County clubs are Tignish ATV Sportsman Riders Club, Evangeline ATV Club and in Colman it is called the Western P.E.I. ATV Club.
There are over 10 dealers in P.E.I. selling ATVs and side-by-sides as well as employing people in their sales, service and parts departments. The P.E.I. government collects millions in revenues from taxes surrounding the sales and servicing of ATVs, not to mention the sales of trucks and trailers to haul the machines around.
Then add taxes on fuel, registration, and insurance for these trucks, ATVs and side-by-sides and you can quickly see how much is collected by the government.
Although there is much negativity surrounding the industry on P.E.I., there is much good also taking place. The four Island clubs do spend a lot of time organizing charity runs or events through out the year. Eastern Kings ATV club this past June donated over $350 to the Murray River Rink and has done so in the past. Up west, there have been numerous charity ATV runs to raise money for local organizations and people fighting illnesses.
Eastern Kings ATV Club has even donated money this year to fix a gate that was damaged on the Confederation Trail. Although it appeared to be damaged from ATVs it is not possible for an ATV to crack a 6x6 post.
A government spokesman told me that last year, six gates were ripped up from Winsloe to Brackley over to York and that ATVs were first to be blamed. A month or two later it was discovered that the damage occurred from a 1/2 ton truck but this was never reported to the media for a correction.
There is a lot to gain from riding an ATV. One is exposed to fresh air, the outdoors, and the physical fitness that riding brings. There are a lot of trails going throughout the entire Island that people aren’t aware of.
I ask that anybody who owns an ATV, to please join a established ATV club and help by volunteering to create new trails, talk to land owners and ask for permission, both written and verbal, to use their lands and above all respect both the environment, farmers crops and the laws surrounding the Off Highways Vehicles Act and the Trails Act.
All riders should also insure their bike and register it. This is not for the government’s benefit but for your own as it protects you the rider.
The provincial government is willing to work with clubs, but we have to be organized and less secretive when it comes to meetings and inform the general public better then we have done so in the past.
There are a lot of ATVers leaving the province for N.S, N.B., Que., N.L. and even Ont. Every ATV that leaves the Island is revenue that we do not receive locally, nor are ATVers coming to P.E.I.
Just last weekend there were four cabins rented for the long weekend at Adair’s Wilderness Lodge in Sussex N.B. by Islanders. This was approximately $5,000 dollars spent on fuel, lodging, food, Costco etc. that is not going to P.E.I.’s economy.
For those who argue that ATVs destroy crops, cause erosion, damage the Confederation Trail and attempt to run people over, are blind to the fact that not all ATVers conduct these activities. Every province in Canada has an ATV-managed trail where walkers, hikers, snowmobiles and horse back riders do co-exist with ATVers.
Not all ATVers are bad people. It’s like saying that all motor vehicle drivers are irresponsible because a few are caught with impaired driving charges.
By Paul Wilbert (guest opinion)
Paul Wilbert, of Brackley, is information co-ordinator for Atlantic ATV Adventures Inc.
The multi-million dollar All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) industry on P.E.I. is booming today. There are four active clubs on Prince Edward Island and three of them are located in Prince County and the other in Kings County. The ATV club in Kings County is called Eastern Kings ATV club, located in Murray River. The Prince County clubs are Tignish ATV Sportsman Riders Club, Evangeline ATV Club and in Colman it is called the Western P.E.I. ATV Club.
There are over 10 dealers in P.E.I. selling ATVs and side-by-sides as well as employing people in their sales, service and parts departments. The P.E.I. government collects millions in revenues from taxes surrounding the sales and servicing of ATVs, not to mention the sales of trucks and trailers to haul the machines around.
Then add taxes on fuel, registration, and insurance for these trucks, ATVs and side-by-sides and you can quickly see how much is collected by the government.
Although there is much negativity surrounding the industry on P.E.I., there is much good also taking place. The four Island clubs do spend a lot of time organizing charity runs or events through out the year. Eastern Kings ATV club this past June donated over $350 to the Murray River Rink and has done so in the past. Up west, there have been numerous charity ATV runs to raise money for local organizations and people fighting illnesses.
Eastern Kings ATV Club has even donated money this year to fix a gate that was damaged on the Confederation Trail. Although it appeared to be damaged from ATVs it is not possible for an ATV to crack a 6x6 post.
A government spokesman told me that last year, six gates were ripped up from Winsloe to Brackley over to York and that ATVs were first to be blamed. A month or two later it was discovered that the damage occurred from a 1/2 ton truck but this was never reported to the media for a correction.
There is a lot to gain from riding an ATV. One is exposed to fresh air, the outdoors, and the physical fitness that riding brings. There are a lot of trails going throughout the entire Island that people aren’t aware of.
I ask that anybody who owns an ATV, to please join a established ATV club and help by volunteering to create new trails, talk to land owners and ask for permission, both written and verbal, to use their lands and above all respect both the environment, farmers crops and the laws surrounding the Off Highways Vehicles Act and the Trails Act.
All riders should also insure their bike and register it. This is not for the government’s benefit but for your own as it protects you the rider.
The provincial government is willing to work with clubs, but we have to be organized and less secretive when it comes to meetings and inform the general public better then we have done so in the past.
There are a lot of ATVers leaving the province for N.S, N.B., Que., N.L. and even Ont. Every ATV that leaves the Island is revenue that we do not receive locally, nor are ATVers coming to P.E.I.
Just last weekend there were four cabins rented for the long weekend at Adair’s Wilderness Lodge in Sussex N.B. by Islanders. This was approximately $5,000 dollars spent on fuel, lodging, food, Costco etc. that is not going to P.E.I.’s economy.
For those who argue that ATVs destroy crops, cause erosion, damage the Confederation Trail and attempt to run people over, are blind to the fact that not all ATVers conduct these activities. Every province in Canada has an ATV-managed trail where walkers, hikers, snowmobiles and horse back riders do co-exist with ATVers.
Not all ATVers are bad people. It’s like saying that all motor vehicle drivers are irresponsible because a few are caught with impaired driving charges.
By Paul Wilbert (guest opinion)
Paul Wilbert, of Brackley, is information co-ordinator for Atlantic ATV Adventures Inc.
