The newly formed Tumbler Ridge Outdoor Recreation Association (TRORA) came before council to talk about their first year as an organization and plans moving forward.
Ryan Lamming is the president of the newly formed umbrella organization, which brings together the Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society (WNMS), Grizzly Valley ATV Association (GVATV), Tumbler Ridge Ridge Riders Snowmobile Association (Ridge Riders) and the Tumbler Ridge Mountain Bike Association (TRMBA).
He was joined by TRMBA President Curtis Miedzinski.
“We focus on collaboration, for the best Tumbler Ridge outdoor recreation scenario,” says Lamming. “We are collaborating and supporting outdoor recreation in Tumbler. Our goals: to provide long-term planning and organizational stability, to lead the way in responsible outdoor recreation environment conservation. To strategically enhance trail enjoyment and accessibility. To develop high-value partnerships and to advocate and plan for a sustainable future.”
The organization has been working together for about a year. Indeed, the organization was officially announced in March of 2023, though representatives from various clubs had been meeting for months before then to hammer out what TRORA would look like.
They were also able to line up funding from a variety of sources, including $95,000 from South Peace Mackenzie Trust, $37,500 from Tumbler Ridge Community Forest and $25,000 from Conuma Resources.
Miedzinski says formalizing the society was one of the year’s biggest accomplishments. “The previous Economic Development Officer played a huge role in getting this going,” he says. “And we have Jesse Olson continuing on with us as well. It is not just the groups that are supporting this, it is also the District of Tumbler Ridge.”
He says the group has also spent time engaging with stakeholders and conducting surveys with the clubs. “Each club has been asked what they can do to help, how this organization would help them and what would they like to see done related to trails in the region. We conducted strategic planning sessions to see what we can do for all the clubs moving forward, and how we can enhance what we already have as well as maintain and continue drawing the recreation people to our area. We have worked to strengthen relationships between the clubs to be closer-knit. The plan is maybe to host events together, or do trail maintenance together, where we can utilize members of each volunteer group. So the TRMB won’t work on just mountain bike trails, but will help out with moving bridges or helping with the WNMS or the ATV club could help out with maintaining some of the snowmobile trails, because access is easier in the summertime.
The group is also working to set up Partnership with Rec Sites and Trails BC Parks. “We just had our AGM just recently and they showed. That was very encouraging.”
The club is also just in the process of hiring a new Executive Director. “It was a pretty slow start for applicants,” says Lamming. “We didn’t have very many. Some of them were just clicking a link in Indeed, saying “Hi Company.” So we tried again, and this round was really good. We have some stellar folks. We are meeting Thursday to go over those applicants and maybe start conducting some interviews. This is possible because of the grant from the South Peace Mackenzie Trust.”
For more details on TRORA visit www.visittumblerridge.ca
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.