Town & Country

4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2018 S N O W L A K E Tim Johnston MANAGER P.O. Box 1208, 3 Station Road, Thompson, Manitoba R8N 1P1 TEL 204 677 1492 TEL 1 888 303 2232 FAX 204 778 5672 EMAIL tdj@northcentraldevelopment.ca WEB northcentraldevelopment.ca North Central Development Growing Communities one idea at a time P.O. Box 1103, 15 Nelson Road, Thompson, MB R8N 1N9 T 204.677.4328 • F 204.778.4628 dbarenzcga@mts.net Accounting, Taxation and Financial Management Services eat fresh! Visit us at these locations! FLIN FLON 137 Main Street (204) 687-5558 THE PAS 254 Fischer Avenue (204) 623-7827 THOMPSON 73A Thompson Dr. N. (204) 677-2222 ASHERN 13 Prov. Trunk Hwy 6 North (204) 768-9753 MELITA 624 Government Rd. (204) 522-8166 SOURIS 5-1st Avenue (204) 483-2953 SWAN RIVER 1437 Main Street (204) 734-3352 Sand Gravel and 6 & 8 Axle Lowbedding PFUND TRUCKING LTD c/o Peter Pfund WANLESS MB PO Box 2400 THE PAS MB R9A 1M2 Cell 204-623-0744 Shop 204-682-7510 Fax 204-682-7410 Res 204-682-7516 email: PfundTrucking@hotmail.com MP Niki Ashton— Churchill Keewatinook Aski would like to thank all the entrepreneurs for their contributions to Manitoba and the North Thompson Office 305-83 Churchill Dr. 1-866-669-7770 The Pas Office 1416 Gordon Ave. 1-866-785-0522 www.nikiashton.ndp.ca — niki.ashton@parl.gc.ca The future looks bright for snowmobile tourism in northern Manitoba. Lodge owners and representatives from snowmobile clubs, chambers of commerce, municipal and regional economic development agencies and the province gathered at a one-day summit in Snow Lake last month to start developing a formal tourism strategy. "We had really good representation from across the region, up north as far as Gillam and south as far as Swan River," says Flin Flon-based Community Futures Greenstone executive director Becky Cianflone. "It's really encouraging that we have so many groups working together. We've got three of our northern CFs (Greenstone, Cedar Lake and North Central) that have a seat at the table that are really engaged and enthusiastic to see this through. "And the timing is right given our Northern Tourism Strategy has really been gaining traction and we've been achieving a lot of things with that. And then we also have of course Travel Manitoba, which is doing exceptional work and really supporting northern Manitoba as a destination." Community Futures North Central Development's Laura Finlay says the Thompson-based organization and Travel Manitoba initiated the summit. Finlay says the objective is to build on plans developed by the now-defunct Tourism North, starting with completing a key link — from Snow Lake to Cranberry Portage — in northern Manitoba's vast system of designated snowmobile trails. "We wanted to close that gap because then we could say you can do a full circuit in northern Manitoba, all the way from Swan River up to Gillam." Another proposed trail would link Gillam to Churchill with a designated trail that would meet Snowmobilers of Manitoba (Snoman) safety standards — and qualify as a bucket-list adventure. "There are people who do it already, they just don't have a designated trail to go up there. I think it would be awesome," Finlay says. "How cool would that be to say you could snowmobile all the way to Churchill? It's very marketable, provided it can be done properly and safely." The summit was funded through the Churchill Regional Economic Development (CRED) Fund. Finlay says CRED wants to see a long-term sustainable plan before it will supply further funding to put the plan into action. Some 37 attendees at the summit came up with priorities and objectives. Cianflone says gas stations, lodges, restaurants and volunteer-run clubs in Thompson, Snow Lake, The Pas and Flin Flon are key players in providing a high standard of service for visitors, and working together to build packages with extras like a hotel stay and meals along the way. "Perhaps there are people who want to come and they just want to ride their sleds for an eight-day trip. But there may be people that come and they want to stop along the trail and ice fish, or they want to do some northern lights viewing, or they want to participate in an experience that might be offered in a community," she says. "The other facet is events. So we're looking at some other regions that have been really successful in hosting large rallies and large get-togethers for the snowmobiling community. And we would like to be able to start doing some of that." The Manitoba Department of Sustainable Development is providing expertise in land management, and Travel Manitoba is another key partner in developing a marketing plan. Finlay says northern Manitoba's long snowmobiling season is a major asset, as are its people. Snowmobile club members work tirelessly to groom trails, erect directional signage and maintain warming huts, complete with wood stoves. And they are always eager to support initiatives that bolster their sport. "It's a very strong industry up in northern Manitoba — it always has been. Every time we've had a meeting .. everyone shows up and they bring a friend. It's really important to a lot of people," she says. "We're looking forward to taking this further. This was a really good start." That's Snow Business Plans in works to boost snowmobile tourism B Y P A T S T . G E R M A I N "How cool would that be to say you could snowmobile all the way to Churchill? It's very marketable, provided it can be done properly and safely."

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