Member Report
• Efforts were made to close the trail gap at Penniac Bay through the Borders to
Beaches team. There was a great deal of commitment by all parties involved to obtain
community approval to close this gap by building a Cliff Side Trail at Penniac Bay.
However, the community has the final say and were overwhelmingly opposed. SWTA
then made the difficult decision to remove their support for this proposal and have now
committed to exploring options for a Waterside Route to close the gap at Penniac Bay.
• Funds were secured through the Canada 150 Grant initiative to build two connector
trails that will link the South Shore Trail along Falcon Lake to the system of hiking
and mountain bike trails at Falcon Trails Resort. Again, this is consistent with our
goal of creating an interconnected trail system throughout the area. We hope to have
these new trails completed to a phase one stage,
(final gravel layer will come later), by July 1, 2017 to
coincide with Canada Ultra Run planned for Canada’s
150th Birthday. Participants will run the new
connector trails as the final leg of their 150-mile
race.
• Trail Fest 2016 was held on the September
long weekend at the Falcon Trails Resort Ski Chalet. We had an excellent turnout
given the poor weather, which made our planned outdoor trail activities challenging.
The event is a fundraiser for SWTA and includes trail promotion and information,
barbeque, beer garden and entertainment by local musicians.
• Donations to purchase granite benches along the trail proved to be very successful
over the past year and continue to be a significant source of fund raising for
our group.
• Finally, our application to MCSC for funding was successful and SWTA will
begin establishing a Volunteer Maintenance Crew and purchasing the tools and
equipment required so we can do more trail maintenance using volunteers. The new
Volunteer Crew will continue to work collaboratively with Sustainable Development
to ensure ongoing maintenance of the trail system in the South Whiteshell.
Submitted by Maureen Barchyn, Chair, SWTA
Annual Report 2016-Trails Manitoba p.14