Christmas came early for two clubs – Powell River and Campbell River with their acquisition of quad-mounted Trailblazer vertical brushing saws. At least two more clubs are in the process of buying similar equipment and there is considerable excitement at the prospect of being able to clear more over-growing alders from the sides of trails without exhausting the limited volunteer resources that every club has to call upon.
With more clubs looking to purchase their own Trailblaze saws, ATVBC President Ralph Matthews discussed their use during the recent ATV Clubs President’s meeting.
ATVBC’s role in this development is to do much of the background work in conjunction with our clubs. We need to ensure that insurance needs are identified and fulfilled (looks good so far); safe work practices and training standards need to be developed (that’s a big job); and land owners, tenure holders, and regulators need to be comfortable that this dangerous-looking tool isn’t going to create new and unacceptable hazards and risks.
Owners Operating Manual: https://atvbc.ca/tb-2020-owners-manual-for-original-trailblazer-whonda-gc-engine_/
An interesting spin-off from the work so far is that we continue to struggle with getting a complete understanding of the exact needs for trail insurance that is purchased on a per-kilometre basis. Any members interested in learning about the complexities of this problem are welcome to contact the Insurance Committee (or, better yet, join the committee and give us a hand(!)).
ATVBC has been keeping your club presidents advised of developments on this front and we will keep you updated as the project progresses. Our goal is to have our portion of the saw’s introduction completed by spring so that your trailwork can proceed after breakup.
