By Cecilia Nasmith

Northumberland County advises residents that snowmobiling is currently not permitted in the Northumberland County Forest.

County Forest trails are made accessible to snowmobilers through an annual agreement between the county and the Great Pine Ridge Snowmobile Association. To date, the county and the snowmobile club have been unable to reach a mutually acceptable agreement for the 2020-2021 season, the announcement said. Motorized trails in the forest will remain closed until an agreement is in place.

In late 2019, following a standard review of the existing annual Memorandum of Understanding with the club, the county proposed an updated license agreement that would strengthen protections for the county and local taxpayers from liability and risk exposure related to snowmobiling in the county forest.

“As a motorized sport, snowmobiling includes a higher degree of risk for accidents and injuries than many other recreation activities permitted in the Forest,” the press release noted.

It also brought up a matter that was raised Tuesday at county council's Finance and Audit Committee meeting – the structure of the current liability laws and insurance costs.

“Municipalities are facing growing liability and insurance costs due the principle of Joint and Several Liability,” the announcement explained.

“Under this legal framework, if the plaintiff in a lawsuit is awarded damages, and the County is found to be even one (1) per cent responsible, the County could be liable for 100 per cent of a plaintiff’s damages should the other defendants to the lawsuit be unable to pay. A serious claim could result in the County paying millions of dollars in damage awards, even if deemed responsible for only a fraction of the fault, with these costs then passed on to residents and businesses through necessary property tax increases.

“As a steward of taxpayer dollars, the County is seeking an updated agreement with the snowmobile club to mitigate this risk.”

Warden Bob Crate added his own comment.

“Northumberland County is striving to ensure that snowmobilers can continue to enjoy the trails in the county forest this winter and in the future. However, local taxpayers cannot disproportionately subsidize the risks related to this activity,” Crate said.

“The county forest is a place where residents and visitors can come to enjoy outdoor recreation and connection with nature, and council recognizes that both are vital to physical and mental well-being, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The County appreciates its long-standing collaboration with the GPRSA to ensure snowmobile enthusiasts are able to access the forest trail network, and we want this to continue. We are hopeful that we can get an updated agreement in place that enables snowmobilers to get back out on the trails while ensuring an acceptable level of risk for the county and Northumberland taxpayers.”