19 minute read
Youth News
Michael Butterfield
MnUSA SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
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In the September issue the 2021 MnUSA scholarship recipients were announced. This issue we are featuring an essay from Michael Butterfield. The MnUSA Scholarship Program will continue in 2022 with applications due by February 28, 2022. Application forms can be found on MnUSA’s website under Programs.
MnUSA Scholarship recipients are selected by a committee on the basis of their essay, academic achievement, leadership, participation in school, snowmobile and community activities, work experience, and additional insight from two outside references.
Michael Butterfield graduated from Greenway High School in Coleraine in May 2021 and is studying exercise science and a teaching license at University of Wisconsin, Superior. He is an active member of the Swampsiders Snowmobile Club and helped with fundraising, trail clean-up and grooming, shop work on equipment, wood cutting, snowmobile safety classes and grounds maintenance at the club house. Mike was active in many extracurricular activities during high school, lettering in Cross Country (Captain, Individual Iron Range Conference Championships & State participant), Basketball, and Track (Captain) and he participated in Pep Club. Mike also volunteered for many community activities including camp counselor and Second Harvest Food Bank. He is the son of Bruce and Allison Butterfield and is the recipient of a $2250 scholarship.
With the many restrictions put on Minnesota residents due to the COVID pandemic, people are embracing outdoor activities, and many have been introduced to or returned to snowmobiling. With all the activity comes a greater responsibility for all riders to respect the generosity of landowners and stay on the trail.
Michael – What would you do to educate and stop riders of all ages and experience levels from trespassing and to say on the trails?
As the COVID pandemic impacted the world and limited recreational and indoor activities for people of all locations, ages, ethnicities, genders, and socioeconomic statuses, countless individuals found themselves asking, “What is there to do?” Many answered their own question by taking up outdoor activities and hobbies. In the winter months these included skiing, ice fishing, snowshoeing, and of course—snowmobiling. This expanded interest in the sport is wonderful for the snowmobile industry and those who make their living supporting it in various ways, including snowmobile sales and service as well as lodging, restaurants, and gas stations. But—this newfound interest also comes with a caution. Not all individuals new to the sport grew up understanding the intricacies behind the construction of the trails and how easily portions of the trails can be lost.
I was fortunate to grow up in a snowmobiling family. Some of my earliest memories are riding in our family’s SnowCoach with siblings or cousins. As years passed, recollections also include sitting in front of my dad on his sled as he incrementally taught me the nuances of driving, completing the snowmobile safety course facilitated by
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my dad and other local snowmobile club members, and assisting club members in annual maintenance of the trails. All these experiences flamed within me a love of the sport, but they also taught me that snowmobiling comes with much responsibility. There are many rules and regulations that riders must know, understand, and follow to keep the trails open.
It may be easy for some riders to hop on the trails and enjoy the day outdoors without considering the process of constructing and maintaining snowmobile trails. Growing up as I did, this is not the case. Many local trails cross property of friends and neighbors, and this property and relationship needs to be respected. For the past years, I have helped with trail maintenance and clean-up to ensure it is ready for riders. After summer storms and heavy winds, it is very common to find fallen trees and branches in the way of the trail. I, along with other members of our club, spend a day riding along the trail and clearing away any fallen brush. Additionally, we trim trees and branches that have overgrown and are in the way of the path. We also add or replace signs that are cracked or faded to make sure signs are visible, including those that encourage riders to stay on the trail.
I also know that it takes a lot of time, consideration, and cooperation to design the routes for the trails. Snowmobile clubs must get permission from landowners to allow the trail to go through their land and provide snowmobile riders access. This fall, I experienced asking a landowner to reroute a trail section to make it safer and more enjoyable for riders. Landowners, however, do not have to agree. They are only contingently permitting riders to access small portions of their land. Anytime riders go off the trail onto privately owned property, they are trespassing. Landowners have the right to stop allowing the snowmobile trail to go through their land if problems arise. This causes many issues as it is not a simple task to re-route and re-sign the trails.
So how do we protect these agreements and relationships with landowners and educate riders of all ages and experience levels about trespassing? I would organize a publicity campaign with the help of local snowmobile clubs. We would need to identify the exact message we want to send, the various groups that the message needs to reach, and the modes of delivering the message that have the best chance of reaching the identified target audiences.
The message should include the need to stay on the trails, but not only that. It needs to include the why—the reason behind the request. Riders need to understand what goes into
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obtaining access to private land (as stated above), the benefits of respecting that access (continued and even expanded access to private lands), and the potential ramifications of disrespecting that access—for the riders as well as the landowners and local snowmobile clubs (loss of trails, damage to property and vegetation, stressed livestock, broken relationships).
Multiple groups need exposure to this message including youth new to the sport, adults new to the sport, individuals who ride frequently, and those who ride infrequently such as those riding with a friend. The best methods for delivering the message vary for each case.
One method that our local snowmobile club utilizes each year is a snowmobile class for new youth riders. This is a great opportunity to talk about the importance of staying on the trails. Sending home articles or flyers that address the topic could spread the message to those with whom the youth live. Chances are these youth will not be riding alone, so whether they are with their parents, grandparents, or friends, they can share the information and help spread the word about staying on trails. Another way to communicate with youth is to post flyers in locations they frequent, such as school hallways. Another way to encourage youth to learn about and spread the message is for local clubs to sponsor a coloring, essay, or video competition related to the topic.
Media probably reaches the most people of all ages. To reach those who use traditional media, radio and television public service announcements are an option, as are newspaper releases. Public, shareable social media posts have the potential to reach even more people of various demographics. Designing posts or challenging others to create posts and encouraging their spread is one idea.
Since all trail riders see the signs along the trail, it is important to utilize this method of communication as well. In addition to the current signs that say stay on the trail, other types of signs could be included. Signs that say “trail provided by the generosity of landowners” or even actually naming the landowner, similar to adopt-a-highway signs, could bring more awareness.
Finally, a commitment or pledge campaign could create more consciousness and loyalty. This could be done in various ways. One way is to add a statement and checkbox to the snowmobile license renewal application that says, “In order to respect the property rights of landowners and maintain current trail systems, I will stay on marked trails.” If it would be too cumbersome to add this to the license renewal process, another option would be to conduct the commitment campaign via social media. Either way, it is about increasing awareness and loyalty.
It is exciting to see the snowmobile industry increasing in popularity and what this could mean for expanding opportunities in the future. With growth, however, also comes the need to proactively consider potential areas of concern. As the number of snowmobile riders grows, one of these areas of concern is the need to educate and encourage all riders to honor the landowners by staying on the trails. We are fortunate to live during a time when numerous technological tools are available to meet this need.
Trespassing is an important subject that needs to be addressed more frequently with a deliberate approach to reach all age groups of riders. It needs to be simple, with better ways of educating people on the problem and the consequences associated with breaking the laws. Regardless of age, all riders need new and continued education on the problems that trespassing and leaving the trails while riding can cause. I think three key areas that could be looked at are what is being done in the snowmobile safety course, what is being done with laws and enforcement and what is being done in advertising and exposure of the problem.
I think that it is important that we provide the new riders with the knowledge and understanding of the importance of obeying trespassing laws. Clear communication in the snowmobile safety course both online and in person needs to stress what trespassing is, why it is a serious topic, and what the consequences are for breaking the law. A lot of young people see a field of fresh snow and think “that will be fun to zip around in that field of powder,” but they could be doing damage to the crops that are planted beneath the snow. Young kids need to be taught the right way first and foremost. When they first start out as riders if they do not think that trespassing is a problem, they might develop the bad habit of doing it, and once you have a bad habit it is hard to break it. To make sure kids understand why it is important to stay on the trails a class coordinator might include bringing in actual landowners to talk to students about what it means to them when people trespass on the lands they grant easement to cross. Maybe invite in a farmer, who has experienced damage to crops or harassment to livestock, or a lake property owner who has people using their land without permission to access the lake in the winter on sleds. Helping students to understand the land easement process and showing them just how much of the trails in the area or state cross private lands might also serve as an effective tool to stress the importance of eliminating trespassing, so as to not lose access or to have to
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make costly re-routes of existing trails. I also feel as though there should be a more detailed coverage of the consequences of trespassing covered in the class. This would mean bringing in law enforcement officers and conservation officers and maybe even an attorney to talk to students about the fines and fees associated with getting charged with trespass. Education from the beginning is a good first step.
While education for new riders is important, even experienced riders need to be reminded of the importance of obeying laws and respectful riding. I would suggest that law enforcement improve upon enforcing the existing laws that are in place already and possibly develop new laws to put more severe consequences on people who are “repeat offenders” of violation of trespass laws. Laws, in many ways, might act to reinforce behavior of the law-abiding, but what about those that tend to need more immediate reminders? Better signs and clearly marked trails that indicate where a person can and cannot go while riding, can be a good first step. Providing clubs with access to some sort of “universal” marking system so that all riders, regardless of where they are riding in the state, will know when they are on the trail and where the boundaries of the trail end. An aggressive approach to clearly marking and signing trails will also help to reassure landowners that clubs want to make sure that trespassing does not occur. Giving landowners a sense of security is important in preserving easements and maintaining good relationships between them and the clubs.
For those who have been through the class and have been longtime riders, I feel it is as equally important to stress to them the importance of preventing trespassing as well. I think that one way we could “refresh” them is by an advertising campaign that could help prevent and slow the continuation of trespassing because they will have a fresh sense of what could happen if they do disobey the law. Making sure that the ads that are created are done in a way that doesn’t make the problem seem trivial and shows the real consequences would be very important. While some ads like to use humor, trespassing is not a laughing matter, and should be advertised as seriously as possible, but without being threatening. Ads in popular places where snowmobilers frequent, like in snowmobiling magazines, in the dealerships, on billboards along the high trafficked routes to popular snowmobiling destinations, and on social media are all good outlets to reach the targeted audience.
These are just a few ideas of things that can address the issue. There are many other simple strategies and things that can be improved upon without just targeting a specific group of people. It might take time, effort on the part of many organizations, and of course money and resources, but a collaborative effort on all fronts could be the solution. Education using a serious tone, making sure that expectations and consequences are clearly presented, and making sure that each group of riders from young to old are being effectively reached will deliver the message and should deliver positive results of fewer acts to trespass.
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