The Red River Off-Road Coalition recently met, their first gathering since early 2020. The organization, which was formed in June 2018, has been granted status as a 501c3 not-for-profit organization.
“We were resuming our normal meeting after COVID. We had postponed everything until things calmed down because we knew we couldn’t get a lot of projects approved during that time so we laid low and took care of other business.”
Tracy “Weezie” Green is a spokesperson and co-founder of the Coalition, and, yes, she is co-owner of Weezie’s Wild Rides which began offering snowmobile rentals and tours this winter.“
After the windstorm (December 15), that really brought home the need to get started again, to get a plan going before the thaw.” Tracy adds that the elk calving will be a consideration for the timeline needed to make progress in the forest cleanup.“
We’ve got the Coalition back together again and focused on the work at hand.”
The work at hand will be a continuation of the job that started following the storm which downed “over 2,500 trees” on Trail Canyon and Greenie Peak.“
It was 54H and Trail Canyon, that 10 miles up to Greenie and the miles leading to all the meadows. Sled Shed focused on clearing Sawmill. Cabresto Road didn’t have any damage.“
The permit that we already had with the Forestry was very convenient because we were immediately able to begin clearing trees.“At first we were focused on helping people gain access to their property. We did the roads to the homes on Bobcat Pass and the roads to Bitter Creek.”
Tracy says that clearance took about five days, making Greenie accessible. The task is, however, by no means finished. Cost is as of yet undetermined.“
I’ve submitted plans to Polaris Adventures and we’ll try to get one to Polaris also for some funding.”
Polaris is the manufacturer that provides Weezie’s Wild Rides with snowmobiles in winter and side-by-sides in summer.“
We still have some funds left over from the work on Goose Lake Road. We’ll still need more volunteers but right now, outside of the Forestry, we have about twenty-five with chainsaws and side-by-sides and skid steers and we are discussing larger equipment.”
If you are interested in helping prepare the roads and trails for summer access, contact Tracy Green at Weezie’s Wild Rides.
Photo shows a large root ball from one of the thousands of trees blown down during the December 15, 2021 severe wind event!