IRON HORSE TRAIL, ALBERTA Keeping the Iron Horse chugging ASA recognizes N.E. Muni-Corr Ltd. for their work on Alberta's Iron Horse Trail by MARIANNE PRICE
TEAMWORK: (Back L to R) MLA Dave Coutts, past chair for the Recreation Corridors Committee, George Deputat, Smoky Lake Trail Twisters, Danny Smyl, St. Paul Trailblazers, Vern Billey, utilities & recreation manager for the County of Smoky Lake, MLA Jack Hayden, chair for the Recreation Corridors Committee; (Front L to R) Marianne Price, administrative co-ordinator for N.E. Muni-Corr Ltd. and Charlene Gauthier, general manager for Alberta’s Lakeland Destination Marketing Organization were pleased to receive the ASA excellence award. —photo courtesy Marianne Price.
The Alberta Snowmobile Association announced that North East Muni-Corr Ltd., the not-for-profit organization made up of the 10 municipalities that own Alberta’s Iron Horse Trail, has been chosen the winner of the ASA Excellence Award for Outstanding Snowmobile Tourism, Promotion and Development. This prestigious award goes to recipients who demonstrate outstanding innovation and achievement in the development and implementation of a snowmobile tourism program or original initiative that has resulted in positive media recognition or increased participation from snowmobilers and/or non–snowmobilers.
Alberta’s Iron Horse Trail is a 300 kilometre-long recreation corridor that traverses 10 municipalities in northeast Alberta. The trail is used extensively by hikers, cyclists, horse back riders as well as quad and snowmobile enthusiasts. It starts in Smoky Lake County and one section branches east to Heinsburg while another branch goes to Cold Lake and is designated part of the Trans-Canadian Snowmobile Trail. Since the trail opening in 2003, the area snowmobile clubs have worked together to develop connecting trails, warm up shacks and have jointly purchased a groomer to keep the trails in shape for snowmobilers.
N.E. Muni-Corr Ltd. works closely with Alberta’s Lakeland Destination Marketing Organization and the Iron Horse Trail Tourism Product Club to promote the region and the trail as a tourist destination and have achieved success through displays at various industry tradeshows, media tours and partnerships with the Alberta Snowmobile Association, Alberta TrailNet and the Trans Canada Trail Foundation.
N.E. Muni-Corr chair, Robert Bouchard acknowledged that winning the award was the result of a group effort.
“To have 10 municipalities work together to acquire the abandoned CN railway and have it turned into a multi-use recreation corridor took a lot of effort and commitment by many people," said Bouchard. "Riverland Recreational Trail Society being the trail operator with the local snowmobile and ATV steward groups have volunteered an incredible amount of hours, not only to get the trail open but to keep it maintained and signed. It is rewarding to have media coming out to our trail to experience and write about it. We even had an editor from Washington DC out for two days and we’ll be featured in their winter issue—it shows what a unique attraction the Iron Horse Trail really is. We are honoured to receive the Alberta Snowmobile Association Excellence Award for Outstanding Snowmobile Tourism, Promotion and Development and hope that we can continue to attract snowmobilers to the region.”
The award was presented on September 22nd at the Alberta Snowmobile Association Excellence Awards Banquet in Edmonton, Alberta
