Abstract

Outdoor recreation voluntary associations (ORVAs) such as mountain biking associations play vital roles in the creation, management, and upkeep of trail systems in North America. While research on ORVAs has expanded in the last decade, studies have not sufficiently examined the challenges presented by the impacts of climate disruption on ORVAs, including increased demands on volunteers and event cancellations, nor the potential long-term impacts on the viability of trail-based activities coordinated by ORVAs. Based on interviews and surveys conducted in Northwestern Ontario (NWO) and Northeastern Minnesota (NEM), this study aimed to 1) ascertain the extent of fat biking participation in NWO and NEM and the ridership profiles of those engaged in this recreational activity, 2) assess their levels of engagement as volunteers within local ORVAs, 3) assess their willingness to volunteer in the future, and 4) explore the challenges and opportunities associated with the inclusion of fat biking as a climate change adaptive strategy within regional recreation offerings. Findings revealed that while fat bikers appreciated the volunteer efforts of trail groomers and event/race coordinators more than forty percent were unlikely to volunteer with local ORVAs. Existing ORVA volunteers reported higher demands on their time during heavy snow seasons, as well as burnout associated with a lack of volunteer recruitment and retention strategies. With climate disruption trends expected to continue, Mountain Biking ORVAs (MB-ORVAs) must proactively manage associated and compounded challenges by developing seasonal trail grooming and volunteer recruitment, management, and retention strategies and should consider rotating co-hosting duties for collaborative fat bike events to ensure the provision of safe and well-groomed trails, and regularly occurring events, which support the continued development and growth of regional winter fat biking engagement.