The Portage Off Road Vehicle Club's looking for some help cleaning up their land just south of Portage.

Dustin DinwoodiePresident Dustin Dinwoodie made a presentation to RM of Portage Council today and explains what he's trying to have done.

"Significant winds that went through the area in the summer and damaging a lot of trees and wrecking the forest, and it's going to become a potential fire hazard. So we'd like to get a local contractor in to clean up the area to get rid of that potential fire hazard. If not, we're going to have to gather together as a club and clean up the area one tree at a time I guess."

Some of the damage on the land

Deputy Reeve Roy Tufford says they have a couple of concerns they'd like to discuss before approving anything.

"It's just sandhills underneath all that vegetation. So all the sand is held in place by the vegetation, and if it should all burn, it might have a very detrimental effect to that recreational area. It's a highly utilized recreational area by people with motocross bikes and quads, it's all off road stuff, and there's a lot of people in this community that use it and enjoy it. I think we're receptive to having something happen there. Council will discuss and get back to them."

Dinwoodie adds they'd like to go in after the ground freezes so it's not so hard on equipment, and it doesn't rip up the land any worse than it is.