South Saskatchewan Regional Plan Phase Two Consultation

[trailguy]

Sounds good.

[Spinalguy]

Who is confirmed for Cochrane?
Thanks

[Cberg77]

I am confirmed for the Cochrane stakeholder session.

[Spinalguy]

Glad i went. Very interesting.
Definitely having as many show up is advantageous as there are many round table discussions regarding various sections. Having the OHV voice being heard at as many if not all the tables would be ideal.

We had 4 show up today and we may not have changed some 'closed' minds but i feel we may have at least influenced and dismissed some preconceived notions regarding motorized use.

WATER is the single greatest focus of concern.
Sustainability is key to the future of all activities within the 7 regions making up Alberta.

i would also like to mention with the 2 remaining dates at Okotoks and Strathmore that you 'can' show up late and you 'could' leave early.
i imagine the agenda is the same for all venues.
Scheduled 10-2
Breakfast supplied self serve until noon(coffee, tea, pop, juice, muffins and pastry)
Several folks drifted in after the 10 am start time and continued right up until 11:15am.
Lunch is at noon (supplied and delicious)
It is the section covered that RJHenry and Hendrix summed up for us nicely that gets underway after lunch.

So, if anyone can even do 11am to ??pm, it is better than not going at all.
As Cochrane is so close to the Ghost and Maclean, i feel Okotoks is also very important to represent.

[RJHenry]

Hello All!

A quick note of THANK YOU to everyone who has attended an SSRP session, and GOOD LUCK to everyone heading to Strathmore and Okotoks this week. We are definitely getting heard and understood by the facilitation staff and the Land Use Secretariat.

We have been invited by the Land Use Secretariat to provide an "authored submission" from RMDRA that will be considered as a distinct input - separate from the stakeholder and public consultation content. This is significant for a couple reasons:
1) it has our name on it - so it builds our reputation and credibility, and they can call us for questions or clarification.
2) he requested a "position paper" - so we can give feedback on SSRP RAC advice AND we can lay out our ideas for how we would like to see planning, decision making, licensure, etc. - whatever aspects we want to emphasize.
In addition to our position paper, L.U.S. staff suggested a letter writing campaign is also a good solution - so we plan to craft a one-pager to print and get signed by folks at the AGM next Thursday.

I have offered to do most of the writing, but I do not have the history to tell this story without a lot of good input from all of you. I would really value an opportunity to meet and brainstorm the content and framing of our position - particularly with folks who have participated in the SSRP work and other land advocacy efforts in the past - and the sooner we meet the better, but probably after the local SSRP sessions are past. Accordingly, I propose the following Meeting:

What: RMDRA Land Use Position Paper Kick Off Workshop
How: Content Brainstorming, Framework Development, Must Haves and Must Nots - whiteboard, flip charts, moderate facilitation
When: Monday, December 3, 2012 - 7:00 PM
Where: TBD - hopefully near City Center - DO YOU HAVE A MEETING ROOM TO OFFER?
Who: RMDRA Members with interest in Land Use Policy
Why: So we, our kids, and our grandkids can ride the best trails in the world

I am hoping to get a crowd of minimum six, and maybe 15 or 20 at the most?? Not sure how easy or hard that will be to accomplish.

Please RSVP via PM. I may start a dedicated thread when the details are firmer, depending on the response of available, interested folks.

Thanks in advance for your help!
RJ

[trailguy]

PM sent

[dirtyboy]

PM sent. Let's get this extra avenue pointing in our favour.

[Ynot303]

PM sent!

[Patrick]

Apoligize for the short notice. I can make Okotoks this morning from 10-2pm and this evening as well. From 4-6pm.
Any way I can help? I haven't had a chance to read all the posts yes.
Patrick
403-804-2661
Update: found it
SSRP@stantec.com, or toll free 1-855-777-8037.

[trailguy]

Thats great you can make the Stakeholder session Patrick WRocks & myself will be their this evening. Anyone else going to Okotoks today/evening?

[RJHenry]

Apoligize for the short notice. I can make Okotoks this morning from 10-2pm and this evening as well. From 4-6pm.
Any way I can help? I haven't had a chance to read all the posts yes.
Patrick
403-804-2661
Update: found it
SSRP@stantec.com, or toll free 1-855-777-8037.

They like you to RSVP but I say just show up. Grab a copy of talking points if it helps.

I may make okotoks tonight...

RJH

[WRocks]

Where: TBD - hopefully near City Center - DO YOU HAVE A MEETING ROOM TO OFFER?

If downtown works, I can offer up the boardroom in our office.
Suite 1225, 332-6th Ave SW (Centruim Building)
The outside door locks at 6pm, but I can come down and let people in. There should be plenty of free parking on the street.

Probably best this task be posted in a new thread.
Great work RJ...

[WRocks]

Went to the Okotoks SSRP meeting tonight.

Things went very well and was impressed with the facilitators and the effort that went in to put up information and get feedback from all attending.

Trailguy and myself got there at around 5 pm and signed in. The facilitator from Stantec know right away who we were and made the comment how active and engaged RMDRA has been and that there has been representation present at every stakeholder and public input session. Those efforts are getting noticed...

We had a discussion with the facilitator regarding continued access and concerns over OHV use on public land. Not much point going into that here, as these have all been noted above.

As we were finishing up with the facilitator, ESRD Minister Diana McQueen walked in. I have met her before on a couple occasions before and she recognized me. Apparently she has been attending a few of the SSRP session, so were very lucky to catch her at this one. Myself and 3 other club members were very fortunate to have her undivided attention for over 20 minutes, since there wasn't very many people present and discussed numerous issues. I handed her a document with OHV registration statistics for the last 4 years showing that there are nearly 140,000 registered OHV in Alberta annually (and growing). The message is that OHV users need a place to go and limiting/restricting access is not a viable solution. Trail systems need to managed, protected, sustainable and well funded. This then parlayed into a discussion around the possibility of a user pay system, which would fund trail maintenance and development. We discussed random camping and that lack of provincial campgrounds may be contributing to more pressure on random use, possibly implementation of a random camping pass, where funds would be used too put in garbage bins and dump stations in commonly used areas. Point being is almost all users will make good choices, if given good options. This applies to trails as well, if users have high quality managed trails to ride on, should have a positive impact on reducing unmanaged use.

I also handed her a position document pointing out the following

• Safe individual and family motorized recreational opportunities in an environmentally responsible manner.
• Development of a managed and sustainable province-wide trail system for motorized users; this is an important and vital step in the successful health of Alberta.
• Province wide multi-use motorized trail system respectful of environmental considerations while optimizing the recreational and economic opportunities.
• Prominent access/staging areas and trail signage.
• No loss of trails; opportunity for trail system enhancement, development and revitalization.
• Frolic areas – in limited non-sensitive areas, both public lands and private initiatives.
• OHV use limited to managed trails and managed designated frolic areas.
• Industry operating on crown lands required to retain or improve existing trails.
• Responsible land use; management of a trail system on publicly accessible land will lead to increased environmental awareness

We expressed concerns over the questions posed in section 10 of the SSRP questionnaire (noted in Hendrix's post on Nov 13th). I commented they seem to be pointed questions to solicit a predetermined outcome. In addition these are the only questions I observed that are directed to an individual group or activity, where the remainder of the survey appears to be more broad in context. Trailguy also pointed out that RMDRA uses the club race as a fundraiser, which in turn support trail stewardship initiatives (good call).

Minister McQueen was very interested and engaged in our conversation and I think we were very fortunate to run into her and be given as much time as we did. Look her up on the web and make sure if you see her at another SSRP meeting that you get some face time. If she's not there, there will be some local MLA's present make sure to find them and get your comments heard.

Opportunities like these are rare, so apologize in advance if I took up quite a bit of the discussion time. A big shout out to Patrick for attending the stakeholder session today and thank you all the other members around the table that supported the conversation. It was apparent that our efforts are being noticed and our voice is being heard loud and clear...

[cedric]

Thanks Aaron and Dylan, it's good to hear some positive news.

[trailguy]

Great summary of Okotoks Aaron and ya, what an opportunatey we had last night - never ever thought I would get the chance to be in a round table discussion with the ESRD Minister with a bunch of Dirt Biker's and NO other user groups.
The Minister knew Aaron from his work with the AOHVA and registration levy and seemed to hold him in high regard, so we were off to a great start with Diana. When I mentioned the RMDRA she was well aware of the clubs present's at these sessions and also was aware of the trail initiatives the club has accomplished.
Thanks Patrick for stepping into the Stakeholders Session with less than an hour to go before it started. Thanks to everyone who has made it out to these sessions, we are being heard and I believe they are going to have to consider are needs/concerns when this is all said and done.