Ghost Logging petition

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Dobi
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Re: Ghost Logging petition

Post by Dobi »

We didn't lose trails in the ghost to sustainability issues. The trails that are designated in the ghost for the most part aren't sustainable. We lost trails due to politics. While we are working diligently with the GoA to get trails recognized as a sustainable recreational activity, it does us no good as a user group to blame or point fingers at other groups.

I for one support logging as a sustainable practice. And once we wrap our heads around it, these are great places to build new trails. Blank canvas that evolves over a decade into some sweet singletrack. I can recall blasted cutblocks from 10 years ago that are now great trails in Mclean that need to be trimmed back for how tight they are.

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malcolmzilla
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Re: Ghost Logging petition

Post by malcolmzilla »

I prefer weaving among the big trees, as opposed to the cutblock belly slapper ankle breakers mud ruts.

Look at the previous spray lakes cutblocks out there - no replanting, runoff, erosion, cutting right to the banks of creeks, some of them moved down for over a decade now with little to no regrowth, what was left gets blown down.

Might be the province that lets them get away with it, but if we left a freaking 1/4 acre of a pipeline right of way in similar condition they'd pull our license, and they are obliterating square miles of forest cover.

I question spray lakes ethics as an responsible operator, and really for what benefit? So they can send toothpicks and cardboard pulp to China, and the yokel loggers / mill operators with a grade 8 education can make 100K a year, with marginal stumpage fees going into the public coffers, and at what externalities unfunded?

Let them log siberia 1st. :mad:

Shibby!
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Re: Ghost Logging petition

Post by Shibby! »

There may have been a "friendly" discussion with a hiker on a trail near by a few weeks ago...

After calming him down and suggesting all trails should be accessible to all parties, his biggest issue was " I wasn't expecting to see a dirtbiker on the trail" Great. Lets all move on to enjoy our day! No worse for wear.

Little did he know, less than 300 yards away from said trail was leveled forest, equipment sitting idle due to it being a Sunday.

Guess we can both say goodbye to that trail... It's been a good 10 years.. :crybaby:

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axel99
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Re: Ghost Logging petition

Post by axel99 »

giantjoe wrote:Could it be they're afraid that the new government is going to take away their logging?
It won't be taken away, we all all love wood to much. There may be a higher operating cost due to additional reforestation practices and regulations imposed on SLSin the near future, its called maximizing profit. Just a guess on my part.
#Z3B

trailguy
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Re: Ghost Logging petition

Post by trailguy »

We may have another option here. First I will touch on what happened when logging started in McLean in the 1990's. Spray Lakes Sawmills is obligated to work with the user groups that use the area's they harvest in, I had a very good working relationship with them, where in the summer of each year they would provide me with a map of the area's to be harvested for that winter. I would then figure out if any single track trails would be in the harvested area's. Any effected ST was then flagged in white ribbon that Fall. The SLS crew would watch for white ribbon and make sure the trail was clear through the cut-block. I'm not a fan of riding through cut-blocks, but the main purpose of this was so none of our trails dead ended at a nuked cut-blocks. This worked very well and SLS was great to work with.From 1998 to 2008 when I did this I don't recall having one trail dead end at a cut-block. Of course there was a learning curve - like when SLS thought they where doing us a favour by leaving a few trees along the side of our trails only to have them blow over in the first puff of wind. Moving forward I asked for no trees on the west and north sides of trails or top cut the trees to 6 foot stumps which they did.
So given the success the club had with SSRP, the work Jamie, Mike and many others have put in moving us closer to a legal single track trail system in the Ghost/FT area, the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into opening up old trail to be inventoried, new race course trail built, etc, etc and the fact the GSMG is hopefully dead in the water, I purpose the club approaches ESRD and SLS and implements the program SLS and myself had from 1998 to 2008 and we flag any effected singletrack. One major challenge of course is the rate SLS is cutting, but flagging ridable trails is easy work, blown in trails not so much, but doable if even on foot.
I flagged every Ferret trail I thought I may have ridden/raced on in the 70's & 80's and SLS acknowlodged everything with white ribbon. :canada:

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Dobi
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Re: Ghost Logging petition

Post by Dobi »

Thanks Trailguy. SLS is more than willing to work on designated trails, much like they did in McLean. The issue is getting SRD to acknowledge the trails. We did push at the GSMG and with SRD directly for trail preservation. Obviously that didn't work, but that being said SLS did top cut a bunch of the trees along the trails in the south ghost and the trail does appear to be easily salvageable. It appears that they did make a half-hearted effort even though they didn't have too.

As for the accelerated logging, this approval does not come easily and was in the works for a few years. If you go to SLS website they have all of their maps and long term plans going back into the 2008 era that show this was going to be logged. This was not an overnight phenomenon. And if you do go look at the maps you will see that the entire ghost (essentially) will be logged out sooner than later....

Brass
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Re: Ghost Logging petition

Post by Brass »

Thanks Dobi and Trailguy for clearing that up.

:cheers:
The voices are back. Awesome!

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