Rocky Mountain Dirt Riders

Unless Im reading this wrong.

Seen that coming with the closure of Bob creek this past winter. There goes a good chunk of the province



https://talkaep.alberta.ca/CastleManagementPlan

"To respect and protect the exceptional conservation values of the Castle area, off highway vehicle (OHV) use (winter and summer) will not be permitted."

Page 103 Draft Management Plan

No, you read it right unfortunately.

There's never been a more important time IMO to be a member of a club, and tell your local government rep how recreation affects you.

Please sign this petition.

https://www.change.org/p/amend-castle-p ... de-ohv-use

A quote from minister Phillips in the linked article. We NEED to keep the pressure on them to ensure they follow through on providing meaningful opportunities for the OHV community.

Off limits of off-highway vehicles

Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said scientific research convinced the government that the Castle wasn't the place for motorized recreation.

"We have a number of other places and public land in other spots where we can work with the OHV to find the resources to build the appropriate trails, bridges and staging areas. We're going to take a period of years to ensure the right pieces are in place," she said.

Alternate land is available near the town of Crowsnest Pass and elsewhere in southwestern Alberta, she said.

But quad enthusiast Clark has his doubts. He said adjacent areas are already moving to restrict off-highway vehicles. The Castle wilderness can remain open to off-roaders and still support wildlife with better signage and enforcement, he suggested.

The total amount of land within the boundaries hasn't changed since the original announcement in the fall of 2015. The wildland park has been slightly expanded at the expense of the provincial park to better protect some areas, said Phillips.

Article here - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/a ... -1.3945625

There is a townhall being held on Feb 7th at 7pm at the Cowley Hall. Not sure who from GoA will be there, or how it will be recognized, but we should show our support to our friends down south for when we need them to help us up here...

Dobi wrote:There is a townhall being held on Feb 7th at 7pm at the Cowley Hall. Not sure who from GoA will be there, or how it will be recognized, but we should show our support to our friends down south for when we need them to help us up here...

Agreed, are you planning to attend? I'll tentatively commit, a little uncertainty as I'm travelling back from Edmonton that day.

I hope individual members of the club fill out the public comment survey as well. The survey questions are skewed in a way that prevents participants from objecting to the proposed OHV ban (which is a total BS - they should draft a fair and reasonable survey, not something that is skewed to fit within their narrative), but there are a number of comment sections where the point can be made that responsible, sustainable OHV use is consistent with the Castle conservation objectives and that recreational bans are poor public policy.

People need to stand up to this - Livingston/Porcupine Hills will be next, it's on Notley's radar screen and preservationist groups are lining up and will be feeding off the Castle.

AJRJ wrote:

Dobi wrote:There is a townhall being held on Feb 7th at 7pm at the Cowley Hall. Not sure who from GoA will be there, or how it will be recognized, but we should show our support to our friends down south for when we need them to help us up here...

Agreed, are you planning to attend? I'll tentatively commit, a little uncertainty as I'm travelling back from Edmonton that day.

I am currently planning to go. willing to carpool and if we are lucky we can take the minivan and watch dirtbike videos while we eat cheerios and other assorted food from in the seats....

JohnE wrote:I hope individual members of the club fill out the public comment survey as well. The survey questions are skewed in a way that prevents participants from objecting to the proposed OHV ban (which is a total BS - they should draft a fair and reasonable survey, not something that is skewed to fit within their narrative), but there are a number of comment sections where the point can be made that responsible, sustainable OHV use is consistent with the Castle conservation objectives and that recreational bans are poor public policy.

People need to stand up to this - Livingston/Porcupine Hills will be next, it's on Notley's radar screen and preservationist groups are lining up and will be feeding off the Castle.

Definitely we are in there to help John. Hopefully they listen...

I ran across this local article and while it comes from a different perspective from mine it shows that we have allies in this.

Thanks DB. It is nice to see such a strong support from a local group. I hope we can make a difference on this one.

an interesting read here. Looks like all that tourism in parks isn't that good for them either...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/parks-c ... -1.3952144

please sign the petition! and prepare to be an active supporter of the OHV movement

"Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said scientific research convinced the government that the Castle wasn't the place for motorized recreation. "

I wonder if this "scientific research" even knows what a mountain is....

If the club wanted to see the "scientific research" maybe they could do an access for information request under provincial freedom of information legislation?

attached is a quick letter writing reference from the AOHVA. Please do not think that you can stand back and be represented by an organisation on this one. Every single voice needs to be heard and counted.