Distruction of Canadian wilderness is and has been a hot topic for the past 20 years, whether you are in the OHV business, mining, oil, land development and any other activity that disrupts natural habitat. All of these industries face the same problems. When I was involved in the proposed development of Mountain Park south of Hinton (along the ultra sensitve Eastern Slopes) we had the smartest minds in the country around the table and still, a multi-million dollar project ready to pump 20 years of cash into the Edson and Hinton community was brought to a stand-still. The main partner in the project, Cardinal River Coals, long considered one of the most environmentally responsible mining companies in the world still couldn't stop a handful of radical environmentalists who were dialed into the media and thus the general public. It's the media that renders all of us, including SRD, powerless.
On another project I was part of the design TEAM that pushed forward the BHP Ekati diamond mine north of Yellowknife. On permafrost for sh*t sakes! Native issues galore, waste management, an air field, 20 months of fuel and chemical storage, bonds for the assurance that reclamation plans would be carried out and one heck of a public relations plan. This mine was successful and has moved ahead like gangbusters. Better planning, promotion and stakeholder environment than the naysayers could muster. And not to forget the power of the almighty $$$ and promise of local employment.
The moral of the stories...even the best laid plans can fail while others succeed. Based on the thin information on these forums I don't see us making any ground towards success in fact it looks like we are headed in the direction that killed the Mountain Park mine development.
Not unlike the mining projects we have to appreciate that the SRD and politicians are on the hook, held accountable by the general public which is 99.999% non-OHV users. So what's the answer? Whining, snivelling and fighting amoungst each other isn't going to get us anywhere. From someone pretty new to OHV use I have a few observations. You don't have to agree with me, just my thoughts from 20 years of resource development.
1. From the material I've seen from the Eastern USA they really seem to have thier sh*t together. Trail stewartship, building and operating manuals, signage and forms of enforcement. Check out some of the designs to stiffen up trail crossing in boggy areas, planning for reducing errosion, blocking trails that are at the end of thier useful life, trail ownership/stewartship etc.
2. Hitching up to initiatives like what Diamond Dave undertook with the bridges...outstanding!!! Great newspaper story. Post long-weekend cleanup is a noble effort but it might, if not properly projected in the media, look like we are cleaning up after ourselves. Why not make those responsible, accountable through $$ deposites on camp areas so if they don't clean up SRD can hire someone.
3. Restricting free camping and policing the radicals that give OHV users a bad name. There is no simple answer to this one...but somewhere down the rabbit hole is an answer.
4. Building parks that are specifically designed for different types of OHV equipment and then applying user fees and holding clubs accountable. Its like using a snowboard park for an event. You have to have a club membership or you're not insured against damage and public liability.
5. Continuing the excellent work organized by guys like Dylan, Darren and lots of others in multiple clubs around trail cleaning. Thanks for the reminder Cladoo. This stuff is new-worthy.
And on it goes. I don't for a minute pretend that solving this problem is simple. I'd like to have a better idea as to where we are at....kind of like "current state/future state planning. I think we have a lot to learn from our friends to the south who have a big head start on us free ranging Canadians. They appear to be better organized, better financed and have garnered a lot of federal funding to keep their areas managed and open. Albeit they have a much larger population we are at a point where we need to learn a few tricks. For us, I fear the honeymoon is over. We have to change our approach or we are going to continue to be stuck in slow moving government processes and will remain frustrated and angry after every long weekend and subsequent closure.
While we don't have the mega-bucks of oil, lumber and mining companies to hire the best consultants and public relations firms if we don't follow study some of their examples we are going to be faced with closures. Why? We aren't giving our bureaucrats and politicians solutions that they can sell to their constituents. I have an idea on how to grease the wheel of government...thats a trade secret left for a meeting of the minds. Not on a forum.
I want more then anything to keep single track open. It is pretty tough when you see so much random distruction left by non-regulated users. Its pretty obvious that if you want to show some drama its not the hidden trail-head created by a single track but the wide swath taken by larger vehicles or by weekend drunks. Its not the majority of us in clubs who try to get out a couple of times a week. We RESPECT OUR LAND because we don't want to loose the priviledge...that's right, priviledge...not right to these areas of pristeen wilderness. For heaven's sake, Simon took us into Voodo Trees where it would have been impossible for someone who didn't know exactly where to enter to ever know there was a trail. That's one of the main reasons I have so much trouble trying to find the single track with my son or leading other riders. The trail-heads are so well hidden when travelling at speed. The media doesn't see this part of the equation. They stop at the mud bogs. That's all they need.
So what am I going to do? I'm going to dust off my notes from a dozen years of leading successful environmental planning for explosives plants, remote chemical plants and open pit mines to see how we can thread a plan together that considers the reclamation of areas destroyed by over-use, planning for design, sustainment, maintenance and reclamation of new trails...a cradle to grave approach on how to birth and retire trails. And maybe, just maybe we can rally some of the energy used to bash the various groups (and each other) into a collective effort, the nucleus of which I get the sense of from postive threads of collaboration and concensus from the various organizations. For starters I don't think anyone should be allowed into a FLUZ or any other area if they are not a member of an organization that supports responsible use. Call me militant, this is a time of war on abusers and random drunks that make the news.
Closing this thread I'd like to thank all of you who have put forth effort, no matter how effective, into trying to work with SRD and our Ministries. It's easy to sit on the bench and watch the game as many of us do. Now its time to empty the bleachers....everyone on the ice. Yes it could get a bit bloody...so what! We're used to it from the crazy *** things we do on two wheels.
I'd like to get a meeting with the guys that are working together and individually, if you don't already have a forum...in my back yard, as soon as we can. It's going to be a long winter and a dry 2008 if we don't get better organized and come up with solutions that are both saleable and financable.
My respect to all of you, and yes, we will get lots of riding in too! Although it might be on a Harley instead
Gord McDonald
807-7961
