Message from SRD about MACLEAN CREEK OHV changes

[Spinalguy]

i am just passing this along.
In a nutshell, if they go back in time to the original mapping of Maclean, than the only singletrack that will exist are the ones with bike signs. Stallion, parts of Barwell, etc. The old AURS maps are close to the originals as are the Bragg Creek/Kananaskis maps at the Maclean camping store.
One can extrapolate that the info presented below would parallel any OHV community. Using the 4 E's we can successfully OPEN NEW trails for bikes and that is what we as a community need to focus on. How can we the 2 wheel community get the most open trails in Maclean beyond the very few that will be produced on that new map?
Tom



Please cascade this message to your communities....

I met with Roger Meyer of SRD last night, who wanted to communicate a message to the OHV communities about what SRD is planning to do related to Mclean creek in the coming weeks.

SRD has budget by the end of March to produce new McLean brochures and put up trail marking signs (similar to Ghost FLUZ signs). It is the position of SRD that the map they will advertise and mark is the same McLean trail map that has been in effect, although not enforced, since Mclean was created some 30 years ago. They don’t want the community to feel that they are closing trails in the area, just restarting the management of the trail network that was designated in McLean long ago.

Roger indicated that SRD recognizes that the trail network at Mclean is not sustainable, and wants to work with the OHV communities to engineer a sustainable trail network in McLean, following a similar process that we are currently forging in the Ghost FLUZ. This will involve a working group, which may or may not be a sub-group of the current Ghost Stewardship Monitoring Committee, to employ best practices we have recently learned to Engineer, Educate, Enforce, and Evaluate the trails in the area. Details are currently unknown as to who, how, or when this will happen, but Roger indicated a desire to ‘Do this one properly’ as opposed to wholesale closures that have happened recently in Ghost and Willow Creek.

Now for my personal editorial. I pointed out to Roger that the regulation for McLean is that trails in that area all open unless posted closed, and Roger suggested that the regulation also requires users to gather information from the Kiosk to find out which trails are closed, and all trails that are not on the new brochure will be closed. I also explicitly asked Roger if any trails would be closed to 4x4’s that are currently on the 30 year old map, and he said ‘No’. I also suggested that what we want to see is proper trail planning, and engineering of sustainable trails before any old trails are closed, and that we properly use the ‘Four E’s of Engineering, Education, Enforcement and Evaluation’, and Roger said that I have exactly the same expectations as himself.

So, considering that exchange, it would appear that SRD is getting serious about managing McLean, and stopping the wanton and reckless use of the area that if left unchecked, will lead to it’s closure. If we truly employ the Four E’s, and work with SRD to build a sustainable trail network that meets our needs for fun and experience, then I am optimistic that this is a first step from SRD in a positive direction. It will take, however, commitment from our community to participate in this process over the long term to make this work. We need to give up our expectation to wheel on every cut line ever cut, and start thinking about engineering trails that never need maintenance, and are more fun to wheel on. This is a long term change, but the only way we can preserve our sport for future generations. It’s not about getting trails back, or saving our trails, it’s about building new trails that will last forever.
Peter Straub

[hemi]

thanks