ATV enthusiasts hope to keep access to parks

Keep the designated trails in place, writes Gary Clark

When the Castle area parks were announced in the fall of 2015, the government promised to listen to all stakeholders and develop a new type of multi-use provincial park that would accommodate the area’s current users, together with an expanded enforcement of rules to protect the land.

Our group, the Crowsnest Pass Quad Squad, was invited to be part of an advisory group to recommend how multi-use and conservation could be achieved. We sat together with various stakeholders, including a wide range of interests and expertise, both from government and non-governmental organizations. We thought we were making progress.

It came as a shock, then, when Premier Rachel Notley and Environment Minister Shannon Phillips showed up in Pincher Creek in January to announce changes that include the elimination of ATVs from the proposed multi-use area.

We now feel betrayed, frustrated and angry. We have spent money, and invested thousands of volunteer hours, protecting the environment — and with the stroke of a pen, it has all been taken away from thousands of families who love the mountains of southwestern Alberta.

We met with Phillips on two occasions; once in a larger user group, and once with board members of the Quad Squad. We presented numerous suggestions on how to implement changes in the off-highway vehicle industry to promote safe and responsible use, while at the same time, protecting the environment.

This meant we would continue to build bridges over waterways, repair the riparian growth of the water banks to prevent silt and natural erosion into the waters, move trails away from waters and trench proper drainage channels in the trails to prevent runoff from entering the waters, thus protecting the fish habitat.

What we need is a designated trail system for the whole province and proper signage, so riders will know where they can ride.

We advised the minister that more than $1 million was spent in the past 20 years from federal and provincial grants, as well as privately raised funds, to install more than 30 bridges in the new parks area.

Using various grants, the government spent more than $3 million during the past three years working on the trails. In addition, the Quad Squad raised money to acquire bridges and to repair, close and redirect trails and reinstall bridges washed out in the 2013 flood.

These trails in the Castle area are world class and built with the advice of government environmental scientists.

Notley stated in her announcement that the phase out period of three to five years was to allow for the building of new trails somewhere else.

Why build new trails when there is already a sustainable trail system in place? We can reduce the imprint by closing redundant trails in the parks, but it makes good economic and environmental sense to keep the already designated trails in place.

Otherwise, where are these new trails going to be built, and who is going to pay for them as the government faces mounting deficits?

The off-highway vehicle community has already been told by the government, through the Porcupine and Livingstone range management consultations, that more all-terrain vehicle trails are to be closed to lessen the linear footprint, but, at the same time, they were approving new hiking and mountain bike trails.

ATV use is very popular with Albertans and many people come here from all corners of the province. This activity generates a significant economic benefit for our community and it will disappear once ATVs are removed.

We believe education and enforcement are the best way forward to preserve controlled access for ATVs on designated trails and to create a multi-use area the province, and more importantly, our southwest community, can be proud of.

Compromise is difficult, but with goodwill from both sides, a fair-minded compromise can be achieved.

Why build new trails when there is already a sustainable trail system in place?