Jean says he’d kill NDP plan to keep off-road vehicles out of parks
A Wildrose government would move quickly to reverse an NDP decision to ban off-highway vehicles from parks in southwestern Alberta, party Leader Brian Jean said.
Jean told a rally of about 150 people at the legislature on Saturday the policy shift would be such a priority that he would get it done within three to six months after taking office in 2019.
While the NDP has described the newly announced protections for the Castle wilderness area as necessary to safeguard the region’s beauty and wildlife, those at the protest said the “heavy-handed” decision will deny residents the right to responsible recreation and kill tourism in the area.
Jean took it one step further, characterizing the government’s move as part of a pattern of NDP policies harming a quintessential lifestyle Alberta families have enjoyed for decades.
“Who are we saving the land for if we don’t use it ourselves? It’s ridiculous,” Jean told the crowd, adding in a few barbs about the NDP’s carbon tax, growing debt and decision to phase out coal.
“We need a balanced, practical, common-sense approach, where we can continue to use the trails and do random camping and make sure our children and grandchildren grow up the way we did.
“And we don’t have to shut down the land to do that.”
Saturday’s rally was the fifth such event in the province in the past several weeks.
Opponents have been organizing since January, when the government revealed boundaries for two parks in the Castle region and announced a draft plan to phase out RVs, quads, dirtbikes and other offroad vehicles from the area within five years. Those who use such vehicles have been blamed for tearing up trails, damaging waterways and causing other mayhem detrimental to the land and wildlife.
Rally organizer Garett Schmidt said the government’s policy of “locking up the outdoors only to be seen from afar” is an overreaction to a small percentage of users who fail to the treat the environment with respect.
He said the vast majority of the wilderness recreation community see themselves as stewards of the land who use off-highway vehicles to do random camping.
Schmidt said his organization, the Off Highway Vehicle Association, wants more robust consultations with the government. The best approach would be for the association and government to work together to develop environmentally friendly trails, and to give law enforcement more resources to catch those who break the rules, he said.
However, a number of environmental groups and experts have applauded the province’s move toward a complete ban on motorized vehicles, saying the Castle parks have already endured enough damage to valuable ecosystems.
A written statement from Alberta Environment and Parks on Saturday said the government reached its decision after hearing from thousands of Albertans who use the Castle parks.
“Nearly a million people moved to Alberta in the last decade, leading to incredible pressures in the Castle area,” the statement said. “This has also led to significant damage to ranching fences, to spawning grounds and to the spread of garbage in pristine wilderness.”
The government has said it has started planning discussions on potential sites for off-road vehicles, including some in the eastern slopes region, though Schmidt said there is already pressure from environmentalists to cut off those areas, too.
Signs at Saturday’s rally included, “We use bridges to save fishes,” “Random camping is a 100-year tradition,” “Will my grandchildren have a place to ride?” and “Don’t discriminate, let Albertans recreate.”
Besides protesters, the rally also attracted a few supporters of the government’s policy. Included was David Wasserman, former chairperson of the Alberta Hiking Association.
“As a longtime hiker I know it’s very disturbing to have to share trails with motorized vehicles,” he said. “Since there are probably 15 times as many hikers as off-highway vehicle users, then it seems only fair that the needs of the hikers should be preferred.”