Cyclists travelling certain Alice Lake Provincial Park trails are being turned away due to timber harvesting, but very few are complaining.
That's because the 樱桃视频Off Road Cycling Association (SORCA) and the organization doing the logging, BC Timber Sales (BCTS), have agreed to share the territory.
"We want a win-win situation where we work with the community rather than the adversarial role we've experienced in the past," said Murray Sluys of BCTS. Last April, cyclists travelling along Ed's Bypass and Made in the Shade above Alice Lake were greeted with signs warning them of logging activity. SORCA also warned cyclists of the temporary and rotating trail closures through word of mouth and via a notice posted on their website.
"Please stay away," states the notice. "Give the contractor room to work and hopefully we'll have the trails back before long."
SORCA president Cliff Miller said that although the Alice Lake issue was resolved amicably, other issues continue to pit commercial land users against recreational land users.
"Those trails aren't considered the signature trails in Squamish," said Miller. "I think we have to look at what's going on in our backyard here. The province is saying they want mountain bike tourism to increase by 25 per cent by 2015, and yet at the same time they're encouraging logging of the same areas where the trails are. Which side do you want?"
Sluys said the BCTS is working on improving stakeholder input and good communication.
"We're improving. It's a work in progress," said Sluys. "If we find we can do things better, next time around we'll incorporate those changes. But just a good dialogue with all the stakeholders helps out."
The harvesting contractor BCTS hired for the Alice Lake blocks, Jeff Drenke, agreed to shut down the operation on weekends and after 5 p.m. for the month of May. In June, July and August, the cutblock will be completely shutdown to harvesting "to accommodate all the bike races and all the practices that go on," said Sluys.
The harvesting is nonetheless affecting the trails and in some areas, cyclists must resort to carrying their bikes over slash. Sluys said once the two-year harvesting contract is complete, the trails will be renewed to original or even better condition.
In the meantime, the preservation of the highly popular Powerhouse Plunge trail is still up for debate. Recreational land users also anticipate other land issues to arise through native land claim settlements.
BC Timber Sales is an independent organization within the B.C. Ministry of Forests created to develop Crown timber for auction to establish market price and "capture the value of the asset for the public," according to the BCTS website.
