The Clearwater Trails Initiative (CTI) has for a number of years worked towards developing a multi-faceted trail stewardship program that fosters cooperation among users, industry and government.
The group has also been working on trail assessment, planning, maintenance, management and education with the goal of creating a backcountry trail and infrastructure system that will be used responsibly and managed for future generations to enjoy.
“We're a synergy group like SPOG,” said project manager Calvin Rakach, a land use consultant involved in the initiative, referring to the Sundre Petroleum Operators Group.
The difference being, he said, is that while SPOG looks at how the oil and gas industry impacts people and works to find solutions, CTI looks at how people impact industry while also looking for solutions.
Some recreational users of land such as campers and off-roaders have in the past been known to have an impact on land used by industry, he said.
“We initially were started back in 2002,” he said.
The initiative was the result of the Bighorn Backcountry Access Management Plan and community members who saw a need to manage vacant Crown land in the Clearwater Forest, roughly between Highway 22 and the Bighorn, he said.
“It's one big area we felt should be managed,” he said.
With support from the local forestry industry members, the group started rolling the ball towards managing motorized recreational use like off-road vehicles and using industrial roads as well as improving environmental objectives by using those roads, he said, adding the industry spends big dollars building them.
Once the group looked at management processes regarding trail development and management, a proposal was forwarded to a minister, who at the time did not pursue the initiative, which ended up temporarily shelved, he said.
But about two years ago, the group found renewed momentum. Although the oil and gas industry was not originally involved with the initiative, it has since gotten on board, he said.
So after coming across some funding last year, the initiative's members put a pilot project together and went to work, he said, adding the group decided to first try a smaller part of the overall project area to see how things would go.
While a number of industry partners contributed funds, there were also contributions from groups like the Alberta Recreational Trails Partnership and the National Trails Coalition, as well as support from Bighorn Heritage ATV Society, the project's sponsor, outlines a report from CTI.
Some of the infrastructure installed or repaired throughout the pilot project, which cost about $400,000, includes camping nodes, staging areas, steel bridges and trails, reads the report.
Among the initiative's key desired results are to “address impacts on pipeline rights-of-way putting users at risk and companies out of compliance; identify industrial and other sites that would be acceptable for random camping and move campers from sites that pose public safety risks; and provide backcountry users with a safe and desirable camping and riding experience.”
Responsible recreation and shared land use is an issue throughout the province. From hunting and fishing to camping and off-roading, people go into the backcountry and sometimes use pipeline rights-of-way and abandoned well sites, said Rakach.
“It's causing problems across the province. Our group felt it was important to try and do something,” he said.
Part of the idea behind the initiative is not so much to tell people where they cannot go but rather to provide them with alternate options. Land closures cause a lot of the problems, because people will just end up going somewhere else, which might not be suitable, he said.
“We're just trying to address that in a positive and proactive manner,” he said.
The group also aims to make available land that might otherwise be closed off to the public. For example, an abandoned well site can easily accommodate two dozen recreational vehicles or more. But the law states that such sites have to be reclaimed, which could close them off completely, he said.
“We need to fit it within the land use regulations,” he said.
There are 25 sites in the group's project area that have been identified for potential use. Some are former well sites, others are clearings from the forest industry, he said.
“It's a real mixed bag,” he said.
So the group's members have installed signs that inform recreational land users if it's OK to use certain sites, he said.
“Everybody we've talked to is excited about what we've done.”
A common question has been whether the group has plans to do more. But the big obstacle for now is securing further funding, he said, adding CTI is essentially out of funds following the recent work it completed.
The initiative is an important step towards helping people use land more responsibly. Enforcement is one aspect, but another is to give people a chance to do the right thing, he said.
The May long weekend fallout tends to portray year-round how the backcountry is used, but even that has been changing in recent years. People are increasingly taking ownership and refraining from leaving garbage behind, and the last couple of years have shown a shift towards more responsible use of land in the West Country, he said.
As more and more people from places like Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton come to use the land, the need to have a proper management process in place will only increase. Putting trails in place is one thing, but they must also be maintained, monitored and clearly marked, he said.
“Our work will never be done; we're in the trail business now,” he said.
