This issue is critically important…….our response as a mountain bike community will in part affect future access to the areas that we ride.
Just a little background….Vedder Mountain has been logged in part, 2 times in the past 100 years. Anyone driving along highway 1 can see the clear cuts that were done about 10-12 years ago on the north facing slopes. The southwest side of Vedder Mountain has recently just been clear cut. Large area to the east of this were cut about 20 years ago and are an actively mannaged plantation. This is very different from the southeast side of Vedder Mountain that is closest in proximity to the village of Cultus Lake. This area has been under the control of D.N.D until the closure of CFB Chilliwack in 1997 when it was ceded to the province. Most of it became part of the provincial park system. The rest is now crown land. The timber rights have been sold to Weyerhaeuser/Northwest Hardwoods who now want to exercise these rights. To meet the tests set forth by the prov. government for issuing a permit to harvest, the impact on user groups must be taken into account, where made known, and an "adequate" response to these concerns must be proposed.
The timber company has said that where a trail has been deemed "unsafe" that trail and access to it will be closed, the area logged and logging slash will not be removed. Where a trail has been deemed "safe", logging slash will be removed so that the trail may be used in the future. The definition for what is deemed safe or unsafe appears to be wholely unclear. From the provincial governments standpoint, any structure built on a trail is considered illegal, unsafe and a liability to the government and the user. From this it can be assumed that these trail would be deemed unsafe and destroyed. All of the trails in the proposed cutblocks have "built structures" on them.
The trails in cutblocks 17-1 and 17-2 are the trails that are most commonly used and the ones most easily accessed on the mountain and include the following: Dilemma (Brad's trail), Luge, Skidder, MongoLloyd, and Mexican Ninja. Access to the following trails will likely be destroyed: Mango Mango, Femur, Hidden Pleasures, and possibly Reefer and these areas are slated for future logging.
The dilemma for all concerned is to impress upon the powers-that-be that we are not a small, lunatic-fringe. We are a group that practices good stewardship of the forest. We clean up other peoples garbage and maintain trails such to avoid erosion and environmental degradation. We are an asset to the forest. We are an economic asset to our communities.
The only way to impact those in power is to have a huge show of faces with respect to this issue. IF YOU HAVE RIDDEN AND ENJOYED VEDDER MOUNTAIN, TAKE THE TIME TO SHOW UP FOR THIS RALLY (Saturday, 3pm where Parmenter Road begins from the Cultus Lake Road (Columbia Valley Highway). This will take 30 minutes of your time, will be completely non-violent and will show our unity as a user group on the issue of access to trails. Print and television news are going to be their so this is a chance for broad exposure on this subject.
The best part afterwards will be that you can ride these sweet trails. I'm hoping to be part of a mega-train down Dilemma.
Show your love……Make it happen folks……PM me for more details.
"Walk a mile in another man's shoes. Then, you'll be a mile away from him and have his shoes."
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