Castle protection plan worries off-roaders


By Kelly Cryderman, Calgary HeraldJanuary 31, 2010 8:26 AM

A citizens group calling for almost all of the Castle wilderness to be turned into protected park has raised the ire of off-roaders and other residents of southwestern Alberta.

"Are we conserving it for the people, or are we conserving it from the people?" says Glen French of the Crowsnest Pass chapter of Quad Squad, an all-terrain vehicle drivers association.
"There needs to be land for the people of Alberta that can't go out and run 10 miles."

A citizens committee recommended 99 per cent -- more than 1,000 square kilometres -- of the Castle region west of Pincher Creek be designated a wildland provincial park.

It is a category of provincial park that may in some instances permit off-highway vehicles and snowmobiling.
"It kind of answers to unfinished business," Nigel Douglas, committee member and Alberta Wilderness Association conservation specialist, said of the report.

The citizens group was formed in 2007, when environmentalists, landowners, fish and game associations, First Nations and Shell Canada Ltd. began working on a conceptual proposal to protect the environmental integrity of the area.

French, however, said he does not trust the process. The Quad Squad did not participate.

Alberta's Castle wilderness encompasses the Crown lands south of the Crowsnest Pass and north of Waterton Lakes National Park.

Like the nearby national park, the area is known for its natural beauty and a wide array of plants, large mammals and butterfly species. It also contains prized First Nations areas, including a sacred paint site where naturally tinted clay is found, and it's a key water source for the Oldman River basin.

There's already a tiny ecological reserve in place. But for decades, there has been talk of broader protection for the Castle wilderness.
The report asserts that sport fish numbers have declined, vegetation along river edges has been damaged and the future for bighorn sheep herds in the area is tenuous.

The citizens committee makes a number of recommendations, including that recreational uses such as hunting, fishing and summer grazing continue within "ecological limits." Shell has long held leases in the area, and the report recommends that oil and gas activities continue.
The plan does not recommend any changes to the Castle Mountain ski resort.

The citizens committee wants quick action, and the province's department of Tourism, Parks and Recreation has referred the matter to the South Saskatchewan Regional Advisory Council, which this year is working on a draft version of a land-use plan.

Alberta's Tourism, Parks and Recreation Minister Cindy Ady said she is not considering any new park until the regional advisory council does its work. "It will be a full consultative process with everyone," Ady said Wednesday.

The mayor of Pincher Creek said his council voted last fall against supporting the proposal. Gary Mills said everyone wants wilderness protections, but the report from the citizens committee is scant on details about which activities will be forced off the land.
Off-road vehicle users and some ranchers who feed their cattle on Crown lands are nervous, Mills said. "They look at it with a suspicious eye." he said. "The general feeling is people want access to the area."
Mills added the more serious issue is there's not enough fish and wildlife officers to enforce rules about backcountry camping and off-roading in summer.

French expressed a similar view.
"This is my backyard, and I've spent my whole life here. And I know what can happen when 50,000 Calgarians come out here," he said.

kcryderman @ theherald.canwest.com

The Castle FLUZ contains some of the nicest riding areas in Southern Alberta, it would be a shame to loose additional access to the area's trails. The Quad Squad has spent major efforts to maintain and improve the trails and crossings in the area over the last decade.
Hope they are successful in keeping area access open.

awkwardmoose wrote:

"Are we conserving it for the people, or are we conserving it from the people?" says Glen French of the Crowsnest Pass chapter of Quad Squad, an all-terrain vehicle drivers association. "There needs to be land for the people of Alberta that can't go out and run 10 miles."

Spoken truth

awkwardmoose wrote:

The citizens group was formed in 2007, when environmentalists, landowners, fish and game associations, First Nations and Shell Canada Ltd. began working on a conceptual proposal to protect the environmental integrity of the area.

One of these things is not like the others, which one of these doesnt belong? Ive learned that song early in my childhood and still echoes through my mind in my everyday adult life.

awkwardmoose wrote:

The citizens committee makes a number of recommendations, including that recreational uses such as hunting, fishing and summer grazing continue within "ecological limits." Shell has long held leases in the area, and the report recommends that oil and gas activities continue. The plan does not recommend any changes to the Castle Mountain ski resort.

SOOOOOOOO let me get this straight, Granolas can bald a mountain so they can slap on the sticks and frolic away as they hurl themselves down the slopes. The greedy capitalists can rape the Shiet out of both sides of the green earth with millions of tonnes of machines so they can get fat.

BUT

I cannot go for a OHV ride for fear that I am ruining the earth.
I can say this with the utmost certainty that I for one will continue to support the very groups that retaliate in the battle of this narrow minded way of thinking.
To all the groups that represent my chosen past time I thank you for your time.

This is a paraphrase from a post I did on this topic a few years ago (Castle Area):

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) has been around for over 17 years. Their vision “… people working together to maintain and restore the unique natural heritage of the Yellowstone to Yukon region.”

In english, keep out everything that damages the environment…this includes you and me on our motorized vehicles. Their effects have been widely felt in the US but to Canadians, their past actions have seemed transparent.

This article refers to their proposed Andy Russell Wild land Park. They've been pushing this area for a few years. Once complete, this ‘new’ park will consume the majority of the Castle area. From the Waterton Park boundary extending up to the Crownsest Pass; this will be off limits to all motorized vehicles. For sledders and quadders, the trail system will be gone. Enviro Friendly Flyer

Who’s behind this proposal?

- The Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition – Pincher Creek (supported and funded by Y2Y)
- The Sierra Club of Canada Prairie Chapter – Edmonton (supported and funded by Y2Y)
- Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) – Calgary (supported and funded by Y2Y)

The list of ‘public groups’ that discussed the issue with the Governments, contains a few familiar names:

- The Sierra Club of Canada Prairie Chapter – Edmonton (supported and funded by Y2Y)
- Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) – Calgary (supported and funded by Y2Y)

They don’t move fast, but they’re big and everywhere. They have the public’s support and the politician’s ear.

And to top it all off, Y2Y’s head office…is right here in Canmore Alberta.