Caribou closures

[fynnigan]

Not sure how many of you folks ride in ne bc , but a lot of the caribou closures that have been discussed are going to happen this coming riding season. Pine pass and tumbler will lose a huge portion of riding ares above 1300 meters. Hasler ,upper burnt ,Wolverine,etc. . Concerned citizens for caribou recovery fb page has the latest closures mapping from the government on the fb page.everything in red will be closed . These are not short term closures .. kind got to the point where we’re not sure what to do.

 

[catinthehat]

This is part of the reason.. The greenies are calling for total protection of ALL caribou habitat in BC.

Without further protections caribou likely to disappear | Columbia Valley, Cranbrook, East Kootenay, Kimberley

 

[zal]

Pretty scary stuff they are planning. Worse part is, the govt didn’t acknowledge the snowmobile clubs, towns or economy in this decision. Lots of hours has been put in for recommendation and it was basically crumbled up and thrown in the trash.
There is supposedly a public engagement from May 19 to June 30th. Once I get the info, I’ll pass it off here as well.

 

[fynnigan]

Pretty scary stuff they are planning. Worse part is, the govt didn’t acknowledge the snowmobile clubs, towns or economy in this decision. Lots of hours has been put in for recommendation and it was basically crumbled up and thrown in the trash.
There is supposedly a public engagement from May 19 to June 30th. Once I get the info, I’ll pass it off here as well.

I sat in on these meetings as a member of the cccr group,a lot of hours of work by all who attended. The bc snowmobile federation has basically had their ass handed to them in a brown paper bag. Example , a request from the government to identify favourite riding areas and access routes , which in in turn has closed areas by access not the actual riding areas.

 

[pfi572]

This pretty much kills sledding in Tumbler / Chetwynd

 

[zal]

Learn more about Caribou Management

The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development is currently seeking feedback on Predator Reduction.

engage.gov.bc.ca

Here is the public consultation.

As you may or may not know, the BC govt is shutting down huge areas in the South Peace for Caribou. As we all know, something should be done to protect the animal. What is unfortunate is that the stake holders in these areas were somewhat consulted and their recommendations were not taken. What does this mean to you? Well, that means these areas will be shut down to recreation (summer and winter) and to industry. What is detrimental is that these smaller towns (Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd, Mackenzie, Dawson Creek) who rely on tourism, recreation and industry will take a huge hit....one that could potentially cripple the towns. The areas that will be shutting down are Tumbler Ridge, Pine Pass and Moberly areas.
If you’re passionate about camping, exploring with atvs, boating, snowmobiling, going out and enjoying nature with your family, etc, I ask that you fill out the public consultation and pass it to your friends and family.

Learn more about Caribou Management

The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development is currently seeking feedback on Predator Reduction.

engage.gov.bc.ca

 

[fynnigan]

Went into the dealership yesterday to see if I can cancel my snow check. Without losing my deposit,they were pretty good about it but a lot of other people are asking the same thing and it was big for sno checks so they are to figure out what to do

 

[snopro]

Went into the dealership yesterday to see if I can cancel my snow check. Without losing my deposit,they were pretty good about it but a lot of other people are asking the same thing and it was big for sno checks so they are to figure out what to do

You are cancelling because of the caribou closure?

 

[fynnigan]

Yes , I sat in a meeting yesterday along with 3 other members of the CCCR and a senior representative from FLNRO. 70 percent is the number that they are using as remaining riding areas after the closures. Bc snowmobile federation and the local clubs are saying 85 percent of currently used riding in the bc south peace will be lost. Government is calling all riding areas outside the closures , as usable. I ride a lot in the calazon,Clearwater creek areas , as well the wolverine area . There will still be some opportunities in the calazon but most of it will be below 1200 metres. So a trail ride to Williston lake is not my preference for a day of mountain riding. It’s pretty much over here, as we don’t get the huge snow reloads weekly like the southern interior the remaining open area will be like riding on white pavement. So that is why I am canceling my snowcheck.

 

[snopro]

Thats very sad

 

[zal]

I don’t know what will happen, but have a good idea. At least I can say I passed the info and tried.

 

[rknight111]

This is not good news if it happens. I was reviewing the references for this report, I like how they indicate that the snowmobiles scare the herds. Now in the references the 1977 report http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic34-2-180.pdf "The vehicle used in each instance was an orange and black 3/4 ton pickup truck with an open box. " I have came across 2 groups or Caribou in my 21 years of mountain riding and they didn't seem impacted at all, they got around just as good as me and were not startled. As a responsible snowmobiler when we see them (2 groups ever) we leave them alone and stay far away, and stay out of Caribou closures.

 

[Luke The Drifter]

This may be a stupid question but here goes: besides club membership, what can we as individual sledders do to voice our concerns? It seems calling/writing MLAs, signing petitions etc just falls on deaf ears. The fact that the government completely disregarded the efforts of the BCSF and sledders proves this. Short of a few thousand sledders swarming these meetings (I'm sure that if that were to happen the media would spin it as "alt right racist snowmobilers cause covid19 super spreader event in northern BC"), what else is there? We all know that closures like this will only spread like a cancer throughout the province and slowly kill backcountry sledding as we know it. I'm sure heliski operations are just overjoyed with this proposal, lord knows they've been trying to punt us off the mountain for years.

 

[Rene G]

It does seem to be heading in a certain direction no matter what we do. I think one of the biggest issues l, especially in NEBC is that the clubs don’t have support. An example is the Tumbler Ridge Riders, I don’t know what their final numbers were for membership, but in late Feb they didn’t even have 100. That’s pretty crazy when you consider how many areas they have and the amount of people you see at any one parking lot on any given day.

 

[Pink-Inc]

It does seem to be heading in a certain direction no matter what we do. I think one of the biggest issues l, especially in NEBC is that the clubs don’t have support. An example is the Tumbler Ridge Riders, I don’t know what their final numbers were for membership, but in late Feb they didn’t even have 100. That’s pretty crazy when you consider how many areas they have and the amount of people you see at any one parking lot on any given day.

Under 80 for this season

 

[fynnigan]

our group the cccr, has taken a petition to Victoria with around 35000 signatures on it , we also organized some well attended public meetings [pre COVID ] .These closures are a bit more than what is going on in the rest of the province in that the First Nation communities of West Moberly and the Saulteau are are guaranteed under treaty 8 the right to harvest caribou to sustain themselves and the their traditions. Part the closed area nw of silver sands in the pine pass is going to be turned into a park that will have access controlled by these 2 First Nations as well. So if there is not enough caribou for the fn s to harvest which for them is a constitutional right under treaty 8 the federal government has to by law improve the caribou numbers. Also coming into play is the species at risk act. Predation ,industry , recreation, have all been identified as having negative impact on the caribou recovery. Past industrial developments like the WAC Bennett dam and a few others have significantly changed caribou travel ,breeding and feed supply . I guess the rub for me is the idea that these measures,the closures are going to improve this situation. It is a assault on my personal freedoms , my lifestyle and part of my income. .... Mike Mulvahill

 

[Rene G]

Under 80 for this season

Yup, pretty sure more than 80 are using these areas regularly.

 

[pano-dude]

Signatures and numbers mean nothing, the green group has money backing them.
Groups like Nature's trust is buying up 1000's of acres, how many sled groups have that kind of backing???
Until the sledders that have deep pockets start buying land or donating millions to give to sled clubs we're Phu*ed.

 

[zal]

We have been buying passes for the past 3 years in TR.
Unfortunately, the club isn’t strong enough of a club, but are trying hard. Kudos to them. It’s heartbreaking to see the work of over 30 years go down the toilet due to First Nations and city dwellers.

 

[team dirt]

When are the manufacturers going to get on board to help fund some fights? I have been dealing with closures in the North Shuswap for over 10 years as club president and now VP. I ride with the guy who owns GVP and he is really trying to help and has been talking about some way to get BRP on board to help. In the end they will be financially impacted by these closures so it would be in their best interest to help now. Look at the Change when the manufacturers started getting on board with avalanche education and funding.