Quote:
Originally Posted by Auger
After reading the initial post I was kind of surprised to see where this thread ended up going. I guess it is obvious I'm new on the forums and don't spend a lot of time on them. Sounds like most users on the site find these conversations commonplace. That being said with the way the conversations went I was surprised to see no one mention the designated ohv trails and areas. Unless I missed them. The are many ohv designated trails as well as a few land sections that are designated free riding for ohvs and trucks/jeeps. I think a solution to damage on public and private land caused by ohvs has already been found. The problem is not enough people know about them and use them. And yes I realize that fishing along streams and rivers causes damage, as well as handling fish is stressful on them. As already stated many times there are regulations in place to help mitigate damage caused by fishermen. Those regulations are also addressed and evaluated every year. Having said that, comparing damage caused by foot access on land and ohv access is just silly. I recently found a nice piece of conservation land that says foot access only and have been there many times. There are quad tracks on that property from a one time use(obviously not me) this spring that are still visible now, but I have never seen tracks left by a person there. I know a lot of responsible ohv users and unfortunately the few (depending on which side of the issue you're on I guess) are ruining it for the many. As with many hobbies and sports. My apologies for resurrecting a thread that died a few weeks ago. Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in.
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Good post! And welcome to forum. It happens. A lot of misdirection happens on here. Some of it silly like you said and some of because some people actually give a crap which is great by me.
After our meeting with the county and the RCMP, interesting thing about the area I'm protecting. When we find illegal quaders we call both the 24 hour RCMP line for our area as well as F&W. The 2nd half is new and something we didn't know. Because they crossing a creek that leads to the NSR and basically destroying it, it is a fish bearing creek...or was. So, trespassers on quads that cross the creek are liable for:
$2000 in fines for trespassing (up to)
$5000 in fines for 2nd offenders (up to)
$10000 in fines for each creek crossing (up to)
The good news as all of the authorities involved agree to seek the maximum since the area is now so well signed and watched. We also brought specific examples that at the meeting that I think made them sit up and take notice.
The additional nice part is our MLA also was at the meeting to take on the public awareness tasks. I was great to see and for once it did not feel helpless.
The bad news regarding trespassing is that it is a ticket that needs to be presented in person. Makes a bit more challenging for sure but keep up with photographic evidence, especially of the vehicles and ohvs. They will indeed get a call from the RCMP about their "alleged" activities and if there is stream crossing involved, F&W can take the additional steps to due further investigation - e.g. tire track samples, mud samples, and other powers. So it is not all bad and efforts can be made to change things.
It sure has been a lot quieter here for the past few weeks
