Ohv Abuse - Porcupine Hills

[jpinkster]

This off the FaceBook page for the Alberta Native Plant Council:

 

https://vimeo.com/151211424

 

OHV Use in the province has been a hot button issue as of late. Watch this video, from the Porcupine Hills Coalition, that helps shed some light on why in some cases this has been a problem. Responsible OHV use is an important part of protecting our natural areas.

 

What strikes me most is how quickly degradation can occur. The juxtaposition between an area with restricted OHV use and open OHV use is eyeopening.

 

I personally believe that better maintained trails could make a positive difference. Unfortunately, when I see videos like this I defer more to the folks that believe restricting access is the better solution.

[BurningChrome]

Yes it is a hot button issue, but I don't understand the point of rehashing it every few days with a new thread. This thread will just be a repeat of all the previous ones. Unsubscribed.

[jpinkster]

Point taken.

[Taco]

That one hits close to home. I've been camping, fishing, hunting and ridin' horses in that exact area since 1962 and watched it change over the years. Beaver Creek is where I learned to love tiny creeks and cutthroat trout

[Pipes]

I spend a lot of timing in these parts as well. Only for the past 20 years though. Touchy subject, but I see a lot of permanent damage from cattle grazing as well. Different issue, same result essentially.

[Taco]

Agreed but helluva lot more OHV damage than cattle. Cattle take the easiest path and seldom cause deep gullies running straight up the hill

[tika]

This off the FaceBook page for the Alberta Native Plant Council:

 

https://vimeo.com/151211424

 

OHV Use in the province has been a hot button issue as of late. Watch this video, from the Porcupine Hills Coalition, that helps shed some light on why in some cases this has been a problem. Responsible OHV use is an important part of protecting our natural areas.

 

What strikes me most is how quickly degradation can occur. The juxtaposition between an area with restricted OHV use and open OHV use is eyeopening.

 

I personally believe that better maintained trails could make a positive difference. Unfortunately, when I see videos like this I defer more to the folks that believe restricting access is the better solution.

 

This off the FaceBook page for the Alberta Native Plant Council:

 

https://vimeo.com/151211424

 

OHV Use in the province has been a hot button issue as of late. Watch this video, from the Porcupine Hills Coalition, that helps shed some light on why in some cases this has been a problem. Responsible OHV use is an important part of protecting our natural areas.

 

What strikes me most is how quickly degradation can occur. The juxtaposition between an area with restricted OHV use and open OHV use is eyeopening.

 

I personally believe that better maintained trails could make a positive difference. Unfortunately, when I see videos like this I defer more to the folks that believe restricting access is the better solution.

 

I feel compelled to use the cliché..." you can't fix stupid." As more and more people buy into the " ****in giver" mentality, imho the only option is to restrict and enforce harshly. Once these areas are cut up, it takes many years to come back naturally.

Our waterways are under assault, every year another large swath of high country get hit.

I would like to see much stronger liability enforcement in the form of restrictive insurance coverage. Why should those that abuse the privilege be able to avoid any culpability unless it's posted to facebook. Just sayin...

[BurningChrome]

So my question is, other than bitching about it on forums and Facebook groups what are people actually doing to fix this sort of thing? Sure it's great to vent but it isn't going to make a damn bit of difference. I don't see a lot of fly fishers out when there are bank restoration projects or things like the Backcountry Trails Flood Restoration open house...

[Pipes]

So my question is, other than bitching about it on forums and Facebook groups what are people actually doing to fix this sort of thing? Sure it's great to vent but it isn't going to make a damn bit of difference. I don't see a lot of fly fishers out when there are bank restoration projects or things like the Backcountry Trails Flood Restoration open house...

I started a company 12 years ago and spent millions of my own dollars to find scientific ways to fix things like bank restoration, embankment loss, deterioration of historical vegetation, reclaim severely damaged industrial sites. As well as petition/consult, globally, governments about proper protocols, develop plans to correct such damages and help industry work with government on reasonable steps going forward.

I would do more, but I have a full time job running another company.

[SilverDoctor]

There are a lot of members of this forum that Petition Government, act as watchdogs and do hands-on work giving of their time and funds for our fisheries in one form or another.

[bcubed]

There are a lot of members of this forum that Petition Government, act as watchdogs and do hands-on work giving of their time and funds for our fisheries in one form or another.

And for every one of them, there's 200 bitching and complaining on the Internet. He's right, it's pretty quiet when volunteer events with actual hands on work occur.

[jpinkster]

There's a term for that, it's called "slacktivism".

[BurningChrome]

And for every one of them, there's 200 bitching and complaining on the Internet. He's right, it's pretty quiet when volunteer events with actual hands on work occur.

Yeah, and it isn't even just the hands on work. How many who bitch about quads have actually taken the time to even write the AEP minister and their MLA about it? Don Anderson and a few others maybe? Time for some people to put their money where their mouth is because talk without action is just a waste of breath (or keystrokes).

[WesG]

And for every one of them, there's 200 bitching and complaining on the Internet. He's right, it's pretty quiet when volunteer events with actual hands on work occur.

I am all for volunteering at these things but part of me also thinks whats the point? As long as it's still a free for all out there like it currently is, people can do days and days of work for it to be destroyed again within an even shorter amount of time by OHV's being where they are not supposed to be while there is knowone around to do a damn thing about it!

[BurningChrome]

I am all for volunteering at these things but part of me also thinks whats the point? As long as it's still a free for all out there like it currently is, people can do days and days of work for it to be destroyed again within an even shorter amount of time by OHV's being where they are not supposed to be while there is knowone around to do a damn thing about it!

Is that based on experience or just opinion? When we did the bank rehab out at Silvester Creek in McLean we also put a bunch of woody debris on the decommissioned trails leading to the creek to block access. When we went back a year later nobody had driven through the area. The most damage done was that the ground heaved when it froze over the winter and pushed out some of the willows we planted. We also did some additional work because these things are often ongoing projects.

[dryfly]

Off topic? Perhaps not at all.

 

Your NDP government is about to embark on a multi-BILLION dollar plan WITH YOUR TAX MONEY to save the planet from life-giving carbon dioxide. They will enter into contracts that will pay KWh subsidies to TransAlta, Enbridge, Suncor, Capital Power (and all the other owners of wind farms) to increase unreliable wind and solar that WILL DO NOTHING TO REDUCE CO2. The NDP (Shannon Phillips in particular) is currently seeking bids for ineffective wind and solar projects and will enter into 20-year contracts that will use YOUR TAX DOLLARS!

 

Your government does not give a rats ass about quadders, and enforcement. But goddammit, they are going to save us all from the ravages of some trace compound with your tax money!

 

Think of how you could spend those wasted BILLIONS OF DOLLARS on protecting the environment...to enforce fishing regs, to crack down on illegal and damaging OHV use...just think what you could do with these billions to enhance and protect your trout streams.

 

Three more years of this radical, Greenpeace-style nonsense!!

 

I am not necessarily pro fossil fuels, but I am pro math. The NDP can't do math. None of their plans to force "unreliables" (aka, renewables) make any mathematical or engineering sense.

 

Have a nice day! ☺☺ I'm going fishing.

 

Clive

 

[trailhead]

Totally agree with you on this Clive. On the Left Coast they have hundreds of greenhouse operations that produce cucumbers, tomatoes etc. Each one of these operations contains CO2 generators that increase the CO2 level within the greenhouse to 3 times the ambient level outside of it. But they aren't airtight so I'm betting that there is a significant escape into the atmosphere. Greenpeace hasn't made mention of that. I am all for sustainability and conservation but lets get some realistic perspective going. Renewables are very trendy right now, just like gluten free.

[DonAndersen]

Ah *hit Clive,

you want a fix a hundred year old problem. I figure that that cowboy welfare bums have sucked about a 1,000,000,000 outta the tax payer at the rate of 100,000,000/year.

And don't forget the irrigators who freely spen a billion here and there to benefit themselves and destroy our fishery.

Those are sins ongoing.

 

Let's get them fixed.

 

Don