For the Province’s public land manager, the main issue with a popular mountain biking trail located north of Exshaw is not necessarily the use itself, but construction of unauthorized trail structures.
Roger Meyer, land management planner for the South Rockies Area land division of Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD), told MD of Bighorn council on Jan. 8 that part of SRD’s role is to provide opportunities to use public land.
“A group in the Bow Valley has an interest in a trail on public land,” Meyer said. “SRD won’t be the owner of the trail system. We own the land, but will provide the opportunity for trails on the land.
“It’s the same as instances when infrastructure is involved; somebody has to take ownership. For our department, these are structures and you need authorization to do that. If they had just rode their bikes, it wouldn’t have been a problem.”
Members of the Bow Valley Mountain Alliance were before MD council in December, seeking the municipality’s support as the bike and trail advocacy group works towards resolving problems with the trail and to receive authorization from the Province.
At the December council meeting, Christian Rawles, a BVMBA director, said the group is planning to remove any technical trail structures and to work with landowners.
All structures on public land, whether it is a cabin or a trail feature for mountain biking, have to be approved by SRD, otherwise they have to be removed because of liability and issues around the use of public lands.
“To build anything you have to have a purpose, such as a cabin or a trail. Building a cabin on public land is not acceptable,” he said.
Overall, Meyer told council he didn’t see any issues with the Prospector Trail that would be a “showstopper.”
Meyer added SRD is willing to put the Prospector Trail through the Kananaskis Trails Committee trail’s approval process to see if the trail would meet the requirements of an authorized trail.
However, he said, one of the questions continues to be who would be responsible for the trail and its maintenance.
In some regions, he said, a municipality takes that on as a way to encourage and promote healthy, active living. In other regions, user groups, such as the BVMBA, take responsibility.
Providing land dispositions or leases to organized, formal organizations such as a municipality, is easier, he said, as volunteer groups tend to ebb and flow, which can create challenges over the long-term.
The Prospector Trail was created by Exshaw mountain bikers as a place to ride in their own backyard, however, as word got out, the trail grew in popularity with mountain bikers arriving from other parts of the Bow Valley and from Calgary.
With the increased number of bikers came problems such as access to the trail, trespassing, parking and the need for trailhead facilities such as bathrooms.
And if access on the private and lease lands cannot be negotiated, Meyer said putting the trail through the Kananaskis trails approval process would not make sense.
“There is no reason to approve a trail on public land if you can’t get to it,” he said. “Currently, they’re trespassing.”
Three quarters of the trail is on public land. It starts on Lafarge lease land and ends on private land, according to MD planner Tracy Woitenko.
Along with access, other land-use questions exist that could supersede trail use, such as whether or not an area is in critical wildlife habitat.
Councillor Paul Ryan said an informal poll he conducted in Exshaw told him residents have problems with the technical structures, but not the trail itself.
Parking and trailhead facilities remain a problem, as well, he said.
