I'll bite a little :)
Working mostly in government (including 5 plus years in industry) I saw a lot of large scale disturbances to crown land. Misuses of tenures that have been held by industry for over 80 years. So many poor practices and setting the bar so low in regards to best practices and ecosystem/species management (never mind old growth). I briefly worked for the crown supervising oil leases as well.
The tiny amount of disturbance that trails cause compared to industry (and urbanization for that matter) and the fact that the trails are most often beside huge disturbances already (cities, towns etc) make it a non issue for me.
Canada's entire history is based on extracting the natural resources wealth (fish, forestry, mining, farming) on this land. That's it, that's what the whole system is geared for.
Mountain bike trails and their impacts are so small compared to the standard operating procedures of how we extract from our landbase and our oceans.
It feels like we've lost the plot when I hear about the hurdles it takes to get trail approvals. Zooming out gives us perspective.
And building and riding trails is good for us. It's healthy. It's good for the soul.
Oct. 26, 2023, 10:33 a.m. - PowellRiviera
I'll bite a little :) Working mostly in government (including 5 plus years in industry) I saw a lot of large scale disturbances to crown land. Misuses of tenures that have been held by industry for over 80 years. So many poor practices and setting the bar so low in regards to best practices and ecosystem/species management (never mind old growth). I briefly worked for the crown supervising oil leases as well. The tiny amount of disturbance that trails cause compared to industry (and urbanization for that matter) and the fact that the trails are most often beside huge disturbances already (cities, towns etc) make it a non issue for me. Canada's entire history is based on extracting the natural resources wealth (fish, forestry, mining, farming) on this land. That's it, that's what the whole system is geared for. Mountain bike trails and their impacts are so small compared to the standard operating procedures of how we extract from our landbase and our oceans. It feels like we've lost the plot when I hear about the hurdles it takes to get trail approvals. Zooming out gives us perspective. And building and riding trails is good for us. It's healthy. It's good for the soul.