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This article appeared in the Victoria Times Colonist on Sunday, November
26, 2000 after our "Public Access to Public Lands" rally.
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LEGISLATURE DEMONSTRATION
Four-wheelers protest lack of access
to trails
by Louise Dickson, Times Colonist staff
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Protesters hold placards outside
the legislature Saturday.
Debra Brash/Times Colonist
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Sandra
Mattia loves the world-class four-wheel drive trails in the rugged
hills near Sooke that form Greater Victoria's forested back drop.
"One of the reasons I'm living on Vancouver Island is to be out
there," said Mattia, who camps, fishes and canoes in the Sooke Hills
with her husband Garrison White.
Mattia was one of about 200 men, women and children at a rally organized
by the Island Rock Crawlers Four-Wheel Drive Society at the legislature
Saturday. They are trying to raise awareness of what they call "the
disturbing trend to close more and more local areas" to hunting,
fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, motorcycling and four-wheeling.
Many of the crowd, carrying signs which read "Access Not Closure,"
are worried they will be banned from an area in the Sooke Hills,
known as Harbourview. According to Mattia, the Land Conservancy
of B.C. is trying to buy the land to give to the Capital Regional
District and the CRD in turn, would ban motor vehicles from the
area.
"I have rheumatoid arthritis," said Mattia. I can't carry a big
heavy pack for three or four days in the woods. This will cut me
off from the land I've been using for years."
Bill Turner, executive director of the Land Conservancy, said in
an interview Saturday that Harbourview is 1,376 hectares of land
which the conservancy has been trying to buy to establish their
vision of a greenbelt from sea-to-sea, Sooke to Sidney. The land
is worth $5.3 million and is owned by a private investment company.
The deadline for the purchase is Feb. 9, 2001.
"Two things will happen," said Turner. 'We will either buy the land
and it will be protected or it will be subdivided and developed
for housing, which also closes off a lot of opportunities for four-wheel
drive access.
"These are not public lands. These are private lands and the owner
of the property, been very, clear that all usage on the property
is in fact trespassing."
The conservancy has raised about $300,000 so far and hope the CRD
will become a partner in the purchase so the land can become a park.
"Under current CRD rules, they would not be allowed to bring four-wheel
drives through the woods or off any official roads that might be
established," Turner said.
The Rock Crawlers have done their best to clean up garbage left
on the property and are trying to be responsible when using the
land, said Turner.
"We'd like to help them find a place to do this," he said, adding
that a motorcycle club in Victoria has made arrangements with a
logging company to use some of their roads.
In a press release, the Rock Crawlers said they can disprove the
suggestion that Harbourview is an endangered ecosystem containing
threatened species and that sensitive salmon-bearing streams would
be affected by road use.
But Turner insisted that driving four-wheel vehicles through forests
and over rock does do damage and disrupts wildlife like the Roosevelt
elk.
"There's a number of reasons why the concept of protection and four-wheel
drives may not work," he said. "Hunting might not work either in
regional parks.
Turner also observed that thousands of people support the protection
of this area.
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Our Reaction
Dear Editor,
As the organizer of the Public Access to Public Lands rally and member
of the Island Rock Crawlers 4WD Society it is nice to finally get the
publicity that our recreation so rightly deserves. It is unfortunate though
that the writer of this article did not represent the facts of the issue
but instead chose to perpetuate the misinformation and exaggerations of
the opposition.
The writer chose to focus on the local issue of the "Harbourview Lands"
instead of the bigger issue and reason for the rally which is the need
for the provincial government to recognize the needs of motorized users
in the creation of Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Parks in BC. The writer made
no attempt to interview any of the presenters at the rally, yet she made
the effort to contact the Land Conservancy's executive director, Bill
Turner. Turner states that, that "we (TLC) will either buy the land and
it will be protected or it will be subdivided and developed for housing".
This is a very misleading statement. The high cost of establishing roads,
electricity and sewers through the extreme rocky terrain of this 3400
acre property make it undesirable for any developer. In light of the recent
rejection of the controversial Silverspray development-it is doubtful
that the public would even allow such a development.
Turner makes statements that "these are not public lands…they are private".
Turner does not explain that there are no indicators that it is private
land; no fences, no gates, no signs and no police charges laid. The majority
of users have no idea they are on private property. They are using the
only road that accesses the public lands of Sooke Mountain Provincial
Park and seven parcels of provincially allocated recreational reserve
land. These lands are PUBLIC LANDS and have a long-standing history of
use such as 4 wheeling, hunting, fishing and camping. The government has
recognized these traditional uses and continues to permit such activities
to occur there.
The article alludes that the Island Rock Crawler's state that they "can
disprove the suggestion (by the TLC) that Harbourview is an endangered
ecosystem containing threatened species…"yet the writer did not delve
into the facts behind this statement. Furthermore the writer includes
a quote from Turner which states; that "driving four wheel drive vehicles
…does damage and disrupts the wildlife like the Roosevelt elk". Ask any
local user of this area and they will tell you that Roosevelt elk are
not found in the Sooke Hills, the terrain and habitat is not desirable
for their population. In fact the BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and
Parks indicates that "the distribution of Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis
roosevelti) is from Cowichan north to Cape Scott in areas of deciduous
trees with grassland or wet meadows to provide food". Just a geographical
note, Mr. Turner; the "Harbourview lands" are located SOUTH of Cowichan.
I only hope that this letter will help to dispell some of the misinformation
that has been used in the TLC's fund- raising campaign and encourage potential
donators to find out the facts first, before digging into their wallets.
And a note for you Mr. Turner, if you need some help raising your funds,
perhaps the OHV community can raise it through a provincial levy on OHVs
-- providing a park for all to use-not just an elite few who have the
physical capability and the moral righteousness.
Sincerely, Lori Hryniuk, B.Sc (Biology)
Island Rock Crawlers Event Coordinator & Land Use Representative
Links: Map of Harbourview (90Kb)
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