Seven steps to better recreation: What I learned interviewing the people who make fun possible in B.C.
PORCA & Pemberton Valley Trail Association photo
Over the last eight months, I’ve worked on a project for the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC that peeled back the layers on recreation in the province. The goal was to learn about the different players who make outdoor recreation possible in B.C. In a series of articles, I profiled many of the different roles – the advocate, the trail builder, the volunteer, the ranger, the rec officer, the minister, the wildlife biologist – and provided context for how their work enables my fun.
I talked to many incredibly passionate, energetic and selfless people. They taught me a lot. Here are my seven takeaways.
#1. Just because self-propelled recreation is healthy doesn’t mean it doesn’t have an impact.
That’s the clear takeaway from the work of Cole Burton, a biologist with the University of British Columbia’s Wildlife Coexistence Lab.
Using hidden cameras and in the field research, Burton knew recreation influenced the feeding and travelling behaviour of wildlife. The initial COVID lockdowns of the spring of 2020, which shuttered many provincial parks, provided a novel opportunity to see just how much. Using camera traps already in place in Golden Ears Provincial Park, Burton saw cougars claiming the empty daytime trails and then slinking back into the forest and night when the crowds returned. Black bears and black-tailed deer showed little change in behaviour, probably because they’re more tolerant of people, says Burton.
The findings build on other studies that show the presence of backcountry skiers has a negative impact on mountain caribou and bighorn sheep, and higher numbers of hikers have a bigger impact on grizzly bear behaviour.
“People need to realize, we’re sharing these landscapes with animals,” Burton says. “Whether we’re aware of their presence or not.”
#2. Recreation can be reconciliation
From the provincial government to volunteer trail builders, at every level, there’s a recognition that outdoor recreation needs to work more closely with First Nations. There’s also a growing realization that sport is a great venue to practise reconciliation.
“Reconciliation is the most complicated question of our generation,” says Markus Rannala, the executive director of the Ucluelet Mountain Bike Association. “I don’t pretend to have the answer. But a trail is not such a bad place to start.”
Groups like the Shuswap Trail Alliance (STA) have also shown being a good partner goes a long way. The STA has helped the Secwépemc Nation develop a landmarks project that shares ancient place names and stories about the group’s presence on the land.
“The STA let us be in the driver seat,” says Shelley Witzky, a councillor and STA representative for the Adams Lake Band. “[They] didn’t come into meetings with an agenda. They sat in the navigator seat and helped us get where we wanted to go.”
Even conflict can be constructive. When disputes about fishing rights on the lower Fraser River looked to be headed towards violence, the B.C. Federation of Drift Fishers sat down with the leadership of impacted Nations. Those early conversations led to agreements and dialogue that seemed impossible less than a decade ago.
“It took getting involved at the grassroots level,” says Rod Clapton, the executive director of the BCFDF. “Person to person, conversations over a cup of coffee, get a hell of a lot more done than a bunch of people stuffed in a conference room.”
#3. Giving back feels good
Strong evidence shows that service and giving are good for our mental and physical health. The more we give, the better we feel and the less likely we are to suffer chronic diseases and die. It also strengthens bonds within a community. That goes for donating to a charity or volunteering with an outdoor club. It’s especially true if there’s a selfless element to the act, like cleaning up garbage dumped on the side of a backroad. Chapters of the Four Wheel Drive Association of B.C. regular host work parties to do just that.
“There’s a real sense of satisfaction and accomplishment,” says Kim Reeves, the association’s president. “You arrive at a ravine full of garbage, carry it all out, and leave it as it should be. Everyone wants to give selflessly and see the results of their work.”
It’s a sentiment I heard over and over again when I asked volunteers, who invest hundreds of hours of their personal time so others can enjoy the fruits of their, sometimes tedious and often backbreaking, labour.
“I love to see snowshoe tracks and hiking boot prints on the trail,” says Linda Buchanan, a member of the Back Country Horseman of B.C.. “It means people are out using the trails. It means my efforts are helping others to enjoy being outdoors.”
#4. Showing up gives you power
From the dozens of interviews, I conducted one quote has stuck with me. “The world is changed by those that show up,” said Rod Clapton, the executive director of the B.C. Federation of Drift Fishers. That’s always been the case but is even more so today.
Last fall the provincial government amended the Forest and Range Practices Act to give more control over timber harvesting plans to First Nations, communities and the public.
“It’s the most significant transition of the forestry relationship in our lifetime and perhaps forever,” Nathan Cullen, the former Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations, told me. “The government in the past left it up to industry to manage itself. Communities and users would put a high value on area or trail, but had no say in the decisions about how the region was managed. The new legislation creates a fundamental shift from a private asset, managed to benefit shareholders of the forestry company, to a recognition that the shareholders are British Columbians.”
Attending stakeholder meetings and government open houses, participating in clubs and joining the board of advocacy groups, are all ways of influencing decision making. And actions speak louder than words – or numbers.
“Because we’re a smaller user group, it’s easy to get squeezed out and forgotten,” says Rose Schroeder, the vice president of the Back Country Horsemen of BC. “If we’re not active we lose equestrian trails to mountain bikes and ATVs. We have to work hard to amplify our voice.”
#5. Government can’t do it all
All levels of government need to play an important role in funding and maintaining recreational infrastructure. As these spaces get busier it needs to increase. But government will never be able to keep up with it all. That’s where user groups and clubs come in. More than looking after their own infrastructure some are also stepping up when government players can’t keep up.
The Four Wheel Drive Association manages 20 hard-to-access sites for Rec Sites and Trails. These are places the provincial government doesn’t have the time and money to keep operational but are a fun outing for club members. The association also has an agreement with BC Parks to maintain the Cornwall Fire Lookout, near Ashcroft. Without their volunteer efforts, BC Parks would have torn the site down.
#6. Sometimes we’re our own worst enemy
Take the Eagle Pass Lookout. A group of people decided to renovate the historic fire lookout east of Revelstoke but didn’t go through the proper permitting process or conduct required stakeholder consultations. It became a controversial issue in the Revelstoke area, resulting in several meetings and many hours of work for the local Rec Sites and Trails office.
The office was already stretched thin managing an influx of requests for trail developments, deeper consultations with First Nations and more traffic at the sites they manage. It’s taking years for new trail proposals to work their way to approval.
“Everyone in my office feels personally responsible,” says Marcia Bennett, the recreation officer for the Columbia Shuswap. “But we have to do the process properly. When groups don’t follow the protocols, it just makes more work for everyone.”
User groups can help reduce everyone’s workload by following the process and being patient.
#7. We’re all in it together
Outdoor recreation includes everything from hiking boots and ATVs to snowmobiles and backcountry skis. These differences could divide the community, but the reality is the disparate groups share more than they often realize.
“Almost every recreationalists uses four-wheel drive to get to trailheads,” notes Kim Reeves, the president of the Four Wheel Drive Association. “The president of the North Shore Mountain Bike Association drives a Tacoma with a rooftop tent. When we park side by side you’d be hard-pressed to say who represents a self-propelled organization. My family tours around to camp, fish, hike, and canoe. I just happen to identify as a four-wheel driver.”
It’s when we unite behind a common cause that the recreation industry becomes a powerhouse. And we are. Look at how important getting outdoors became during the pandemic. But as it gets busier out there, every user takes on a larger responsibility to remember our lessons from kindergarten and share nicely.
“Overall it’s great that people are using the park system,” says Scott Donker, an area supervisor with BC Parks. “But as the parks get busier it is really important to be respectful.”
Ryan Stuart started writing about his adventures as a way to get paid to play. Twenty years later he’s still at it. Look for his name in magazines like Outside, Men’s Journal, Ski Canada, online at Hakai and The Narwhal. When he’s not typing at his home office in Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley, you can find him skiing, hiking, mountain biking, surfing, paddling or fishing somewhere nearby.
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