Do you ride in the Trout Lake area?

If you live, work, or recreate in the Trout Lake area, the community of Trout Lake needs your support! The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) is planning to fully deactivate Rady Creek Forest Service Road which is the sole access road into Silvercup Ridge (also known as Foggy Day riding area).

The community of Trout Lake has started a Petition to “Keep Rady Creek FSR open to recreational traffic” and we are asking all ATV’ers and other recreational users in the Trout Lake region to sign the petition, and share with other users.

SIGN PETITION HERE

Without any public consultation or stakeholder engagement the Ministry land use planners have advised that there will be “NO ATV ACCESS LEFT OPEN AFTER THE RADY FSR IS PERMANENTLY DEACTIVATED” even though just 2 weeks prior they had advised that every effort would be made to maintain ATV access on Rady FSR, and further acknowledged that “FLNRORD realises the heavy current ATV use by the public on this road” and then without any further notice, it was advised that no recreation access will remain for ATVs or snowmobiles.

With input from wildlife biologists from the BC Caribou Recovery Program and previous recommendations by a professional engineer, the Selkirk Resource District Management (FLNRORD) has decided that protecting the Caribou Habitat within the Government Actions Regulation (GAR) area is a priority over maintaining public access for recreational purposes.

In view of the high recreation value of Rady FSR and the importance to the local community, residents, visitors and overall sustainability of the local economy that relies on the economic impact that recreation brings to the region, ATVBC is urging Minister Katrine Conroy to reconsider the Ministry’s decision, requesting a stop work order be issued to allow time for public consultation and socio-economic assessment to consider the needs of the community, the economy and the environment.

ATVBC Letter of Concern to Minister Conroy

It is ATVBC’s position that with meaningful consultation and collaborative planning, wildlife stewardship goals can be achieved with improved outcomes for high value recreation areas, and rather than blocking access, ATVBC supports education and signage on a dedicated trail corridor to manage access in a controlled manner, to reduce impact on the larger landscape. Utilizing modern tools such as the established wildlife tracking system in the region would allow recreation access to continue to provide economic benefit to the local community while supporting wildlife conservation efforts.

The British Columbia Snowmobile Federation and its member clubs, Trout Lake Recreational Club and Arrow Lakes Ridge Riders signed a Stewardship Management Agreement (SMA) with the Province for caribou recovery in the Selkirk region on March 24, 2021 and just months later, the Province is now planning to deactivate Rady Creek FSR which is the sole access to their riding area – read more from BCSF