Trail enthusiasts disappointed in government decision to permit industrial traffic on stretch of Great Trail

A popular trail in B.C.'s Interior has been redesignated so it can be used for industrial, as well as recreational, purposes.

A 67-kilometre section of the Great Trail, formerly known as the Trans Canada Trail, that stretches along Arrow Lake from Castlegar to Christina Lake is now allowed to be used for things like logging, should a company want to use it that way. 

The change has trail advocate Ciel Sander concerned. 

"It was supposed to be a recreation corridor that was a backcountry experience for active users. It was never intended to come to this." said Sander, who is the president of the Trails Society of B.C.

She says the way the trail is now, it's easily accessible for children and people of varying abilities, because the gradient is only about two per cent. Allowing vehicles on it, she maintains, will make it unsafe, and therefore unappealing for those user groups that might not otherwise go on remote hikes.

"We really have to get some regulation and we need to provide, you know, the different user groups other places to go."

The society wants the government to do more consultation with user groups, and to review the Clean B.C. policy to see if this change aligns with it.

According to John Hawkings, the director of recreation sites and trails in B.C. with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, land managers reviewed all the different values that section of land has, including recreational, industrial, economic, forest fire access and forest health.

Hawkings said the designation allows the government to access additional funding to maintain that section of the trail, which he says is an expensive stretch. 

"There has been industrial use, as well as regular motor vehicles ... as well as ATV use and motorized vehicle use on this trail for a number of years," he said.

Hawkings is confident that the change won't impact recreational users at all. 

"Any future industrial logging that is approved will happen in the off season, and [recreational users] would be unlikely to notice any difference."