Today's Chilliwack Progress as Barry Penner wades in. Further comments are encourgaded, is education the real answer or not?Education key to stopping illegal campers: Penner
By Jennifer Feinberg - Chilliwack Progress - June 05, 2008
The rules making it illegal to park overnight and camp in the lower part of the Chilliwack River system are working well overall, according to Environment Minister Barry Penner.
“Some would say the simple answer is to hire more government staff to pick up litter and do enforcement,” he said, “but I’m not sure there’s any magic number that would accomplish the desired outcome of having people respect the environment.
“Ultimately it will take more of an education effort to fundamentally change people’s values.”
Different local groups and agencies have been assessing the results, in the wake of the first long weekend of the year in May. Most of the major camping messes and garbage dumping were discovered above the area covered by the rules.
“We certainly worked hard to get the Section 58 order in place (under the Forest and Range Practices Act) and the idea was to use it as a pilot project,” Penner explained.
Trying to stamp out irresponsible camping and
partying next to the pristine Chilliwack-Vedder River system, because of the possible harmful effects on fish and fish habitat were the rationale for the altered legislation in the first place, the local MLA said.
Penner contacted those mandated to coordinate it from the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and the Arts, and is awaiting their assessment of how things went during the Victoria Day long weekend.
“I wanted to hear from them how it’s working and whether they would support extending the enforcement area (above Tamihi) based on the performance to date,” Penner said.
He acknowledged there’s a “range of views” on the idea to expand the territory covered by the Section 58 order.
“Some say extend it, while others say it may have unintended consequences,” the local MLA added.
Citizens on Patrol coordinator Eileen Brader doesn’t think expanding the coverage area would ultimately do the trick.
“I don’t favour section 58 being expanded up to Chilliwack Lake,” she said.
“I feel it will just move the ‘bush campers’ further into the bush and that would make it more difficult to find them and way more dangerous as a fire potential. This is exactly what has happened with the current section 58.”
But she does favour the rules being expanded to cover the Slesse road area.
“It seems to have been left out of the loop down there.”
Certain areas should be transformed into a managed campsite, Brader said, such as the area known as The Cedars, as well as the Chipmunk caves and Larsons Holdings.
“The Bench Road and Chipmunk peninsular should be cleared out and either aggressively monitored or closed.
It has become a dangerous area with irresponsible recreational vehicle drivers.”
Penner said there are four Conservation Officers (COs) stationed in the Chilliwack areas, which “compares favourably” with the rest of the province.
“Other communities would love to have that many,” he stressed.
One of the biggest challenges for the Chilliwack River Valley is that no one agency can adequately police Chilliwack’s vast back country, he said.
“Ministry of the Environment does not have a budget that would allow more COs,” he said simply. “I don’t know if anyone has ideas as to where the extra funding would come from.”
It’s just not as simple as adding more staff.
“We could increase that number by 100 per cent and we still couldn’t be everywhere all the time.
“We rely on all our partner agencies to work together, like from the ministries of forestry and tourism, sports and the arts, as well as RCMP and FVRD, Citizens on Patrol, and First Nations.
The volunteer-driver COP would do more patrols if the group could get their hands on off-road vehicle.
“Our patrollers use their own vehicles, which are fine for the Chilliwack Lake Road, but we are limited in the amount of vehicles we have for logging road use and the wear and tear for regular patrols is expensive,” Brader said. “I also believe that we could do with some Forest Rangers patrolling the whole Valley over weekends, using forestry trucks and radio controlled not turfing campers out but checking to see if they are acting responsibly.
“People need to have fun and the valley is a recreational area.”
But it comes down to a few ruining it for everyone else, she figures.
“Most bush campers, about 97 per cent I have met are good, responsible people, but it is the last three per cent that are spoiling it for everyone and it is this three per cent that needs to be dealt with.”
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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Topic: Chilliwack River Valley Is A Disaster Area. (Read 51868 times)