As campers air out their tents and take out their outback tins in preparation for the May Long weekend, residents of the Ghost-Waiparous valley continue to have shaky confidence that the vulnerable landscape will come out unscathed.
“What I see is the continuation of the same old problems … it’s the cumulative impacts on the lands that matter,” said Hugh Pepper, Ghost valley resident of more than 40 years and former MD of Bighorn councillor.
Years past of long weekend camping have resulted in the public lands riddled with garbage and empty beverage containers, illegal use of firearms and decimated trails.
Pepper has long called for a moratorium on logging activities and off-highway vehicle (OHV) use in the sensitive watershed and is left scratching his head that a five-year phase out of OHV activities in the Castle area is being implemented while nothing is being done to protect and preserve the Ghost-Waiparous watershed.
“If it makes sense to regulate (the Castle) area then it makes sense to regulate this area up here,” said Pepper, adding that the Castle area is part of a watershed for roughly 100,000 people in Lethbridge while the Ghost-Waiparous is upstream to a population pushing two million.
He also would like to see the “random” taken out of random camping in the area to keep weekend warriors off riparian lands.
A pay station, garbage cans, bathroom facilities – these are some of the amenities Pepper would like to see in place as well as user-pay camping sites.
Without this, Pepper is concerned the pressures will push the watershed into a state of peril that could pose significant flooding concerns in the near future.
Banff-Cochrane NDP MLA Cameron Westhead said he has been in touch on multiple occasions with Ghost-Waiparous residents and is aware of their concerns.
He acknowledges that the area is in need of a proper management plan and has brought this to the attention of the ministry.
Sharon MacDonald is a Village of Waiparous resident of eight years and former Ghost Watershed Alliance Society (GWAS) board member, which promotes preservation and education of the watershed.
While she applauds the efforts of some OHV clubs in promoting responsible trail use, she is concerned that only five to eight per cent of OHV users belong to clubs that promote responsible trail use and respect for riparian areas. This figure is based on research used to inform the Ghost-Waiparous Access Management Plan (GAMP) that was never funded.
“This year appears to be quite wet … riders need to keep wheels out of the water,” said MacDonald, adding that the nature of the Ghost-Waiparous area tends to attract a lot of OHV users “prone to going off trails.”
With two sensitive trout populations in the area, MacDonald said the amount of sediment that gets pushed into the waterways by illegal crossings poses further risks to the fish.
Westhead said putting up signage to deter users away from illegal crossings would be a first step that would likely have some efficacy. He also acknowledged that increased area patrols would likely have a positive impact.
While there appears to be no alcohol ban in place for the May Long Weekend, Cochrane RCMP will be stepping up patrols in popular camping areas such as McLean Creek and Waiparous.
Recreational users can anticipate increased check stops and members will be on quad patrol.
“We are stepping up enforcement and visibility in these areas in an effort to suppress issues we have had in the past,” said Cpl. Mel Calahasen with the detachment.
While Calahasen said they have seen an “overall reduction in unruly patrons” in these areas in recent years, RCMP wish to remind users to exercise caution, not drink and drive and to keep alcohol use responsible and restricted to their own campsites.
