Lets Talk about Road Acces

[whitlers]

I am a total hunter opportunity advocate.
And I know all too well about getting old with serious disabilities.
Don't get me wrong here folks.
Road Access isn't the "big issue" many make it to be.
There are other issues that need to be addressed far before this subject, imo.

BUT, there are others (not me) who do think this is "one of the big ones"!
And many of them "would settle for more road restrictions"!!
And what I am saying is:
"Forget road restrictions" as it would only end up applying to hunters, and hunters only!
If you think there are "too many roads"...…
Then "Think Road Removal" is all.
That restricts "EVERYONE".

If game can come back, by implementing all the things we need to have done in the province, then many of us old guys
will not need to access every inch by vehicle, as game will cross paths with us on the areas where vehicles can still get.

By getting older, us old guys have to accept that we wont get into every spot any longer, and yes, this means we wont get
the elusive 200+ scored buck, because we just don't have the ability.
But if game is more plentiful, there is always chance for one, if even by luck!

But we have to decide how we get game to become more plentiful.
We have to look at previous road restrictions to see "they don't really work"!
But it is an issue that needs to be addressed in some manner.

But as a hunter, I am not willing to pay the price if that means others can still abuse it.

I will agree with you there. Restrictions only keep honest people out.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Thanks for posting that up Ourea. A lot of that was covered on Sat during the Reg 8 biologists’presentations

[sizedoes matter]

I don’t think logging companies are going to destroy roads if they have future plans for the area. Personally don’t think destroying side/spur roads is a realistic solution. But guides and guys with horses would like it.

Not to get off topic but I think (for example) that mule deer should be on a progressive leh system like Saskatchewan. Then you have to pick one area once every three years. Make them compulsory inspection.

[scoutlt1]

Just a comment on how to deactivate a road...

How about using the wood that is piled up and burned, and spread it on the roads instead? 4 feet high maybe? No vehicle (or anyone on foot) would get through that, no appealing highways for predators, not a barrier to wildlife, suitable for quick "reforestation".....

Sorry, not necessarily a relevant comment on a decent thread, but just throwing it out there.

[Slinky Pickle]

I've mentioned it before but there really needs to be a finite amount of total road length in a given area. If you want to build another 10km of road then somewhere we need to obliterate an existing 10km. Not dig a ditch or two but completely obliterate it. Everyone should have access but the amount of access must be controlled and reduced from what we currently have.

[dapesche]

I'd like to see restrictions in place on roads as well. More specifically I'd like to see those restrictions where their best habitat is or at least the highest densities.

Would have to be science based and I'd be very curious to know if populations best recover when they grow from a dense population or if fragmented populations deal with predation better and therefore recover faster.

I'd assume dense populations would lead to improved calf/fawn survival rates. Close the roads above a certain elevation in the fall and then open them in the spring for predator hunting.

[sizedoes matter]

Elevation won’t work.

[Bugle M In]

I've mentioned it before but there really needs to be a finite amount of total road length in a given area. If you want to build another 10km of road then somewhere we need to obliterate an existing 10km. Not dig a ditch or two but completely obliterate it. Everyone should have access but the amount of access must be controlled and reduced from what we currently have.

That's kind of my thinking.
We don't have to get rid of every road.
There are some roads that lead off the main fsr, and go up into the hills, and I get some that would want to have that.
Its that adding more and more roads without taking out some at the same time, tit for tat, that I feel needs to start happening.
And a sign aren't going to stop them.
Huge log piles and what ever else will.

Hate to say this, if you just plant tress, sapling to be accurate, the quads and trucks will just run over them.
It has to be more destructive to begin with and plant saplings on top.

Also, there was mention of having the forestry industry replant/regrow the area to a more "traditional standard" as it
was before they logged.
I agree also with that, as I hate seeing the area planted to maximize it for just re-harvesting of timber down the road.
That aint helping either, imo.
Sorry, went off track on my own thread.

[Treed]

Road density is one of the biggest effects on wildlife populations. I was just talking to someone yesterday about road density around Kamloops. As a kid I could hike for hours at our cabin without coming across a road or cutblock. Now when I hike, i have to choose my route to avoid them. Island Idiot, you talk about how closing access would impact you when you couldn’t drive to your favourite place, well the roads have severely degraded my places and I was there before them. But that is a purely selfish view. We should rip roads out because we have too many and they are negatively affecting habitat. If we don’t have the habitat, we don’t have the animals (read the southern mulie population thread), which means hunting opportunity is reduced. Our lack of road management is a perfect example of Rape of the Commons used to teach land use planning 101.

[RobU]

[QUOTE=Bugle M In;2077552]That's kind of my thinking.
We don't have to get rid of every road.
There are some roads that lead off the main fsr, and go up into the hills, and I get some that would want to have that.
Its that adding more and more roads without taking out some at the same time, tit for tat, that I feel needs to start happening.
And a sign aren't going to stop them.
Huge log piles and what ever else will.

Hate to say this, if you just plant tress, sapling to be accurate, the quads and trucks will just run over them.
It has to be more destructive to begin with and plant saplings on top.

Also, there was mention of having the forestry industry replant/regrow the area to a more "traditional standard" as it
was before they logged.
I agree also with that, as I hate seeing the area planted to maximize it for just re-harvesting of timber down the road.
That aint helping either, imo.
Sorry, went off track on my thread

agree with most on this thread. You won’t find many people saying we have better outdoor adventure and hunting opportunities with 600,000 km of resource roads compared to when we had 200,000 km of resource roads in this province. Most of us in our lifetime will see the number reach 1 million km of resource roads in bc unless our current joke of a forest practices code changes and govt forces big industry to clean up their act.
We are watching our fish and wildlife get sold out to resource profits with no accountability at all from forestry and oil/gas industry. Most of us use google earth I’m sure. Please take a good look at the infinite km of roads, spur roads, access trails seismic lines in BC. Then please consider the question- when is enough going to be enough? What price of unlimited access and habitat destruction are we willing to pay? We all understand the economic impact natural resources have on B.C. its huge. But we need to enforce resource road building, extraction, replanting, rehabilitate the land and completely deactivate a large percentage of these roads. Our fish and wildlife is at stake here, not our privilege to hunt. Guarantee we will leave a much better environment for our children and grand children to enjoy.
SSS you know I logged for many years. I’m proud of that part of my life. But I will be the very first to say I’m honestly sickened, embarrassed and disappointed with what I see happening on such a massive scale without anything being done to repair the environment and habitat the very animals we love depend on. Let’s please understand what’s at stake here and by doing something about it all outdoor activities will improve dramatically including our hunting.