Don’t walk, jog, run or ride on the Extension Ridge section of the Trans Canada Trail for the next few months.
As of Tuesday the trail, which runs between Harewood Mines and Extension roads and is popular with hikers, runners and mountain bikers is closed for logging operations by land owner Island Timberlands until the end of March.
The closure also affects mountain bike and hiking trails
“The land in question is on Island Timberlands property of which the Regional District of Nanaimo has a land-use agreement for purpose of the the Trans Canada Trail,” said Tom Osborne, regional district general manager of recreation and parks.
The agreement allows for hikers, bikers and other non-motorized uses and includes Island Timberlands’ right to close the trails or reroute them if necessary for harvesting operations.
The trail is closed seven days a week to the public until logging operations are finished. The regional district has posted notices at the trail heads.
“Island Timberlands is harvesting timber on our lands near Harewood Mines Road along Extension Ridge,” Makenzie Leine, Island Timberlands spokeswoman, said in an e-mail to the News Bulletin. “This area [is] part of our private managed forest that we sustainably harvest over time. Safety is Island Timberlands’ priority. These areas are restricted for public access until operational activities are complete. When managing areas with authorized trails we restore access when our activities are complete.”
The e-mail also said the public can find Trans Canada Trail closure information through the regional district and Island Timberlands’ blog.
It is not known if the logging will affect the trail or if the forestry company will leave a buffer of trees around the trail as it did not responded to requests for more details, referring inquiries to its blog.
Information supplied from Island Timberlands to Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club indicated other trails in the area, which are not part of the Trans Canada Trail, would also be impacted, including those known as Enigma, T-Bone and 252/Abyss.
