Editor:
There was heightened interest in the public meeting to discuss the Summer Recreational Access Management Plan (SummerRAMP), on Feb. 22. In your role as reporter, you covered the meeting, and gave a fairly balanced overview of the opinions expressed.
We are part of a groundswell of citizens of the Bulkley Valley who believe that the RAMP process does not pose a threat to any recreational users. Instead, its intent is to provide some certainty and harmony between motorized and non-motorized recreationists.
A successful plan will be the result of citizens of the Bulkley Valley sharing opinions, in a respectful manner, and being willing to compromise on some issues, in order to come to a resolution.
The intent of the RAMP is not to eliminate the use of motorized summer vehicles, but rather to find ways for hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders and quad riders to share the backcountry that we all enjoy and cherish.
Reasonable motorized use is not at issue. The law already prohibits Off- Road Vehicles from causing erosion and other environmental damage, with hefty fines imposed if that is the case. Effectively, this means staying on logging roads and other hard packed surfaces.
What the RAMP seeks to do is resolve problems in the few remaining areas where there have been previous competing uses. Certainly, we in this valley can, and must, reach reasonable compromises about disputed areas, that will preserve everyone’s right to recreate as each sees fit, while protecting the land for future generations.
We believe a vast majority of people in the Bulkley Valley support a collaborative RAMP process that allows the public to engage in a meaningful dialogue. Why shut that conversation down?
Daryl and Dina Hanson
Smithers
