close
close

Letter: There is a need for common sense in the wilderness

Letter: There is a need for common sense in the wilderness

There are people who should never be allowed in wilderness areas, no matter how much money they have or not, letter writer says

The Smith administration has no intention of actually protecting our wilderness areas.

The fact that they, through Minister Brian Jean, made the Grassy Mountain coal mine re-application possible proves that very clearly.

The fact that they are letting West Fraser cut down the headwaters of the Highwood River also proves this.

They are only interested in activities that generate money, such as park entrance fees and camping.

You can’t do serious wilderness conservation work if you access the outdoors by vehicle, whether it’s mountain bikes, all-terrain vehicles or 4×4 trucks.

There should be areas that are only accessible to pedestrians, for example walkers or horse riders.

In addition, there must be large areas where no raw materials or commercial development takes place.

And your claim that parks and recreation areas should be accessible to all residents and visitors, regardless of their financial or economic status, is unrealistic.

There are a number of mobility and responsibility issues that need to be taken into account.

A large proportion of forest fires start in these areas and are the result of irresponsible campers.

There are people who should never be allowed into the wilderness, no matter how much money they have or not.

Just like the idiots who cause the bear jams – and as I saw last week on my trip to British Columbia, the goat jam – with a line of poorly parked cars causing potential traffic accidents and people getting hurt.

There really needs to be some common sense applied to both the recreational and natural areas in our parks and unfortunately the Smith government appears to be falling short in this regard.

Darrel Florence,

Cremona