Volunteers for fence work in Mclean area

[01sahara]

Below is a link to the FWS site. Some early trail work is getting started on the 21st in the Mclean area before it officially opens. I know lots of our group will be on a members only run that  day. Anyone who is not on our club run that day and wants to help please let them know?

http://www.fourwheelstampeders.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4091&highlight=

The TFA for this project is open for a few weeks and I have a copy of it. Would our club like to pick an alternate day to go in and help with the Mclean area fence work? Let me know who is interested in helping and we could set up an alternate day.

[Jeepchick78]

My appologies for not posting the Project info here.




Well its been a while since we spoke about projects, and there is no time like the present to get back on track!


The summer weather will soon be upon us, and so will the pressure to maintain the areas in Waiparous and McLean.
I know you are all getting prepared for the May-long weekend, and so am I!
Only my preparation involves working with YOU the users, and not my own rig!


What do I need? ?. no not a new Jeep although a working one would be nice?  
I need YOU!!
I need a minimum of 10 of you, and I need YOU on the weekend of April 21st , for one day.



What do I need YOU for?
To assist with water protection and traffic diversion.


What Exactly is that?
Well, its directing traffic away from a stream crossing onto an already established bridge!
YOU will be helping install fence rails and pounding in posts (if needed).
We are not restricting access to the trail system, only directing it away from a path created due to the flood damage of 2005.

Where Do I need YOU?
In McLean Creek at the main staging area. Depending on how many show up, we may be able to complete two fairly large projects!


Do YOU need to have experience?
NO! Well you do have to be able to hold a hammer and swing.


Materials needed?
Bring a shovel and a hammer, work gloves, pliers and wire cutters!
If you have a sledgehammer bring it as well.


I am also looking for a few volunteers who know how to run a chainsaw and own a quad.


Feel free to contact me directly via Email: [email protected] or phone: 403-669-3202

[Jeepchick78]

Update: A few of us will be going out this weekend (April 14th) to prep the area for the 21st.


PROJECT DATE: APRIL 21st.


I am crossing my fingers for a larger turnout as I do have a few things that could get done if YOU show up!


MEETING PLACE: McLean Creek, main staging area 9:00AM April 21st.


See top post for further info!



Thank you,
  Amanda
B)

[pkapral]

how long is the drive to McLean Creek from calgary as I have never drove there on my own..

[TJ54]

how long is the drive to McLean Creek from calgary as I have never drove there on my own..

30 minutes from westhills shopping centre.

[Jeepchick78]

Just a quick update:

Myself, Dave, Chad, Don(Parks) and Roger(SRD) all completed installing about 100 or so posts into the ground in McLean.
Garry and Jim will have the rails supplied by then for us to install.

We are a GO for this Saturday and would llike to see about 15 people out there. You will be installing the fence rails, debarking the rails, installing the barbed wire, posting signage if needed, and general clean up.
So far we have confirmed members from the CJA, Quad Squad, Nissan club, 4WS and possibly Second Gear Club, BUT Im not sure they total 15 volunteers!

New Trail Access

We also installed fencing along Fisher Trail West to redirect users onto a new portion of trail.

You will be greated by snow fencing just before the stream crossing, and will be met by a direction sign heading right onto a new road that by passes the two culverts that were torn out by the floods of 2005.
Please do not tear down this fence or pass it as the area will be reclaimed.

Details: A new portion of trail has been provided by SRD and Spray Lakes for the purpose of redirecting traffic to prevent crossing the fish bearing stream.

A very large and extensive reclamation project is planned for this area in the next few months and will be completed with Spray Lakes, Parks and YOU, the users!

Random camping is still available on the other side of the water crossing, but accessable ONLY via the new trail!


Thanks for all your help and interest

Hope to see some of you out there!!!

Amanda

[TOYZ]

I will be there as well Sat. morning come RAIN or yeah right shine

[kln]

Thanks to all who came out and gave us a hand. I've posted some pictures of the completed project here:

http://www.fourwheelstampeders.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=22385#22385

[Jeepchick78]

First off, THANK YOU very much to members from the Calgary Quad Squad, Four Wheel Stampeders, Second Gear Club, Calgary Jeep Association, AURS and a couple of independents for coming out for the day! Without your help and dedication, projects like this could not be completed.  
The sun was shining and it was a perfect day for our 12 hard working volunteers!!

Food provided once again by Siggy of the Second Gear Club! BBQ style this time!

Thank you also to SRD and Parks for supplying posts, rails and other materials to get this completed.

Special thank you to those who came out the weekend and weeks prior to help get this going: Garry, Jim, Dave, Chad and Don.


Two years ago this project was planned but was never completed due to the floods of ’05, finally I can say we have completed the trail diversion project in the McLean Creek main staging area.

Special Info: Built in to the South West side of the fence, is a walk-in for foot traffic. We are hoping to see grass RE-established there as it was a few years ago, and as mentioned above a bioengineering project is under way in May for bank stabilization and erosion control.


There are more projects out there and I hope to see YOU at the next one!


Note: We have temporarily left a section unfenced for future use, but have put up posts up in the mean time, please use the trail access at the South end of those posts.

Help us to help  YOU  keep your  MULTI-USE  trails open.


Amanda

[Spinalguy]

Amanda,
you are in the loop. Any chance you can influence the right decision makers to close all access to Elbow Falls? Its mainly bikes and quads that can ride up and stare at the tourists and Calgarians on the other side. Its a public perception nightmare. The only reason i can guess its not closed to OHV is because SRD loves the fact that we are committing suicide within the public domain.
Thanks for all the good work.

Thanks
Tom

[Jeepchick78]

I am meeting with Don this evening, I can bring this concern up to him at that time.

Id sure like to see you out at one of these project Tom...
hint hint nudge nudge!

[Jeepchick78]

I can sympathize with your feelings reguarding SRD and Parks Tom. However, I can also see the side of the fence where I stand and where I would like to see others stand as well.

I look at it like this:

At any time SRD can change the rules. Yet they have not. Instead they continue to allow users to use the area for free with limited demands. They continue to give US the benefit of the doubt and they continue to GIVE us almost everything we want within reason.

Others may see it like this:

SRD has taken The Ghost from users. SRD has given an impression that everything would be fine. SRD allows users to shoot themselves in the foot by not doing certain things to help us help ourselves. However, maybe it’s the users not helping themselves.. say by reading a map, or correcting well known poor behaviour.
 


What I see SRD and Parks doing is, providing materials worth thousands of dollars, coming out and putting in physical labor (just like us) and providing Project Leaders with appropriate training on both machinery and on bio-engineering. I also see them taking what they can get from US and actually using us in the best way they can. And by that I mean the four or five volunteers willing to forget the past and old habits and move forward and get stuff done are being included in decision making.

The off-road community, (all users) are a non-paying, hardly-regulated group of users that only answer to the restrictions put onto them by the FLUZ or by RCMP.
We are an “industry” of our own with little or no demands put on us to maintain our own use….

What I also see is various users finally seeing the light and coming back together to just get something positive going. I see people who could care less about what HAS happened and just want to focus on the positive movement seen in building the bridges and the fences.

Ask yourself would Government spend $26,000 on installing bridges and making the effort to even get the bridges if they wanted us out? Would they pay for education, training and machinery if they wanted us out of these areas? Would they provide thousands of dollars worth of materials and manual labor if they wanted us out?
Would they really help this much to watch us fall…..

Really, what do they owe us? If that’s how you choose to look at it…
Don’t you think it would be easier for them to just restrict access all together?
What do you think public opinion would be in such a question if it were posed to them?
Is it so hard to see that they truly are working WITH us and in some cases FOR us?
Is it so hard to just move forward and think about what you CAN do as opposed to what can’t do?

I only pose this in this way because I see some people who could be doing so much good, doing and saying so much bad. I’d rather be positive and stand up in a positive way helping myself then portraying myself and my hobby in the negative combative fashion that I have seen some of us do.

People change and so do situations…. Its all about choice.

DOING this is my choice.


Amanda

[Spinalguy]

i would love to be there but Saturdays are tough unless you don't mind me showing up at 2pm? i remember reading on one of the sites that you guys/gals would be done in half a day so i never even made the effort to get out.
Its that Sat a.m. work thing.

i applaud you and others for your efforts. i  support it 100%.

You know that we the OHV community has asked repeatedly for USER FEES in the range of $400/year. Unfortunately as seen with cross country ski user fees, its political suicide. That lasted one day before the Alberta government rescinded the fee due to the outrage of the Calgary citizen. The same will hold true with the Calgary Hiker, bicycler, hunter, etc.

 We the OHV community have repeatedly asked for MAJOR enforcement on long weekends targeting the grad crowds. And yet it is we the users that clean up the grad/raver crowds mess.
Breatherlizers on the trail has repeatedly been asked for.
 HUGE fines and forfeiting the vehicle for mudbogging off the designated trail system (ie skegs)have also been asked for. Its these extreme measures that will finally put an end to the 10% user 'i don't care what i do' crowd.
When i have to actually ask that all users wash their rig after playing, and i get flack for it, shows me that we still have very selfish and ignorant users of our multi use areas.

The bike community will 100% support closure of Elbow Falls.

Keep up the great work. i will be there, count on it. Unfortunately, for personal reasons  i will not be able to join you in Waiporous .



TK  

[Hi Lo Silver]

Amanda, I've taken the liberty to cut and paste your comment on our site and respond to it there. I'm trying to keep my rather lengthy oppinionated comments there because I know they won't get deleted. I hate all that typing to see that happen.
Don't get defensive over that comment because nothing personal was meant by it.