Mount McIntyre Recreation Area Trail Network User Group Meeting Summary and Recommendations May 2014 1. INTRODUCTION The following report presents the outcomes from an evening session hosted by the City of Whitehorse to discuss co-­‐management options for the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club (WCCSC) ski trail network and City of Whitehorse singletrack trail network. The framing question for the evening was: “How can these two trail systems be operated in a sustainable manner and continue to offer high-­‐quality recreational experiences to trail users?” The meeting was held at the WCCSC wax room on May 7, 2014 from 7-­‐9 pm and was attended by about a dozen representatives from WCCSC, Raven’s Ridge, Valleyview Community Association, Active Trails Whitehorse Association, Whitehorse Walks/Hillcrest Community Association, Athletics Yukon, and Contagious Mountain Bike Club. The session confirmed that there is a range of interests in regards to the Mount Mac trail networks from its users. Many of these interests are mutually supportive, but some have the potential to work at cross-­‐purposes during the winter operating season for the WCCSC. The group created criteria to guide the development of a management approach for the two trail networks by the City and WCCSC. 2. BACKGROUND The evening started with an overview of the current status of both the City of Whitehorse and WCCSC trail networks. Doug Hnatiuk with the City and Mike Gladish with the WCCSC provided the background information. 2.1 WHITEHORSE CROSS COUNTRY SKI CLUB • Has a License of Occupation from Yukon Government for all ski trails in effect from October 1 to April 30. The LOC is specific to the ski trails and approximately 6 metres to either side. • LOC allows WCCSC to restrict access to compatible uses only and charge fees • WCCSC has liability for winter use on ski trails • WCCSC has been highly involved with stewardship and protection of the entire Mount Mac area through the Official Community Plan process and other initiatives • WCCSC has focused on outreach to other groups to ensure maximum utilization and community benefit from recreation at MMRA • WCCSC policies currently allow for: o Unrestricted ski trail and singletrack trail access for skiers and snowshoers with WCCSC day or season passes o Limited snow bike access to trails in the Rocky Canyon area for WCCSC season/day pass holders and Contagious Mountain Bike Club members o No access to ski trails for walkers 2.2 CITY OF WHITEHORSE • Is the de-­‐facto manager of City greenspaces, including Crown land, as per Municipal Act 1 •
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Has authority to build and manage trails City Parks & Recreation Master Plan identified MMRA as key asset City developed its trail network to supplement and enhance year-­‐round utilization of area, particularly in summer City has maintenance responsibility for its trails and dedicated O&M dollars but it does partner with other groups (Klondike Snowmobile Association and Contagious Mountain Bike Club) City holds liability for singletrack trails year-­‐round and WCCSC trails in summer 3. STAKEHOLDER INTERESTS The group broke out into smaller groups to identify the range of interests with respect to the Mount Mac trail networks. These interests are summarized below: User Group Interests Neighbourhood Interests • Maintenance and expansion of access as • Access to quiet, unique wilderness appropriate • Year-­‐round access • Maintain public access to public lands Manager/Steward Interests • Year-­‐round access to City trails • Ability to adapt to new activities • Ongoing dialogue and partnerships • Finding a solution that accommodates all • Shared interest of all groups to succeed groups together • Maintain quality experience for skiers General Interests • Maintain safety for skiers • Balance of conservation with recreation • Ability to plan/manage strategically • Accommodation of a variety of interests • Maintaining a world-­‐class trail system • Simple rules • Long-­‐term protection for ski trails, including • Promotion of trails for fitness protection from incompatible uses • Maintenance of current types/levels of use • Co-­‐operative land management • Interconnectedness between trail systems • Financial sustainability, including ability to and neighbourhoods charge fee for use • Awareness and compatibility with park planning The group discussed where some of the interests expressed had the potential to “pull” in opposing directions or create conflict. These included: UNLIMITED ACCESS  WORLD-­‐CLASS SKI TRAILS/SKIER ENJOYMENT UNLIMITED ACCESS  FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY CONSERVATION  RECREATION DEVELOPMENT  ALL INTERESTS!! The group also clarified that the challenge is largely a seasonal one; beyond the WCCSC’s operating months, there is little to no conflict. Users spoke to the physical barrier (or “moat”) that the WCCSC network poses to access of COW trails in winter: in many cases, one can not access City trails without first traveling on a ski trail. 2 4. MANAGEMENT “SUCCESS” CRITERIA The group was asked to identify potential criteria that they would expect a joint City of Whitehorse/WCCSC trail management approach to satisfy. They were then asked to choose their most important criteria from the resulting “master” list. The master list is included below, with the number of “votes” each criteria received in brackets and the “Top 5” in bold: • Promotes shared stewardship (9) The group also generated two “meta-­‐
• Ensures financial viability for all user groups (8) criteria” that inform how the City and • Ensures safety (7) WCCSC should act in developing and • As many people as possible can recreate (7) implementing a joint management • Achievable and realistic (6) solution: • Ensures some access for all user groups (4) • Compatible with peer enforcement & education • Use a publicly transparent process (4) (5) • Based on facts (4) • Well-­‐communicated during • Fee for use/service (4) implementation and after • Ecological integrity preserved (3) • Quality of and desired recreation experience is maintained (2) • Flexible from year to year, situation to situation (2) • Understandable 5. MANAGEMENT OPTIONS Unfortunately there was insufficient time for the group assembled to brainstorm potential management options to subsequently run their priority criteria through. In the interest of continuing to make progress towards a broadly supported solution, the City and WCCSC met afterwards and drafted up a list of options, focusing on the two key access parameters: routes and fee-­‐for-­‐use. All of the options are presented, but only those that were thought to potentially satisfy the “Top 5” criteria are highlighted and received further consideration. Route-­‐Specific Options: • Unlimited access to all COW/WCCSC trails for all users • Unlimited access to all COW/WCCSC trails for WCCSC pass holders and some users • Partial access to WCCSC trails and unlimited access to COW trails for all users • Partial access to WCCSC trails and unlimited access to COW trails for some users • Partial access to WCCSC trails and partial access to COW trails for all users • Partial access to WCCSC trails and partial access to COW trails for some users 3 Options Promotes shared stewardship Ensures financial viability for all user groups Ensures safety As many people as possible can recreate Achievable and realistic Route-­‐Specific Partial access to WCCSC trails and unlimited access to COW trails for all users Partial access to WCCSC trails and unlimited access to COW trails for some users Good – users have access to same trails Fair – impacts on WCCSC grooming unknown Poor – problematic intersections b/w COW & WCCSC trails Fair – fewer users at problematic intersections Good Good – relatively simple to communicate Fair – inequity of access to COW trails among non-­‐
WCCSC pass holders Fair – impacts on WCCSC grooming unknown Fair – some users not accommodated Good – problematic intersections could be avoided Good – problematic intersections to be avoided and fewer users Fair -­‐ good Fair – more confusing & complex set of rules; perceived (or actual) unfairness may undermine user compliance Good – relatively simple to communicate Partial access to WCCSC trails and partial access to COW trails for all users Partial access to WCCSC trails and partial access to COW trails for some users Good – equity of access for non-­‐WCCSC pass holders Fair – impacts on WCCSC grooming unknown Fair – inequity of access to trails among non-­‐WCCSC pass holders Fair – impacts on WCCSC grooming unknown Fair – some users not accommodated Fair – more confusing & complex set of rules; perception of unfairness may undermine success Paid access to WCCSC trails and free-­‐of-­‐charge access to COW trails for WCCSC pass holders and some non-­‐pass holders Paid access to WCCSC trails and free-­‐of-­‐charge access to COW trails for all users Fair – inequity of access to COW trails Poor– inequity of access; likely snowshoeing day pass revenue loss for WCCSC N/A Fair – some users not accommodated Fair – maximizes COW trail access for all; likely snowshoeing day pass revenue loss for WCCSC Fair -­‐ good – equity of access for non-­‐WCCSC pass holders; reduces potential WCCSC revenue loss from snowshoeing N/A Good – maintains status quo Poor – more confusing & complex set of rules, perceived (or actual) unfairness may undermine user compliance Good – easy to understand, WCCSC can collect fees from non-­‐pass holders Good – maintains status quo for both groups Paid access to COW/WCCSC trails for all users Good – equity of access for all users N/A Fair – creates equitable access but new fee-­‐for-­‐
use for COW Fee-­‐for-­‐Use Fair -­‐ good – easy to understand, WCCSC can collect fees from pass holders and others; fee-­‐for-­‐
use for COW may not achieve “buy in” 4 Fee-­‐for-­‐Use Options: • Free-­‐of-­‐charge access to COW/WCCSC trails for all users • Paid access to WCCSC trails and free-­‐of-­‐charge access to COW trails for WCCSC pass holders only • Paid access to WCCSC trails and free-­‐of-­‐charge access to COW trails for WCCSC pass holder and some non-­‐pass holders • Paid access to WCCSC trails and free-­‐of-­‐charge access to COW trails for all users • Paid access to COW/WCCSC trails for all users Please refer to Table 1 for the City and WCCSC’s assessment of how well each of the route and fee-­‐for-­‐use options satisfied the group’s Top 5 criteria. According to that assessment, the two options that best satisfied the Top 5 criteria were: • Partial route access to WCCSC trails and partial route access to COW trails for all users • Paid access to WCCSC trails and free-­‐of-­‐charge access to COW trails for all users 6. RECOMMENDED MANAGEMENT APPROACH Based on its review of possible options and their performance against the success criteria set out by Mount Mac trail users on May 7, the City and WCCSC are recommending the following policies be adopted in regards to management of their combined trail networks during the winter months: ROUTES AND FEE-­‐FOR-­‐USE 1. All non-­‐motorized trail users may access the City of Whitehorse trails in MMRA that do not intersect WCCSC trails free-­‐of-­‐charge (shown in green on the attached map). 2. All motorized and non-­‐motorized users may access the Klondike Snowmobile Association trails in MMRA free-­‐of-­‐charge (shown in red on the attached map) 3. City of Whitehorse trails, or routes comprised of multiple City of Whitehorse trails, that intersect with the WCCSC network are open to all non-­‐motorized users who hold any of the following (shown in turquoise on the attached map): •
Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club day or season pass •
Contagious Mountain Bike Club membership •
Athletics Yukon membership •
Winter Singletrack Access Pass (available from the WCCSC Wax Room or City of Whitehorse Parks & Recreation for $20) The City and WCCSC will consider associations that can satisfy the following requirements for inclusion in the list above: •
Are a sport and recreation-­‐related organization; •
Can provide proof of liability insurance for their members; •
Have an established communications channel with members and/or a willingness to create one. 5 4. All other City of Whitehorse trails that are accessed via WCCSC trails are open solely to snowshoers who are WCCSC day or season pass holders. STEWARDSHIP & MANAGEMENT 1. All non-­‐motorized users crossing WCCSC trails to access City of Whitehorse trails will be asked to comply with user etiquette intended to minimize impacts on ski trails and user safety. 2. The City and WCCSC will track and set aside revenues generated from the sale of Winter Singletrack Access passes. 3. The City and WCCSC will assemble a Mount Mac Trail Users Advisory Group on an annual basis to advise on and communicate with its members on all matters relating to winter trail access in the MMRA. The recommended membership of the Advisory Group would include the following organizations: Active Trails Whitehorse Association, Athletics Yukon, Contagious Mountain Bike Club, Copper Ridge Community Association, Granger Community Association, Hillcrest Community Association, Klondike Snowmobile Association, Kwanlin Koyotes, and Valleyview Community Association. Any other semi-­‐organized entity whose mandate is directly related to MMRA trail use may also request to participate. 4. Members of the Trails Advisory Group will be asked to provide the City of Whitehorse and WCCSC with the following information on an annual basis: • A summary of member activities in MMRA, including any trail maintenance or stewardship and/or communications with members regarding the winter trail management regime, etiquette, and route and fee-­‐for-­‐use provisions • Any reports from members and/or others regarding user safety, compliance, etiquette and/or any other matter related to the wintertime use of WCCSC/City of Whitehorse trails for non-­‐skiing purposes • Any other issues relating to the use of WCCSC trails for the purposes of accessing City of Whitehorse trails 5. The City of Whitehorse and WCCSC will provide the Advisory Group with the following information on an annual basis: • Revenues from sale of Winter Singletrack Access passes • Impact of ski trail crossings on WCCSC grooming operations • Impact of trail access arrangements on WCCSC revenues • Summary of City of Whitehorse and WCCSC activities and/or operations relating to the co-­‐management of their MMRA trail networks • Reports of any user safety incidents related to intersecting WCCSC-­‐COW trails • An assessment of user compliance with route and fee-­‐for-­‐use provisions and etiquette • Any other issues relating to the use of WCCSC trails for the purposes of accessing City of Whitehorse trails 6. The Mount Mac Trail Users Advisory Group will consider and make recommendations on the following matters on an annual basis: 6 Success of the previous year’s management approach in meeting the primary and secondary criteria set out in May 2014 • Potential revisions to the criteria set out in May 2014 or any time thereafter • How any revenues collected from the sale of Winter Singletrack Access passes should be allocated to best satisfy the management criteria • Potential changes to the route and fee-­‐for-­‐use provisions to better satisfy the management criteria • Any other issues relating to the use of WCCSC trails for the purposes of accessing City of Whitehorse trails 7. The minutes of the annual Advisory Group meeting will be distributed to members electronically and available to the public via the City of Whitehorse and WCCSC websites. 8. Notwithstanding the above, the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club has the right to set terms and conditions regarding access to the ski trails for which it has authority under its License of Occupation with the Government of Yukon. •
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