Rossland Range management plan approved!
By Les Carter
FORRThe Province (Recreation Sites and Trails Branch of the Ministry of Forests) has accepted the community’s proposed management plan for the new Rossland Range Recreation Site in the mountains between Red Mountain Resort and the summit of Mt. Crowe.
After 12 years of effort by the community through the Friends of the Rossland Range Society (FORRS) we have government recognition and authorization of improvements for recreation in this large area with historic use. It lets the community tackle projects including opening up access for winter use, making a new generation of day-use shelters, negotiating better parking, and posting signs and trail markers.
The provisions for shelters are a key part of the management plan, setting out a transition to a new generation of shelters. Current shelters that are important to the public are “grandfathered” until their replacements that meet the Recreation Site standards can be built. In the end, there will be fewer shelters than at present, but ones that the community and the Recreation Sites and Trails Branch can be proud of. The plan allows for nine strategically placed shelters at the end of the transition.
Although FORRS has taken on the responsibility for the community of being signatory with the Province, the role of FORRS is expected to be primarily administrative. Turning the improvements enabled by this plan into realities is up to those in our community who love our mountains and little cabins. We hope many will be inspired! (The Recreation Site comes with insurance for volunteers, and opportunities to have things like building materials and signs paid for.)
Old or young, new or experienced, if you want to find out what this is all about or help the community and FORRS determine the best ways to proceed to make our new Recreation Site great, we invite you to come to the FORRS Annual General Meeting, November 26, at 7:00 PM, in the St. Andrew’s United Church Hall (corner of 2nd Avenue and Queen Street in Rossland.)
To read the plan, see the FORRS website at www.rosslandrange.org. For more information, contact Les Carter, 250-362-5677, retrac01@telus.net, or get in touch with any FORRS director. (Contact information is posted on the FORRS website.)
