Expansion of Midway Trail Network Through Community Collaboration
A new trail in the Midway Trail Network
After a storm caused tremendous damage to the Midway Trail Network in 2018, Osoyoos Indian Band, West Boundary Community Forest, community volunteers, and foresters worked together to restore the recreational use trails in Boundary Country and develop 1,000 meters of new trail, which can accessed through the existing Midway Trail Network. Hikers and bikers can now experience areas in the community forest that were to overgrown or filled with downed trees.
The need for the project started in the summer of 2018 when a strong windstorm came through the southern Boundary region and blew over a vast number of trees.
Midway may only have a population of 649 people, but the community hosts thousands of visitors throughout the year who venture into the West Boundary Community Forest (WBCF) to explore the extensive Midway Trails network on mountain bike, snowshoes, or hiking. As locals, visitors, and school groups are actively out in the Community Forest, it was to proactively improve the health of the forest for future generations, and to remove dead and fallen trees that could pose a wildfire threat.
“This project has been a community effort,” said Dan Macmaster, Fibre Manager for Vaagen Fibre Canada and Forest Manager of the WBCF. “Our team at Vaagen worked to develop the prescription, and then supervise and implement the work using funding dollars provided by FESBC and the WBCF. This project is on actively used trail systems, so it was important to engage the community to ensure their involvement and buy in, including our First Nations partners in the planning and implementation phases.”
The Osoyoos Indian Band and their forestry team provided archaeology assessments at the outset and members of the Band have been involved in post-harvest treatments like bucking and piling trees.
“This project work has been a very light touch on the landscape using an innovative harvesting/forwarding system to minimize soil disturbance. Plus, we are doing hand treatments where possible,” said Macmaster. “We’ve even had school groups come in to learn more about their community forest and do some of the hands-on work.”
Through daily inspections by the Midway Trail Society volunteers, blowdown from the storm was noted as significant, and an aerial inspection by the WBCF verified the extent of the damage. Because the area is already susceptible to the Douglas-fir beetle, the downed trees needed to be removed to prevent further infestation in the local forest. The Mayors of Midway and Greenwood were very supportive of the project, and a Director of the WBCF Board has heard excellent reviews from local residents and community leaders alike.
“We are pleased to see the hard work of so many make an improved difference for our Community Forest and for the Midway Trails,” said Ross Elliot, Director on the Board of the WBCF. “We expressed early on to the Midway Trails Society members and to the residents of Midway and Greenwood who have joint ownership of this Community Forest that there was a lot of work to be done. The $94,200 in FESBC funding, in conjunction with a $139,500 contribution from the WBCF, has allowed us to get the work underway. Moving forward, we will continue to rely on our community volunteers to maintain the trails well into the future for everyone to enjoy.”
Noting the many benefits of the project is FESBC Operations Manager, Gord Pratt: “Our team likes to see projects that request FESBC-funding cover a number of our purposes, and this project is doing just that. Not only are excessive fuel loads being reduced to mitigate increased wildfire risk, but the work is making the forest healthier. This in turn helps create enhanced wildlife habitat, maintain forest recreation opportunities, and ensures timber supply for future generations. When marginal stands can be harvested and brought to the local mill, projects like this also create economic benefits, including jobs for the community.”
To see the project area in relation to the Midway Trails System, visit the West Boundary Community Forest website. The interpretive trail map signs will be updated for 2021.
Submitted by Forest Enhancement Society of BC