Logging begins on Mountain Station, trails closed
By Nelson Daily Editor
By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily
Nelson’s longstanding mountain bike trail network goes under the gun again this fall as the forestry company that owns the timber rights to the land it abounds begins logging next month.
Sixteen of the Mountain Station bike trails and the recreation areas will be closed beginning Oct. 4 as Anderson Creek Timber Co. Ltd. begins a “selected” harvest on the land above Nelson.
The longstanding trail network is built on private land owned by Anderson Creek Timber Company, who implemented plans in 2007 to begin a long-term sustainable logging operation on the hillside.
The full closure is for the safety of both workers and the public — the public being not only mountain bikers, but walkers and horseback riders who also use the area regularly.
The company which owns the land, Anderson Creek Timber, has been planning selective logging on the popular recreation site — and one of the city’s three watersheds — for years.
Up to 30 truckloads of timber have been taken out every fall since 2007, with around two trucks per day rolling down from the mountain through Nelson for the month of October. Using an eight-year rotation model, around seven hectares of trees will be taken out each year on average.
The logging practice won’t eradicate the system of mountain bike trails built there, nor is it expected to come close to, or affect, the city’s Anderson Creek watershed.
On the 614-hectare parcel of land, most of the 16 trails the Nelson Cycling Club has carved in over a span of nearly 20 years will be affected by the logging. It wasn’t until 2004 the NCC began to maintain the trails.
The mountain bike trails will be closed as well for the one month logging takes place, with all trails opening back up in the evening and on weekends. Signs have been posted at all common points where people access the trails to advise users of the logging taking place.
To get more information on the status of Mountain Station trails, contact Brent Petrick at (250) 365-9742, visit the Nelson Cycling Club website at www.nelsoncyclingclub.org, or stop into one of the local bike shops.
