The logging of an area around a bike trail crucial to numerous races has sparked frustration between forestry and recrational interests.On Thursday (April 24), Squamish Off Road Cycling Association (SORCA) president Cliff Miller received information that tree harvesting was taking place at George's Crossing - a crucial connector between two sides of a gully at Ring Creek. Organizers for the multi-stage race MOMAR (Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race) intended to use the area for its May 10 race, but delays over necessary advance trail work could jeopardize that leg of the event.The area also accommodates the Gearjammer and BC Bike races. Miller immediately sent off an email to local BC Timber Sales (BCTS) manager Jerry Kennah expressing frustration over what he perceives is an ongoing lack of communication."For BCTS to go in and start a logging operation without even a phone call so that we could make the mountain bike community aware shows to me exactly how low the mountain bike community really is in BCTS's eyes," wrote Miller.Kennah said he's willing to work with stakeholders, but "communication is a two-way street.""Our planning process with local groups such as SORCA is to go through any issues such as Timber Sale at the planning stage. At this particular one, we did that back in 2001, and we agreed that where a trail went through the sale we would sign it and close it and after logging we would ensure that it's passable again, and that's what we're doing."What's happened in between I think, as SORCA and the whole mountain biking community has grown in the Squamish area, the demands for information have increased to the point they would like us now to let them know exactly when harvesting is starting so they can post it. They haven't really communicated that with us very well, so we've been in discussions in the last couple of days through email, and we're fully prepared to do that. It's just that nobody requested us to give them information in advance."The incident brought back bad memories over the controversial logging of the Powerhouse Plunge.Since the Plunge controversy, the province has established an organization called FrontCounter BC, which takes in applications for use of Crown Land and conveys the information to government bodies in order to avoid conflict.District trails co-ordinator Todd Pope said it was at this level that communication between stakeholders failed."What happened is - not to the blame on any one person or organization - I did confirm that these people [race organizers] did do FrontCounter and BCTS never got the information. It seems there was a bit of a communication breakdown with FrontCounter BC," said Pope. "I'm trying to see if we can make arrangements so they can still get in there and get that done so that some of the course can be open."But Liz Bicknell, communications director for Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, which oversees FrontCounter, said the application was never brought to the province, despite communicating with the main organizer."We have not received an application, and both FrontCounter BC and ILMB [Integrated Land Management Bureau] are very familiar with the [MOMAR] race and they've been consistently telling him that an application is required. And in the absence of such an application it's difficult to know what type of tenure could be issued." Calls to MOMAR organizers were not returned by press time.Miller said despite the confusion over applications, stakeholders should nonetheless be advised when work begins."I just feel like the head doesn't know what the tail's doing anywhere in the government. "Up here you've got an office of BCTS up there in the Ministry of Forests office, you've got MOTSA [Ministry of Tourism, Sport and Arts] working out of the same office down the hall from each other and they can't communicate. How long does it take to drop a two-line email off?"
