A new provincially-appointed recreation officer has started his new position in Squamish with the goals of handling trail disputes as well as moving the trail strategy forward.
Tim Hoskin, appointed by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Sports, began his position in Squamish last week and said one his main roles will be to mitigate trail clashes.
"Right now there is a real lack of co-ordination and a lot of illegal trails are being built by a lot of passionate people," said Hoskin. "We are looking at ways to avoid user conflicts and find different options to avoid trail disputes."
Hoskin said the provincial trail strategy had been delayed from its spring completion by his own hiring process; however, he anticipates the initiative will be completed this fall. He said the provincial strategy would coincide with the districts outline for trail use.
"We will be working in conjunction with the various districts," he said. "Our jurisdiction spans from Squamish to D'Arcy and we want to create something that will work with the districts."
Kevin Haberl, stewardship forester for the Ministry of Forest and Ranges, which was in charge of the strategy prior to 2006, said a new strategy will help create some order throughout Squamish's vast network of trails.
"This will bring together a diverse group of users," he said. "Squamish has hundreds of trails spanning thousands of kilometres. We want to come up with a more strategic way of dealing with things. We want to legitimize trails and legitimize who can use them."
Hoskin said various community groups representing various users will be invited to the trail strategy meetings, starting next month.
