‘The Lions are having a holy crap moment’
A wildlife corridor outside Haines Junction has been severely damaged after an ATV rally held by the St. Elias Lions on May 7.
Photo submitted
MUD BOG – Meadows have been turned into swampy mud bogs near Haines Junction, following an ATV rally held by the St. Elias Lions on May 7 (top). DEVASTATION – Concerned citizens fear it may take up to a decade for the ravaged landscape to recover from the damage.
A wildlife corridor outside Haines Junction has been severely damaged after an ATV rally held by the St. Elias Lions on May 7.
A delegation of concerned citizens has met with the Lions Club and plans to make a presentation at the regular Haines Junction village council meeting tonight.
“Once you put those deep ruts into the soft boggy ground and rip up vegetation, that stays there,” Wolf Riedl, a concerned Haines Junction resident, told the Star this morning.
“We’ve already seen environmental damage in the past. This isn’t the first time.”
Riedl believes the recent event is just one example of an ongoing problem with ATV users in the territory
“The technology is getting bigger, crazier,” he said. “This is what happens when you challenge nature with machinery.”
The damage extends over a 10-km area, from near the Mackintosh Lodge to the village centre. Meadows have been converted into mud pits in multiple areas.
Riedl would like both the Lions Club and the territorial government to take responsibility for the environmental damage.
“If you let people on ATVs go unregulated, bad stuff happens on too many occasions,” he said.
The ATV rally is an annual memorial event for Jorg Schneider, a motorcycle enthusiast who died 15 years ago. This year, the event raised $5,200. Almost $3,000 was given away as prize money, while $500 went to the Haines Junction library and $1,300 went to future community projects.
“This year, the event mushroomed on us,” said a Lions spokesperson who wished to remain anonymous.
While the event has normally attracted around 30 to 40 people in past years, this year, they had between 130 and 140 people in attendance.
The spokesperson said most of the participants were from Whitehorse.
“This was a mud bog event, with maximum mud. That’s the attraction: ATVing in the mud, getting unstuck, getting soaking wet,” he said.
“This is like Disneyland for them,” said Riedl.
The spokesperson said the Lions realized immediately after the event that there was a problem, and had a meeting on May 9 to discuss the event’s future. They have also met with members of the community.
On Tuesday, members of the Lions Club joined concerned residents at the Alaska Highway to survey the damage.
“We listened to their concerns. Before June 4, we’re going to have a Lions meeting to determine the future of the event,” the spokesperson said.
“The damage looks horrific,” he said. “The Lions are having a ‘holy crap’ moment.”
News of the event’s aftermath has been circulating by e-mail, and both NDP Leader Liz Hanson and Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell received forwarded messages that included pictures of the damage.
“Any responsible ATV user would be shocked at that sort of destruction,” said Hanson. “We need to see some evidence of somebody, somewhere taking responsibility.
“This is a very public area. It’s not hidden back in the wilderness. It’s one of those situations that’s put right in our face,” said Hanson, noting that much ATV damage escapes public attention because it occurs in remote areas.
“This is where the government needs to take the next step. Regulations need to be implemented,” she said.
Mitchell believes unusually irresponsible riders are to blame for the damage.
“It seems to me like these problems have occurred because of a relatively small group of people,” he said.
He pointed out that there are many responsible, conscientious ATV drivers out there, and feels they shouldn’t be punished for the actions of a few reckless users.
“I’m concerned, I want to make sure we don’t take the lowest common denominator and restrict everybody,” he said.
“People speed on the highways. We don’t need to pass a law to make the speed limit 20 km/h just because some people go 160 km/h.”
Mitchell believes the damage already violates the law.
“There are all kinds of tools within the Environment Act,” he said. “You can’t just go out and do that. This is not acceptable. People are absolutely right.”
Rather than implementing new laws, Mitchell said, the government should be enforcing existing legislation.
“Then we ask, OK, the rules aren’t sufficient? What is?” he said. “Thou shalt not go out and tear the hell out of the countryside?”
Riedl said the Lions Club, though responsible for the event, shouldn’t take the brunt of the criticism.
“They’re not the bad guys here. The problem is the political powers that refuse to act,” he said.
“Lots of people would agree it’s wrong, ripping around like that,” he said.
“But right now there is absolutely nothing illegal about it. Right now they can do this wherever the want, whenever they want. They feel like they should have a right to do this.”
Riedl is disappointed with the response he has received from the government. He said local politicians seem to be “in a coma” regarding this issue.
Environment Minister John Edzerza did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.
Members of the Trails Only Yukon Association, which advocates controls on ATV use in the back country, could not be reached for comment.
ES
May 25, 2011 at 4:37 pm
This is very unfortunate to have happened. What do you expect when you get 140 people on quads racing around in spring time? The organizers must have known the consequences. $5,200??? Is that all it costs to go out and rip up untouched nature? Seems too dam cheap to me.
Seems like people have lost respect for nature all together. Isn’t it weird how we humans are so good at ruining things without feeling any remorse.
I am sure there is some quad head out there right now thinking what a greeny sissy I am for writing these comments and what’s the big deal because there’s lots of nature out there. The sad thing is that there won’t be any nature around for their grandchildren to enjoy once they are finished with it.
Oh well. My comments are most likely to fall on deaf ignorant ears anyways…...