1. Please tell us how you currently use the Cumberland Trail Network?
Since moving here in 2009, my family and I have used the trails frequently. I used to ride MTB with friends but now rarely do – knowing that my riding style often exceeds my skills, and serious injury would have serious consequences for my family, I now use my ‘quota of risk’ on the volleyball court and at sea, but I still ride the blue trails a few times each year. I walk the lower trails, and sometimes take the e-bike up the logging roads and hike higher up. We’ve been known to cross-country ski on the trails too.
2. Why do you feel that the Cumberland trails are an important community asset/amenity for ‘Cumberland’ and the broader Comox Valley?
Trails obviously provide recreation opportunities for riders, runners and walkers, and training and development for competitive athletes. The network creates economic opportunities for guiding, equipment supply and service, and world-class events. There is also a stewardship benefit because people protect what they love, and they come to know and love a forest by being within it.
The work of the mountain bike community opened up trail access to local residents and visitors alike, and the subsequent work of many organizations, governments and property owners has created a network of legally accessible trails for riders and walkers, and has also brought large areas of the network into protected public ownership. This creates a precious asset with many recreation, economic and environmental service benefits. It’s important to recognise the dedication, passion, vision, and probably millions of hours of service that volunteers have put into creating and protecting the trail network and the lands that cradle it.
3. How do you think the Village of Cumberland and Comox Valley Regional District should support or collaborate with UROC? Do you propose any changes to the status quo?
Well-managed non-profit groups with a clear vision and mandate are powerful partners for local government. They bring expertise, advice and advocacy. We can see examples of this across the province in recreation, conservation, housing, education and other areas. Locally, the Village’s work with UROC, CCSS, CCFS, Lake Park Society and others are great examples.
The trail network is now clearly a regional amenity – riders come from all over the region, the island and further afield. I would support efforts to broaden the provision and funding of amenities, especially trail access points, to ease the pressure on village residents and facilities, and continue to improve the management of this important destination.
4. What is your approach to balancing the economic and social benefits of important community recreational assets with potential impacts from traffic and visitors?
Like many of you, I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively. As a young family, we lived for two winters in the Caribbean and a summer in Maine and New England. Professionally, much of my company’s work has been in tourism marketing in BC and beyond. I’ve seen the consequences of ‘over-tourism’ and the benefits that appropriate and well-communicated tourism can bring when communities lead, rather than follow, their visitors through smart strategies for visitor attraction, education and destination management.
Tourism is an industry that can consume its resource; the communities and lands within which it functions. As the network matures, maintenance of existing trails becomes more important to limit that consumption. In Cumberland, we know we risk being the victims of our own success and I have been pleased to see that in recent years, there has been a widening awareness of the issues and lots of collaborative work to balance different views and interests. UROC is a key player in this because your board, staff and members understand, and love, the forest and trails.