These projections assume that the remaining unprotected roadless areas with operable timber will be roaded by the year 2014, that the rate of change will be similar for each five-year period and that this rate of change has also occurred over the five-year period 1984-1989. The projections only account for possible changes due to forest development, not for possible changes due to mining, energy or other development activities. For this reason the projections of roadless area, especially for northern B.C., are probably too high.
In Figure 5.10, estimates show that in 1994 about 56% of B.C. provides roadless recreation opportunities and is still in a wilderness-like condition, while about 44% of B.C. is in roaded ROS classes. It is estimated that the roadless areas have decreased by about 13% over the last 10 years in B.C. and will continue to decrease by about 14% (or nearly 8 million hectares) over the next 10 years. Roaded areas have increased by about 22% over the last 10 years and are projected to increase 18% (nearly 8 million hectares) over the next 10 years. In the year 2004, it is projected that about half of B.C. will have roadless recreation opportunities.
The overall B.C. situation varies considerably among forest regions. For example, roadless areas are projected in 1994 to make up about 81% of the Prince Rupert Forest Region and 23% of the Kamloops Forest Region — a more than threefold difference.
British Columbia and each of its six forest regions include a range of ecosystems, from low-elevation forests to alpine areas. The amount of roaded and roadless area in these ecosystems varies as shown in Figure 5.11. The chart uses broad ecosystem types that lump biogeoclimatic zones based on similar characteristics. Estimates of roaded and roadless area are available for each zone.
Interior and sub-boreal forests have the smallest proportion of roadless area in 1994 at 18% and 28%, respectively. Alpine areas and subalpine forests have the most remaining roadless areas at 90% and 74%, respectively. Sub-boreal and boreal forests are estimated to have had the largest proportional decline in roadless areas over the last 10 years at 26% and 21%, respectively.
Roaded recreation use opportunities are provided in provincial forests, on public highways and on forest roads managed by the Ministry of Forests. These roads have been built for timber harvesting purposes but are also frequently open for public recreational use. Figure 5.12 summarizes the length of these forest roads by forest region, as reported in Ministry of Forests Annual Reports.
There were about 37 280 kilometres of maintained forest roads in 1992-93 or about 42% more than in 1983-84. The largest increase was in the Vancouver Forest Region (148%); the smallest increase was in Nelson Forest Region (21%). Today, Nelson Forest Region has more forest road than any other region, while Prince Rupert Forest Region has less than any other.
Numerous other roads in provincial forests are not maintained as forest roads.
B.C. Parks undertook an initial assessment of provincially outstanding and important special features in 1990.[85] Maps of these features were manually overlayed onto those of existing protected areas, related designations and study areas to assess their status for each forest region. Figure 5.13 summarizes this information for each forest region.
Of the 540 provincially outstanding and important features noted in this 1990 inventory, 199 (37%) are in protected areas and related designations as of December 31, 1994. This represents a 62% increase over 1984 when there were 123 features in protected areas. Another 43 features (8%) are in study areas under British Columbia’s Protected Areas Strategy. Most provincially outstanding and important features (298 or 55%) are not protected areas or study areas. Many of these features occur in provincial forests and several have been protected by other measures, such as in B.C. Forest Service recreation sites and trails and map notations.
In addition to provincially outstanding and important features, the Ministry of Forests protects and manages thousands of regionally or locally important recreation features, including those at managed recreation sites and trails .
The largest increase in the number of managed recreation sites occurred in the Prince George and Vancouver Forest Regions (55% over 10 years). The Kamloops Forest Region has the most sites (365); Prince Rupert Forest Region has the fewest (90).
There are many other recreation sites in provincial forests that are not actively managed by the Ministry of Forests. These include non-tenured sites developed through public use and B.C. Lands tenured sites developed for commercial recreation use.
Forest Service recreation sites support about 11 146 camping units.[86] Different sites have different types of access, as summarized in Figure 5.15 from the Forest Tenure Administration System (FTAS) Recreation Project Summary as of May 1993.
About 36% of camping units at recreation sites can be accessed by motorhomes and a further 51% can be accessed by other two-wheel drive vehicles. Approximately 6% of the camping units must be accessed on four-wheel drive roads, while 4% can only be accessed by trail and nearly 4% by boat.
The Ministry of Forests manages over 5000 kilometres of trails in provincial forests. Figure 5.17 summarizes the length of managed trails by forest region. Between 1983-84 and 1992-93, there was a 205% increase in the length of managed recreation trails in provincial forests. The amount of new trail varies considerably from year to year, depending on funding.
In 1987-88 there were 7995 kilometres of managed trail — over 50% more than were managed in 1992-93. In addition to managed trails, there are thousands of kilometres of trails in provincial forests not actively managed by the Ministry of Forests. These trails range from wildlife trails to trails developed and maintained by recreation groups or commercial recreation users such as guide-outfitters.
Figure 5.18 summarizes reported recreation trails (primarily managed, but also includes some unmanaged trails) by ROS class. These data are from FTAS, but are incomplete for two forest regions. About one-half (52%) of the length of reported trails occurs in roadless ROS classes. This varies considerably by forest region: in Nelson Forest Region about 80% of the trails are in roadless areas, while in the Cariboo Forest Region about 5% of the trails are in roadless areas.
Figure 5.19 summarizes the area of recreation sites and trails by ROS class. About two-thirds of the area in managed recreation sites and trails is in roadless ROS classes. Area in sites and trails and the proportion of that area in roaded and roadless ROS classes varies considerably among regions.
Most of B.C.’s interpretive forest sites have been developed over the last 10 years. During the five-year period shown in the table, there was a 64% increase in interpretive forest sites. The Vancouver Forest Region has the largest number of sites (31% of all sites in B.C.).
Campsite impact monitoring data were collected for 64 backcountry campsites in four distinctive backcountry/wilderness areas using estimation procedures adapted from the U.S. Forest Service. Data were collected on vegetation loss, exposed bare mineral soil, tree damage, root exposure, number of facilities and social trails, cleanliness and both the size of the camp area and the barren core area within the campground. An impact index assesses the general impact based on this data. The initial results for each of the four backcountry/wilderness areas are summarized in Figure 5.22. This initial survey of backcountry campsite conditions found that nearly 40% were considered to have heavy impacts and that about 90% were either moderately or heavily impacted.
Figure 5.23 shows the level to which visually sensitive areas throughout B.C. have been assessed, as of 1993. Status of visual landscape management up to Phase 3 is illustrated .
A 1993 wilderness survey conducted jointly by the Ministry of Forests, B.C. Parks and B.C. Environment asked B.C. residents about wilderness preservation and management.[88] One question was how satisfied B.C. residents were with the amount of wilderness formally designated in B.C. in protected areas and related designations. Respondents were informed at the time of the survey that about 5% of B.C. was then in designated wilderness. Figure 5.24 summarizes resident responses.
About 60% of the respondents felt more designated wilderness is needed in B.C., 37% felt the amount of wilderness already designated in B.C. is about right and 3% felt there was more designated wilderness in the province than needed.
The survey also asked residents whether different non-recreational and recreational uses were always acceptable, usually acceptable, sometimes acceptable or never acceptable in designated wilderness. The survey found that about one-half of the respondents felt that the following non-recreational uses were never acceptable in designated wilderness areas: commercial fishing (55%), trapping (52%), mining (50%) and timber harvesting (49%). Most respondents felt that cattle grazing was sometimes (42%) or never acceptable (26%). Scientific research was considered always acceptable by one-half of respondents (50%).
Respondents were asked to rate 23 recreational uses. Most non-motorized recreational uses, including commercial uses, were considered always or usually acceptable in designated wilderness by most respondents. In contrast, most respondents rated motorized recreational uses as either sometimes or never acceptable.
No recreation use was considered either “always acceptable” or “never acceptable” in designated wilderness by most respondents, except all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use, which was considered never acceptable by 54% of respondents. This underscores the need for wilderness management planning to determine desired conditions for each designated wilderness area and for wilderness management to regulate use to maintain desired conditions.
As shown in Figure 5.25, overall satisfaction with Forest Service recreation sites is high (90% satisfied); for most respondents, expectations were met for all motives of use. Serious problems reported by more than 4% of the users were: noise from other people (9%), too many people encountered (9%), not enough firewood (8%), vandalism of facilities (8%), hard to get information about the area (7%), road to site was not well maintained (7%) and sites were not clean (6%).
Although overall satisfaction is high provincially, major problems exist in some areas. Vandalism and rowdyism are particularly serious problems on Forest Service recreation sites near large urban centres, such as in the Lower Mainland area and on southeastern Vancouver Island.
The survey also asked both users and non-users of Forest Service recreation sites and trails what conditions they desired and would consider acceptable. Most respondents (62%) desired an unaltered natural setting (e.g., never logged) and would accept sites in a natural setting where modification is not evident, somewhat evident or culturally modified. Most respondents (72%) would not accept recreation sites in extensively modified natural settings such as recently logged areas.
Most Forest Service recreation sites are rustic and relatively small in size, compared to private campsites and park campgrounds. Most respondents (57%) would accept no more than 20 people at a Forest Service recreation site. Most users (62%) would accept three hours of travel on an unpaved road to get to a Forest Service recreation site, while most non-users (61%) would accept no more than one hour of travel on an unpaved road.
Most respondents (53%) felt it was very important that Forest Service recreation sites remain free of charge. However, most respondents (54%) also stated they were still very likely to use these recreation sites if a small user fee were charged.
A B.C. Parks campground survey in 1988 found that users are looking for a more rustic and low-key (fewer restrictions, lower maintenance, fewer services) facility at Forest Service recreation sites in contrast to park and private campgrounds.[90]
