The proposed Island Bay provincial park and recreation area is a good idea and would be a step in the right direction for preserving some of the remaining natural habitat around Moose Lake. On Friday, residents and stakeholders learned about the proposal at an open house presentation by the Moose Lake Watershed Society. The proposal would take at least a couple years to get approval from the province, providing the time to make some adjustments to make it suit the needs of local users. At the meeting, attendees offered valuable suggestions that may be needed to tweak the current plan to make it fit the needs of local users.
A primary concern of the presentation, and raised by several people in attendance, was enforcing land use designation - and keeping quads on one trail instead of creating a maze through the forest, disturbing shoreline, and tearing up peat moss. Of course, a big part of the fun of a quad is testing its limits driving through the mud or exploring the uncharted wilderness, but the resulting destruction of plant life and shoreline can affect other users of the area, like fishers who would suffer if spawning grounds were destroyed.
Attendees at the meeting questioned the current proposal calling for both a provincial park, which provides maximum protection, and a recreational area, which permits current uses. However, both designations allow for enforcement of quad trails that the current status of crown land does not.
Another consideration brought about by creating a provincial park where there was none before was game management. Stopping hunter in the area could result in overpopulation and disease in animals that would otherwise have been culled. Stakeholders will have to consider both the long-term effects as well as goals before submitting the plan to Alberta Parks.
