Treemageddon in West Bragg Creek!
Nasty weather has always been a challenge for Bragg Creek Trail (BCT) crews but the wind event that hit the eastern slopes of the Rockies over the evening of November 30 was at a scale none of us had ever experienced. Over the past 4 months since that harrowing day, Bragg Creek trails in concert with Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) crews have removed 2,600 trees from the 180 km of trails that BCT manages. This catastrophe happened on the eve of the official start date for winter ski trail grooming so the grooming team and volunteers were out clearing debris as soon as the winds died. Over 500 trees were cleared on ski trails alone which allowed for early season tread preparation to quickly resume. This number continues to grow as we can finally get to some of the harder to reach places on the trail system. Mother Nature continues to have a humbling effect on us as she adds regular damaging Chinook winds to the mix.
BCT crews follow strict safety procedures when dealing with fallen trees. Anything that falls outside of BCT’s scope of arbour work gets handed over to AEP staff or a contractor. The logistics of getting out to these sites during winter conditions relies heavily on the creativity of the crews who use a combination of motorized and non-motorized equipment to get the job done. The determination of BCT and AEP to open the trails was driven by many factors. Restoring access and user safety were at the top of the list of priorities. There was also a sense of urgency generated by the looming restriction date for arbour work during the migratory bird nesting window from April 15 to August 15. This closure limits our tree cutting and brushing activities. We are 90% there so expect to have this work complete before then.
Further complicating the cleanup was the damage to the trail surfaces themselves where root balls from tipped over trees created impassable craters. The challenge this summer will be to reroute some of these trails to re-establish the trail corridor. Removing hazardous tree materials from the hastily cleared trail corridors will most likely take all summer.
The teamwork of BCT volunteers and AEP staff shows how trails organizations and government can work together to manage trail systems such as West Bragg Creek. A big hats off to all the volunteers and staff who showed up to take on this Herculean task day after day. The hearty thanks from trail users encountering BCT trail crews at work also helped
fuel the fire in their bellies.
On the serendipity front, BCT would like to acknowledge an anonymous donor who somehow anticipated our need for more saws. Three beautiful and very sharp Japanese arborist saws donated before the storm proved invaluable in the clearing efforts and are a great compliment to our old chain saws.
Volunteer opportunities abound at BCT. If you love these trails as much as we do, please think about giving back either through volunteering and/or donating. Contact us through Braggcreektrails.org.
info@braggcreektrails.org
braggcreektrails.org
