Efforts to beat back a ravenous beetle in the forests along Revelstoke bike trails have paused for spring and summer, reopening public access as the city's cycling club looks ahead to upgrades on its mountain networks.
Woodworker Stella-Jones spent winter partially cutting swaths of forest along the "Yew R Here" bike trail, which runs between Begbie Falls Recreation Site and Mount MacPherson, to reduce fire risk in Revelstoke's wildland-urban interface and tackle an infestation of Douglas-fir beetle.
This beetle, while a native species across Canada, is more abundant in the B.C. Interior and has gained infamy as a primary killer of Douglas fir. Though they usually feed on weakened or dying trees, "occasionally the beetle populations increase to the extent that it infests and kills large numbers of healthy trees," according to the Ministry of Forests.
A middle section of "Yew R Here," which is part of the Revelstoke Cycling Association (RCA)'s MacPherson trail network but also on provincial park land, remained closed until early March for the fire and beetle mitigation work. Stella-Jones has since removed "do not enter" signage at this more noticeably clear-cut area.
According to an email from a Stella-Jones forester, the company "has been working closely with the RCA and Recreation Sites & Trails BC to mitigate the Douglas-fir beetle infestation while trying to minimize impacts to the trails. Due to the unseasonably warm and wet winter conditions and the early road restrictions, Stella-Jones has postponed our harvesting activities for the time being."
The forester added that harvesting is complete along "Yew R Here," and that Stella-Jones has more partial cuts planned farther north for when weather permits.
The Ministry of Environment and Parks told Black Press Media that Recreation Sites and Trails BC is in talks with Stella-Jones about when the postponed operations will conclude.
"When work starts up again, signage will be posted, and temporary trail and road closures may be used to protect public safety," the ministry said by email.
"Yew R Here" is just one part of RCA's more than 100 kilometres of bike trails around Mount MacPherson and three other networks at Sunnyside, Boulder Mountain and Frisby Ridge. The non-profit, founded in 1994 with 600 members today, is led by executive director Alex Cooper, who met Black Press Media on Wednesday, March 26, at the site of Stella-Jones' recent work.
"They've been great, consulting with us the whole way," Cooper raved, noting the aim for RCA has always been removing minimal trees. "They follow that as much as possible."
Stella-Jones and RCA did a walk-through of "Yew R Here" last summer to assess Douglas-fir beetle damage and decided the best approach was to halt the critter's feeding frenzy. RCA's major request was for mitigation work to happen during winter when the trails remain snowed over and cyclists don't access them. This also minimizes clear-cut areas getting less exposure to direct sunlight, which Cooper said can erode the soil.
"We've got a beautiful inland rainforest with mossy ground and cedar and hemlock," he said. "These trails here are especially popular for mountain biking in spring, with the snow melting faster."
Walking past treated sections along the trail, Cooper pointed out freshly-cut stumps, machine tracks and evidence of beetles on still-standing trees.
"You can kind of just see the holes where the fir beetles have dug their way into," Cooper described. "Anything that looks fresh, that was all logged this winter."
He reasoned that while he'd never want to see any trees go, it's been imperative to put trust in Stella-Jones' expertise to ensure this work happens effectively and where necessary, to keep the forest safe and healthy.
The Stella-Jones forester mentioned that RCA is "fully aware of our efforts to work with them while trying to address the forest health concerns in a timely manner."
More widely across its networks, RCA is putting together $105,000 to finance three or four jobs this year 鈥� May to October 鈥� for maintaining, enhancing and expanding its trails.
The Columbia Basin Trust is supporting RCA's trail work with $25,000, while Revelstoke's Resident Directed (ReDi) Grant program has provided $10,000. RCA also receives funding from B.C.'s Community Gaming Grant, with the other half of its revenue coming from membership fees.
RCA has already made notable additions to its networks in the last year, which included a second-phase expansion of its "Sisyphus" Boulder Mountain trail that now runs 4.8 kilometres. Crews are also working to rebuild Boulder's "Valmorphanizer" bike bridge, which fell apart a few years ago after almost two decades of use.
Cooper's agenda for future enhancements include installing collision-preventing features at the crossroads of uphill and downhill trails on Boulder Mountain, which he estimates costs $20,000. He's also awaiting approvals on building new trails for the Sunnyside network, and looks forward to the reopening of Boulder's "Snakes & Ladders" which was also closed last winter by logging.
"We see these trails as an incredible amenity for Revelstoke residents," Cooper said. "We've got world-class cycling here."
Thanks in part to RCA's collaboration with Stella-Jones, these cycling networks will continue to be valued for three qualities Cooper emphasizes: "safe, sustainable and fun."
