Correspondence: Invitation to July 11 Trail Opening and Request for Letter of Support

Subject: Invitation to July 11 Trail Opening and Request for Letter of Support

June 21, 2019

Dear Mayor and Council, Chair and Directors, Chief and Council, MLAs and MPs

The Nature Trails Society (NTS) has a big vision to connect existing regional wilderness trails and partner with all levels of government to establish and maintain a 200-kilometre multi-use trail network for walkers, hikers, runners, cyclists, horseback riders and orienteers on southern Vancouver Island. The NTS is an independent society that undertakes to:

• Develop, support and connect a sustainable multi-use trail network through collaboration with land owners/managers, governments, Indigenous communities and the broader community;
• Provide expertise and education to facilitate contributions to a world-class trail network on Vancouver Island; and,
• Support connecting communities, sustainable land stewardship, economic development, and physical and mental health.

Invitation to Grand Opening of “Playground and Skirt Trails”

The NTS is inviting all elected officials in the Greater Victoria region and government staff representatives to attend a new trail opening in the City of Langford. It was developed in concert with developer Bear Mountain Resort, consisting of 1.7 kilometres of multi-use trails on Bear Mountain. NTS planned, resourced and constructed it and it has now been transferred to the City of Langford (who provides user liability insurance). The NST has proposed to maintain the trails.

Timing: July 11; 15:00-18:00 Location: Nicklaus Playground on Nicklaus Drive; Bear Mountain Links to map and photo of location RSVP: info@NatureTrailsSociety.com

We acknowledge the history of this location as being misaligned with Indigenous rights and title to the territory and understand if our Indigenous partners decline to attend.

Request for Letter of Support

The NTS provides expertise to facilitate contributions to a world-class trail network in the Greater Victoria area. We have an active Board of Directors, a full-time paid Executive Director, project contacts and large network of volunteers, including connections with over 2,000 members of our partner organizations listed in the footnote1.

The NTS advantage is that we connect existing trail networks of multiple jurisdictions, formally enhancing their value, as is already informally practiced by adventurous trail users (e.g., cyclo-cross, ultra-marathoners, backcountry horseback riders), enhancing the health and well-being of our communities, and making our region a world-class destination and choice for amenity-focused real estate investors. NTS does not replace the parks and trails work of jurisdictions, but rather is able to partner with them for new priorities. NTS can quickly mobilize planning, construction and maintenance crews in alignment with labour requirements, ensure compatibility with mixed or shared uses, build trails to a world-class standard (Whistler Trail Standards), provide mapping as needed, reduce the need for informal (and sometimes unsafe) trails, ensure insurance is provided and provide maintenance. We constructed the Electric Avenue Trail on Provincial Crown Land near Thetis Lake.

We are seeking a letter of support for an upcoming proposal to the BC Real Estate Foundation to support sustainable multi-use trail development. The submission deadline is September 5, and thus we would appreciate receiving contact information for the appropriate staff person within your government organization who can facilitate such a letter. Please send us the contact information by July 15, 2019 to: andrewpape@shaw.ca and cc: info@NatureTrailsSociety.com. We will send the draft proposal to the contact for your consideration.

Our proposal to the BC Real Estate Foundation will focus on the planning and stakeholder engagement aspects of a 200-kilometre wilderness trail network over the long-term with an aim to connect key trails systems in parks such as Sooke Hills Wilderness, the Great Trail, Goldstream, Thetis, Mount Work, Francis King, Gowlland Tod, Colquitz/Interurban, Elk/Beaver, John Dean and Gulf Islands National, plus any existing or emerging trail networks of Indigenous communities. In the short-term, we will propose construction of at least one connector trail in one or more of the circled areas in the concept map below. We refer to this emerging trail development as the “Heart of the Hills”; to be developed in concert with land owners, neighbourhood stakeholders, Indigenous communities (traditional land-use), government departments and user groups.

We hope you can join us at the upcoming trail opening and provide a letter of support for our funding proposal.

Sincerely,

Andrew Pape-Salmon Director, Southern Vancouver Island Nature Trails Society andrewpape@shaw.ca Tel: 250-592-7017

1 Including: Citizen Canine, South Island Disc Golf Society, Sooke Bike Club, South Island Mountain Bike Society, Vancouver Island Spine Trail Association, Prairie Inn Harriers, Tripleshot Cycling Club, Outdoor Club of Victoria, Power To Be, and Coastline Endurance Running, along with development partners such as City of Langford and MEC.

Figure 1 – “Heart of the Hills” Wilderness Trail Connectors

Notes:

• Existing formal and informal trails are depicted on the map; not a complete inventory.
• The circles illustrate key connections sought – between Gowlland Tod, Goldstream/Mount Finlayson, Thetis Lake, Francis King and the Colquitz systems, subject to identification of suitable right-of-way and agreement with land owners.
• An informal Mount Work-Thetis connector is already established, depicted on the map.
• As a first step, the NTS seeks to consult applicable local governments and BC Parks on their respective trails/parks plans for the aforementioned parks.