Outdoor Recreation Council of Alberta created to weigh in on crown land use

A new group has formed to represent what it calls the majority voice of Alberta’s outdoor enthusiasts.

The Outdoor Recreation Council of Alberta (ORCA) launched Thursday to represent the interests of those involved in non-motorized activities on crown land. The move comes weeks after users of off-highway vehicles (OHV’s) banded together to oppose the provincial government’s plan to exclude motorized vehicles from using the planned Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park.

“The vast majority of Albertans who like to go for a walk, like to go skiing, don’t necessarily belong to a club, but love the outdoor space,” said Albi Sole, spokesperson for ORCA. “We have been absent from the discussions.”

“We are the majority of users in the backcountry and we’ve never really had a voice. When it comes to these big discussions that go public through the whole province, there’s no one there to talk about our interests.”

ORCA represents a number of outdoor activity groups, including hikers, backpackers, and mountaineers, but not motorized vehicles like OHV’s. Sole said ORCA supports the province’s move to ban OHV’s in the Castle.

“This type of recreation is quite simply incompatible with both provincial park and wildlife preserve designations. The presence of OHV recreation in an area fundamentally changes the nature of the recreational experience for all the other groups that seek serenity in that area.”

Sole is critical of the provincial government, feeling a lack of planning and management of crown land has led to what he calls unnecessary confrontation between motorized and non-motorized users of Alberta’s outdoors.

“By not having an overall plan that we need to set aside areas for non-OHV use, then OHV people have access to the entire province. There’s a confrontation here that’s happening unnecessarily, because we haven’t had the foresight to get together and work together.”

The Alberta government said its plan for the new provincial parks in Castle will protect over 100,000 hectares and 200 rare or at risk species.