Forestry company, CanWel appears to be gearing up to carry out logging above Fernie, within sight of downtown on private land they own.
Preparation works are underway to the east of town, above Ridgemont Rd. The entrance to the Kush mountain biking trail has been damaged by tracked machinery preparing the area for logging access.
Logging plans were confirmed by the Fernie Trails Alliance, which manages trails uphill of Ridgemont.
“We are happy to report that CanWel is planning for logging to occur above the Kush trail, and below the Bear Chutes trail, meaning that none of the FTA trails should be impacted,” said Todd Penke of the FTA, who added that while the entrance to the Kush trail will be affected, the FTA would carry out repairs as required when logging was completed.
“Additionally, CanWel has stated that Upper Bear Chutes will be used by Equipment, but they intend to smooth out any ruts that may occur.”
While the logging is being carried out, Kid’s Stuff and R-Trail will be closed. They are both marked as closed on Trailforks for safety reasons. As of Apr. 8, the trails in that area are under snow, and not usable for mountain biking.
While The Free Press could not confirm the scope of the logging activity or how much hillside would be logged, the works are expected to be carried out over coming weeks.
CanWel did not respond to any queries.
READ MORE: ‘The time of year to stay off the trails’: Mountain bikers head out of the Elk Valley for riding
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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