I recently touched on a topic that gets everyone worked up, and that is land closures and gates. This topic began on the Internet and concerned a batch of wheelers locally who were ticketed for crossing a park to access a traditional wheeling area.

Also recently a gate went up on Vancouver Island (yes, another one) that bars access to a large wheeling area traditionally open year-round. Then there is the GAMP (Ghost Area Management Plan) for the foothills outside of Calgary that has just about wiped out Calgary wheelers' favorite play area.

Yes, this is a lot of doom and gloom for wheelers in the west. While there are still a lot of areas to go, many places are under pressure due to logging interests as well as environmental issues. I understand the entire area around Osoyoos will be lost to all outdoorsmen as environmentalists attempt to turn that area into a "park" as well. This is an endless battle all across North America, not just Canada. We have just been hit with quite a few closures over the past few years, causing a lot of frustration to say the least.

So what can be done? Well, fighting the good fight is probably the most sensible approach, and that usually takes substantial effort. If you can't get out yourself, support those who can.

On that note, an idea came across my mind which I bounced off a half-dozen or so at the recent Off-road Expo in Red Deer, and received some positive feedback.

What would prevent a group of wheelers from creating a time-shared property where each share is part of a deeded piece of land that can be used for wheeling? You buy condo time-shares this way, and as a great example, Rubicon Springs is owned this way. The time-share owners would own a piece of the land and that share would appreciate in value as real estate increases. The shares could be sold through committee to ensure off-road enthusiasts own the shares and not those who do not have motorized sport in mind.

Heck, you pay a ton to build and maintain your 4x4 — what would the chance to design and build your own trail system be worth to you? A place you can go camp, wheel and not have to look over your shoulder all the time. A place to hold events for your clubs without gates going up with no notice.

So with this thought, I scanned the MLS listings for BC, mostly because we have the appropriate terrain for something like this. Now we are not talking about a place right next to Vancouver or in the heart of the Okanagan — but large tracts of land that could be used for a permanent trail system can be found within a reasonable drive from the main population bases.

What will it cost? I have spotted some large 600-acre sections for under $500,000. At that price, that would be 100 shares at $5,000 each. A share to a deeded piece of land, this would not be a donation but an investment in your sport and for yourself. You can't tell me we don't have 100 readers who can put in $5000 each for a project like this.

I will say if we get the interest I will place a page up on our web site and list all those interested in taking part — and yes, my share will be $5,000. If we can put it together I will work with an off-road friendly realtor to find a piece suitable for an off-road park that is central enough to service the bulk of the BC population. From Alberta? Join in too — we are not that far away. If we get more than 100 shareholders, we can consider more acreage or even a second area.

So let's put our money where our mouths are. I will be quite disappointed if we can't put this together.

Albert Vandervelde
Editor, 4WD Magazine