My first thought to these official looking stickers that are being added to Hiking Trail signs and other Recreational Area Information signs was
“hmm, a new sign”.
Then I laughed when I realized that someone added the sticker because they are funny! That was in the Graystokes area where hikers better watch out for motorized vehicles in summer and winter as they are the designated mode of travel. A few weekends later I was exploring the Trepanier Canyon Provincial Park where motorized vehicles may not be permitted and I saw the same stickers being added and this time with a few new additions…bullet holes.
So I would like to use this blog as the staging point for movement to have this vandalism stopped. This type of vandalism is bad for everyone. It makes a bad name for responsible folks who use motorised vehicles for recreation, damages public property, misdirects and misinforms tourists and locals and really is irresponsible.
Please help stop this by commenting here and asking the members of various outdoor recreation groups to help put a stop to the people who are responsible.
I have emailed BC Parks and other parties that may be able to help. I will add to this contact list as time permits. Please mention in the comments what groups you have contacted and if you have had any luck in asking people who are responsible to stop.
comment below —BC Parks
comment below —-Some Kelowna and Provincial ATV Groups
no comment —-Central Okanagan Hiking Club
Thanks to Chery at BC Parks who obviously has a heart for BC Parks, I received this email reply;
Hello Clayton……………appreciate you sending us an email and setting up the blog on this sign vandalism. I’ve forwarded your message onto our BC Parks area supervisors that manage this area of the province, for them to respond directly back to you on this issue.
We thank you for your support and wanting to help us deter those that wish to vandalize public property.
Bye for now,
Cheryl Noble
Information Officer, BC Parks
Visit our website: http://www.bcparks.ca
I sent an email to a Kelowna based ATV group and a Provincial ATV group (they both went to the same person), here is my email and their reply;
My request; Please read my blog about malicious vandals wrecking BC Parks signage in the Okanagan area and post a comment to let us know if you can help with anything that can be done to stop it. Some pictures are added so you can see if you know anyone who may be responsible.
https://tracksandtrails.ca/hikingtrails/2008/08/19/bc-provincial-parks-please-help-stop-vandalism/
Thank you,
Their Reply
While I understand your concerns regarding the vandalism, I ask that you remove our name and email address from your website immediately. As this is our personal email address, it may not be used without our authorization.
Thank you,
My reply: Thanks for the reply. I made the correction and removed all emails but left the website link.
Have a good day.
ATV clubs reply back: As requested yesterday, please remove the …ATV Club link to the ….. link on your website. The vandalism sticker depicted on your blog link below are of a hiker and a motorcycle, not an ATV, and we do not have an affiliation with either the hiker or dirt bike community. The ….club as well as our provincial body promote sharing the trails and treading lightly on our environment. Therefore, we understand your concern but do not want to be associated with the wrong doing of others. Nor do we wish to answer to individuals that contact us to ask “people who are responsible to stop.”
Again, please remove any association to our clubs.
Thank you,
Clayton’s Response.
Wow – I really do not want to make any enemies. My blog post certainly does not point the blame to anyone or any group or any type of group. All outdoor enthusiasts that I have met on the trails are awesome – I always ask ATVers and Bikers questions as they cover a lot more ground than I do. I emailed and am emailing more outdoor groups of all types because if we work together we put the word out to the folks who are responsible for these stickers that degrade trails and misdirect responsible trail users. If we happen to hear of someone doing this or of someone who is promoting these stickers then I am simply asking to suggest to them to stop. I am not even asking to report them as I think that once they understand what they are doing is illegal and not funny that they will stop. Maybe an ATV enthusiast will actually see someone (possibly a biker) placing these stickers on trail signs or maybe an ATV owner who also owns a bike will come across a promoter of these stickers and then ask them to stop. ATV’s and Bike’s are awesome – I ride them too!
Here was another official response to Trail Sign Damage.
Hi Clayton,
Thanks for your interest in this issue and your offer of support to help
stop vandalism. Having the public provide information on what they are
encountering while out in the parks is a great help for us. In the
course of our duties, BC Parks staff enforce the Park and Recreation
Area Regulations. Vandalism of park property such as signs is a
contravention of Section 32 of this regulation and carries a fine.
While I encourage you to observe activities, please report any issues to
our office rather than taking any action yourself. Hopefully, a
combined effort by both user groups and government agencies to educate
people about the natural and recreational values present in the Okanagan
will change attitudes about appropriate recreation and use of public
lands.
Mark Weston
Area Supervisor, South Okanagan
Protected Areas Division
Ministry of Environment
Okanagan Region
Office: (250) 490-8279
Cell: (250) 770-0032
I put Mark’s and the Ministry of Environment email into the comments section above so others can become aware of the legal consequences.
The stickers that are being placed on signs look professional and I think that it is a good chance that more than one person is responsible. I hope other trail users become aware of the situation and report and comment on where the incidences occur so we can see if and when it becomes a larger problem.
Clayton