An article by Carleton economics professor Frances Woolley using trail use conflict in Gatineau Park as an example of distortion of markets.
This comes on a day when numerous trails designated by the NCC for back country ski use have seen snowshoe traffic this past weekend as reported by Harold Blount.
Though Professor Woolly indicates that bodies like Gatineau Park have not reacted to the increase in the popularity of snowshoeing by converting ski trails to snowshoe trails, the figures I’ve seen tell a slightly different story. There are thought to be proximately two hundred thousand ski visits per season in Gatineau Park and fifty thousand snowshoe visits. This is reflected by Gatineau Park official trails measuring in at 200 km for skiing and 60 km for snowshoeing. In this the ratio fits the use.
She says “the division of trails between snowshoeing and cross-country skiing has remained unchanged” although the winter of 2009/10 saw new snowshoe trails in the park.
But snowshoeing is increasing in popularity and the facilities for snowshoeing don’t always match those for skiing. For example, in the north of the park snowshoers can visit the Herridge, Healey and Renaud just as well as skiers can using designated trails. In the southern part of the park Keogan, Shilly Shally, Huron and Western lodges are serviced by ski trails but not snowshoe trails. The fact that this southern part of the park is closer to a large population means that snowshoers will naturally go there. Despite what some say, that the two groups should be able to share trails, there have been and will continue to be conflicts.
Professor Woolly also says “more trails for the snowshoers mean fewer trails for the skiers.”
There are already fewer trails for skiers. In the last 20 years in Gatineau Park more than a dozen cross country ski trails have been fenced off and allowed to grow back to brush.
Surely in the huge area of Gatineau Park we can make room for both uses.
The cards that GuideGatineau has begun distributing to promote the website are considered to be highly environmentally responsible due to the fact that the paper used is 100% recycled and is produced using energy from biofuels plus the ink is vegetable based.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. And I’m glad to see that you – unlike many of the commentators on the G&M web site – actually do understand that there is an issue here.
As someone who loves both x-country and snowshoeing (as well as hiking, canoeing and swimming) I can see both sides of the debate.
The point of my article was to use the example of the responsiveness of the NCC to demographic changes as a metaphor for governments’ responses to demographic changes in general.