Dear editor,
Re: Gates and signs on local forest lands.
There have been several letters in the papers about the new gates and closures on bush roads as folks are finding their habitual recreation spots behind locks. Far be it for me to defend TimberWest and I hope my Birkenstock comrades will forgive me, but there are some facts to be considered.
It is, once again, the case of an obnoxious few ruining it for everyone.
What would you do if punks came onto your property and stole thousands of litres of fuel, vandalized expensive equipment, cut firewood from prime trees, dumped garbage all over, destroyed access structures and set fires through carelessness, fireworks or explosives?
The amount of garbage, broken glass, obscene graffiti and vandalism at a fine lakeside spot at wolf Lake was truly staggering recently.
A month or so ago, someone got a one-day insurance permit to drag an old travel trailer up to the lake where they thought they could have a private lakeside cottage for the summer.
Did they get permission from the land owner? No. The trailer lasted a couple of weeks until it was torched, leaving a fine molten mess for TW to clean up. Hence the gate.
Another example is where TW removed a temporary bridge. Some brave soul tore down a road sign to an obscene comment while unloading seven bags of household garbage. I guess irony is in fact escapable for some morons.
Who are the culprits? Your sons, brothers, nephews, grandsons — local lads full of the deadly mixture of alcohol, testosterone and gasoline. I see their evidence every weekend when I am on fire patrol for the Forest Service.
I hear stories from frustrated families who are run out of tranquil lakeside campsites by drunk, loud punks trashing the place. And now everyone is paying the price.
Don’t blame TimberWest for the closures. Look closer to home.
Harold Macy,
Merville