Horses on Gabriola trails
I often see equestrians on Gabriola trails, particularly in the part of the Elder Cedar Nature Reserve that’s near Windecker, and in the 707 Acre Community Park. I like horses and they (both horses and riders) always seem to be friendly and polite, so this is fine by me. But are horses OK for Gabriola’s trails, or is there a problem? The Islands Trust Fund (they manage the Elder Cedar Nature Reserve) and the Regional District of Nanaimo (they manage the 707) seem to disagree on this, as they’ve set different policies for the trails they manage.
Here’s one of the signs one sees on the land managed by the Islands Trust Fund. (This sign is at the Windecker end of the Elder Cedar Nature Reserve, on a trail that is liberally adorned with horse manure.) A pictogram on the sign indicates that horseback riding is prohibited. What does the Islands Trust Fund have against horses in their Gabriola trails?
Off I went to Google. The concern seems to be that horses are likely to spread invasive plants, and the conclusion, I suppose, is that horses should not be on Gabriola trails.
On the other hand, the 707 (managed by the RDN) has no such signs, and everybody seems to think that horses there are just fine.
Who’s right? Who knows? I don’t much care what land management people decide, but I do find it puzzling that the Islands Trust Fund and the RDN seem to have come to rather different conclusions when it comes to horses on Gabriola trails.
Related info
- Environmental Aspects of Horses on Trails – americantrails.org
- Germination of Invasive Plant Seeds after Digestion by Horses in California – bioone.org
- The Potential for Horses to Disperse Alien Plants Along Recreational Trails – srmjournals.org
Filed in Gabriola Island,invasive plants,RDN 9 Comments so far
9 Responses to “Horses on Gabriola trails”
anon on 15 Jun 2010 at 6:35 am #
Stop and scoop? It works for dogs!
nick doe on 16 Jun 2010 at 1:56 am #
You seem to be confusing the Islands Trust Fund and the Islands Trust, and a Nature Reserve and a Park.
Gabriolan on 16 Jun 2010 at 8:42 am #
Thanks, Nick – good point. I’ve changed the wording in an attempt to be more accurate.
nick doe on 16 Jun 2010 at 9:54 am #
No. The confusion remains. The notice in your photograph is for a Nature Reserve. The no-horse policy it promotes for the Reserve has nothing to do with policies for the 707 Community Park.
Gabriolan on 16 Jun 2010 at 10:05 am #
Nick — I’ve now mentioned the Elder Cedars first, in the hope of making this clear.
I understand that the no-horse policy for the Reserve has nothing to do with policies for the 707.
What I’m trying to say is that these two organizations (the Islands Trust Fund and the RDN) both set policies for their respective trails on Gabriola, and yet they seem to have come to different conclusions about whether horses are OK on those trails or not. This interests me, because presumably both groups have access to the same research. I wonder why the Islands Trust Fund decided to prohibit horses, while the RDN decided to allow them.
enjay on 16 Jun 2010 at 11:47 am #
I don’t know the answer to your question, but I’ve spent quite a lot of time around and working with parkies, and so this is my guess:
Parks and recreational areas are classified in different ways, with different levels of protection. For example, this is how BC Parks classifies them:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/aboutBCParks/prk_desig.html
Normally nature/ecological reserves’ first priority is the preservation of habitat and ecosystems. Parks, on the other hand, may put recreational use by people as a primary function. A nature reserve would therefore be more likely to prohibit activities that damage the ecosystem.
Apart from the question of introducing invasive species, horses (and bicycles) can do significant damage to trails and the roots of trees around them*, and so they are often prohibited from trails. Human overuse can damage trails in the same way, of course, but it requires a LOT of human overuse to create the same level of effect as occurs with horses and bicycles. This is one of the reasons that agencies like BC Parks/Parks Canada create such sophisticated trails to required specifications, until they practically look like narrow graded roads—the trail construction standards are intended to mitigate the effects of their use.
All of which is to say that the difference may not relate to the agencies controlling the areas, but to the classification and priorities given to those areas. It would be interesting to find out if that’s true, though.
(*This info was given to me by a senior parks person, I haven’t researched it personally).
nick doe on 16 Jun 2010 at 7:01 pm #
That’s my understanding. It would be quite within reason for the Islands Trust Fund to ban ALL trails in a Nature Reserve, but quite obviously not in a Park. The ITF is playing only a minor role in managing the 707, it’s the RDN that’s in the saddle (so to speak). Part of the controversy on trails in the 707 centres around the definition of “a park”, which can range all the way from a Wilderness Park ( a Nature Reserve with trails) to a car or amusement park. It’s a whole different topic but I think the 707 is a forest, not a park.
Gabriolan on 16 Jun 2010 at 7:50 pm #
enjay — This is very informative. Thanks for taking the time to type up all that, and for that link, too.
Nick — thanks for the details. The definition of ‘park’ really is pivotal for the 707, isn’t it?
cheryl on 16 Jun 2010 at 7:59 pm #
I’ve walked in the Government woods and the 707 and the Nature Reserve a lot. The gov. woods and the Reserve are, in my opinion most defiantly a forest. Dense and very lush, and full of wild life of all kinds. But as for the 707 in comparison is not by any means a forest. It’s dry and sparse, I have yet to see a deer or raccoon or a wood pecker, though I have seen lots of mice and a starling or two. It’s a park with many many trails, with dead car parts and garbage every where. A park of beauty it’s not but hopefully with some work it’ll become the park every one on Gabriola could be proud of. And just a added note I see nothing wrong with horses in the 707 as long as the rider respects the trails and like dogs clean up after the horse. Stick to the wide trails and the damage will be minimal.