In response to “Province tweaks natural areas,” Gazette, Sept. 1.
I am 60 years old and have been an avid outdoor enthusiast my entire life. Over those 60 years I have enjoyed a great number of outdoor activities but the activity that has sustained me the longest and has given me the most pleasure is riding my ATV. I have been doing so for almost 40 years.
Riding my ATV gives me a tremendous feeling of freedom and adventure. The health benefits I personally receive are much needed and appreciated. I am a frequent rider at the Bruderheim location and strongly oppose any plan to ban my ATV from there.
In my opinion, attempting to restore this area into some sort of pristine wilderness experience is misguided, selfish and cruel. It appears cowardly to be constantly blamed by Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation for the destruction of natural habitats in this province with my ATV. Over those 40 years I have ridden extensively over a great deal of this beautiful province. I remember being the first ATV in many locations when there were only dirt bikes and snow machines out there. I was laughed at and made fun of but I had a machine that I felt safe on and “what a view!” One main reason I have stuck with my ATV so long is the amount of riding available. No province has been as dissected and explored for resources as Alberta. In their zest for growth and revenue, my government has allowed companies to cut the heck out of the forest. The eastern slopes and northern Alberta are prime examples. There are wide cut lines nearly every mile, extending 50 miles or more and that is where I thank the powers that created them. I am not against these practices; they have made us the great province we are today. That is where I ride my ATV.
I only started riding at Bruderheim because my government gave companies permission to knock down hundreds of thousands of trees to extract oil, sand and gravel. Every farmer in the area that cleared land and started using pesticides and fertilizers is leaching pollutants into Beaver Hill Creek and has probably killed countless numbers of fish, yet because I ride my ATV across this same water and along the trails, then I must be to blame for any and all destruction, as if banning me and my ATV will make everything clean and good again.
Does Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation not see the benefits of the ATV community? To my knowledge tens of thousands of ATVs are sold annually in this province alone. We need more places to ride, not fewer. I pay the taxes for the truck to haul the trailer, not to mention a whole bunch of other amenities that go along with a day of riding. Finally, I pay taxes so I too can enjoy my Crown land in my own province, the province my ancestors settled and cleared.
It should be obvious, given the habitat restructuring caused by oil companies, mining companies, recent fires and the amount of ATV use currently practised there today that the Bruderheim site will be transformed into pristine wilderness again is misguided, selfish and laughable. How many taxpayers would pay to park their motorhomes in a burned-out bush beside an oil company gas well? I can assure you that a lot more taxpaying ATVers don’t mind the location.
In closing, please let me state that at 60, my ATV keeps me fit and agile, rejuvenated and focused, off the couch and out of the doctor’s office.
Dennis Purschke, St. Albert
