Managing demand for recreational access to private managed forest lands is a priority for PFLA-member companies and the topic was addressed at two stops on the PFLA’s recent field tour in Parksville, BC. 

Temperate weather conditions and scenic terrain have long made B.C. a destination for recreationalists. In BC, about 5% of the land base is privately owned and 94% of the land base is publicly owned. On Vancouver Island, about 25% of the land base is privately owned. This differential in ownership contributes to a particularly high demand for recreational access on Vancouver Island.

On the PFLA’s recent field tour, presenters talked about their willingness to accommodate various kinds of recreational access. Some landowners allow for camping, hiking, fishing, biking, or firewood cutting on their private forest lands. For many, however, allowing recreational access comes with an increased risk of wildfire, vandalism, dumping, theft, or damage to forest ecosystems. 

Signage, gates and formal access agreements are tools that private managed forest landowners use to help mitigate the risk of accommodating recreational access but generally speaking, the challenge to ensure to public safety and protection of assets is an ongoing one.