West Bragg logging plan damaging to kilometres of trail, recreation groups say

A plan to log 450 hectares of old-growth forest near Bragg Creek, Alta., would significantly damage kilometres of popular trails, say groups representing recreational users.

The plan by West Fraser, which now owns Spray Lakes Sawmills, is to cut two large blocks of timber in 2026.

But the cut blocks cover between 25 and 30 kilometres of existing hiking, equestrian and mountain bike trails.

"Obviously, this is going to be a significant impact to the area as far as changing the landscape," said Conrad Schiebel, president of Bragg Creek Trails.

"We're working with West Fraser to try to sort out what kinds of mitigations we can put in place to reduce the impact to the trails and the trail users."

Schiebel's group is responsible for the design and maintenance of the network.

In a previous cut conducted in 2012 aimed at limiting fire risk to Bragg Creek, trees were left as a buffer around impacted trails.

Most of those have blown over during the past decade.

Jeff Woodgate with Grow Kananaskis says traffic counters show the trails see around 300,000 users a year and are a go-to weekend recreation destination for many Calgarians.

"It significantly affects the experience that all those recreationalists would have," Woodgate said.

In a statement Wednesday, West Fraser said in part:

"We welcome input on our forest planning including for the West Bragg Creek / Moose Mountain area. Public input is important as it helps inform our plans with insights from local residents and stakeholder groups as to the values that are important to them – whether that is particular knowledge of trails or visual quality objectives that should be considered and factored into our planning."

The statement goes on to say interested people can participate in a public feedback session on May 8 in Cochrane, Alta.

It also notes no timber will be harvested this season, which lasts until spring 2025.