A group of Revelstoke residents have joined forces to protest logging at Mount Macpherson later this year, saying that we may lose thousands of dollars in annual tourism revenue if it goes ahead.
The Save Macpherson group maintains that logging near the recreational area of Mount Macpherson will have a negative impact on the local tourist economy. The recreation area hosts extensive Nordic skiing trails and mountain biking trails. It’s also popular with hikers, runners and for backcountry access to Mount Macpherson.
“Mount Macpherson contributes a significant amount of tourism revenue to Revelstoke — our economic lifeline to a sustainable future,” the website states.
The Save Macpherson group’s website went online, this week accompanied with a campaign video and a petition. They have also organized a rally on May 21 at 2 p.m.
The residents that are part of this group previously fought the logging when it first became a topic, but have come back now in a more organized form.
They estimate about 3,176 riders rode Mount Macpherson on weekends in October 2014, and based on those traffic numbers estimate about $215,528 was contributed to the local tourist economy over the summer season. 60 per cent of those riders, they state, were from outside Revelstoke.
They have also included a report on the economic impact of mountain biking by Megan Tabor of Tourism Revelstoke.
“We all have a vested interest in how recreational lands adjacent to our communities are managed,” the website states. “Today’s fight is Macpherson but many fights are fought in your own backyard. It’s time to create more inclusive land use policies in beautiful British Columbia.”
The logging plans at Mount Macpherson have seen significant controversy over the past two years. A packed open house at the Revelstoke Community Centre on January, 2015 brought out hundreds who opposed logging in the area. Dozens of meetings followed, resulting in a revised logging plan for the area.
Read the Revelstoke Mountaineer’s timeline of stories on the controversy at this link: Mount Macpherson
Here is a video from the January 2015 open house.
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