BackcountryTrailFloodRehabilitation-May2014

BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL

FLOOD REHABILITATION

PROGRAM Backcountry Trail Flood Rehabilitation

A June 2013 Flood Recovery Program

My 2014 Backcountry Trail Flood Rehabilitation Program

© 2014 Government of Alberta

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Summary In June 2013, parts of Southern Alberta were devastated from significant flooding. The Government of

Alberta responded to this catastrophe with a number of funding programs to address a wide range of

recovery activities.

The South Saskatchewan Region and Red Deer North Saskatchewan Region along the eastern slopes

sustained significant impacts from the June Flood Event of 2013. Damage to main arterial recreation

corridors has reduced access to backcountry areas and increased natural and man-made hazards that

compromise Albertans’ recreational experience.

The June 2013 flood has affected all backcountry users, from off-highway vehicle users to non-

motorized users to random campers, and has restricted or discouraged significant tourism and

recreation in the seasons that followed. All backcountry uses, including but not limited to equestrian,

hiking, cross country skiing, off-highway vehicle and snowmobiling have been impacted by the 2013

floods. Restoring the trail systems in these flood affected areas serves not only to maintain recreational

opportunities in Alberta’s backyard but also provides critical support to the economic, environmental

and social benefits that were compromised by the flood. Providing Albertans with an opportunity to

return to a sense of normality and providing wilderness opportunities for all is an important part of that

recovery.

Purpose Environment and Sustainable Resource Development is leading a $10 million program to restore and

repair backcountry trail systems on public lands as a result of the 2013 flood events. The Backcountry

Trail Flood Rehabilitation Program will commence in 2014 and be completed by March 2017. The

program aims to restore priority trails and trails systems along the eastern slopes for both motorized

and non-motorized recreational users. This program will provide an opportunity to restore important

recreational trail systems – a critical economic and tourism driver for the Province of Alberta. The

program will also afford the department an opportunity to re-establish some trail systems in more

ecologically appropriate and sustainable areas. Re-establishing trail systems outside of sensitive riparian

and/or highly erodible areas results in trail systems better suited to withstand future flood events.

The program will take a collaborative, partnership-based approach to planning and project

implementation such that projects planned by Government, partners or stakeholders are prioritized and

leveraged to maximum effect as they are the ultimate users of the trail systems.

Environment and Sustainable Resource Development will be partnering closely with Alberta Tourism,

Parks and Recreation to deliver an integrated flood recovery program, with the understanding that

many of the flood affected areas occur on both public and park lands. The Departments will be engaging

in joint recovery planning, training, and construction activities to ensure efficiencies are identified and

optimized.



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This program has been developed with consideration to the four essential elements of recovery, as described in the Provincial Recovery Framework:

People – To ensure the right resources are available to support the overall physical, mental and social well-being of communities, municipalities, First Nations, families and individual Albertans affected by the floods. Economy – To nurture an environment that supports the rehabilitation of and reinvestment in disrupted economies and businesses. Reconstruction – To enable the safe and orderly restoration of flood damaged infrastructure within the affected areas.

Environment – To protect and re-establish the environment to a healthy state and mitigate long-term environmental impacts and risks.

Vision Trails and recreational opportunities located on public lands along the Eastern Slopes that were

damaged by the 2013 floods are restored in a way that is sustainable; users are satisfied; and the health

of the environment is maintained.

Mission Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, in collaboration with users, will restore priority

recreational trails on Public Lands that were damaged by the 2013 flood event to ensure sustainable

trail access is restored for user enjoyment. At the same time, environmental conditions in and around

the flood damaged potions of these trail system will be maintained or improved.

Environment and Sustainable Resource Development’s management approach to recreational systems

on Public Lands is currently under review. It is acknowledged that while the Backcountry Trail Flood

Rehabilitation program is a discrete program with a defined end date, this program will inform the long

term management regime for trails and recreation on Public Lands. As the program progresses, it will

look to transition work from rehabilitation works within the program to its long-term application to

recreation management systems on Public Lands.



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Program Area



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Program Objectives The Backcountry Trail Flood Rehabilitation Program will focus on 2013 flood damaged trails, beginning

with the inventory and assessment of flood damage to designated trail systems and infrastructure and

existing recognized (non-designated) trail systems (motorized and non-motorized). The Backcountry

Trail Flood Rehabilitation Program will prioritize trails and infrastructure that require restoration with

input from stakeholders. It will design trails in a manner that is sustainable and re-build trails to a

defined standard. This exercise will be conducted in collaboration with volunteers and user groups and

is expected to be active from spring 2014 to March 31, 2017.

Outcomes It is the program’s intention to inventory all designated and recognized trail damaged by the 2013 floods

by November 30, 2014 and develop a prioritized list of restoration projects.

All priority recreational trails and other infrastructure are to be restored by December 2016, subject to

the available program funding. Trails will be restored sustainably and located in a manner that

compliments the desired land use and surrounding environment.

The public will be made aware of the level of damage. Support from the public is critical to the success

of this program. Program staff will work closely with the public and user groups to ensure they remain

informed on the status of trail restoration projects and are given adequate opportunities to be involved.

Please note that while distribution of funding across all flood-affected Public Land Use Zone (PLUZ) areas

is important and taken into consideration, funding from this program will be allocated to the highest

priority projects. This may result in one or more PLUZ area receiving a disproportional amount of

funding based on the levels of flood damage trails.

Scope This program is limited to the South Saskatchewan and Red Deer – North Saskatchewan Regions and

only includes Public Land Use Zones and non-public land use zones damaged by the 2013 flood event

identified below:

Ghost PLUZ

McLean PLUZ

Kananaskis PLUZ

Sibbald PLUZ

Cataract Creek PLUZ

Panther PLUZ

Livingstone Area

Poll Haven

Porcupine Hills Area

Willow Creek PLUZ

Crowsnest Pass Corridor

Castle PLUZ



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Bighorn Backcountry Area, including

o Blackstone/Wapiabi PLUZ

o Job/Cline PLUZ

o Kiska/Willson PLUZ

o Upper Clearwater/Ram PLUZ

o Panther Corners PLUZ

o Dormer Sheep PLUZ

Only designated and recognized motorized and non-motorized trails will be included in the program.

Infrastructure damaged during the 2013 flood, including staging areas, structures (i.e. bridges) and trails

located on Public Lands along the Eastern Slopes will be considered, as will major erosion damage on or

adjacent to the trail system. Please note that ESRD will not be able to restore all trails to pre-2013 flood

conditions – there will be some trail closures and relocations, and there will be trails left as is, with

signage to inform users of its status.

New trail development – trails that access new areas, that are not part of the relocation of flood

damaged trails – is considered to be “out of scope” for this program. Legislation and regulation changes

will not be addressed by this program, nor will it address the development of provincial trail standards

and enforcement programs.



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Implementation Framework: Pathway to Success

Assess Following the 2013 flood event, ESRD conducted surveys of flood damage trails and infrastructure. This

work will continue throughout 2014 and will result in a complete inventory of all designated and

recognized motorized and non-motorized trails within the Program Area. Note that we will only assess

non-designated, recognized trails that are deemed a priority by ESRD staff or the public (hiking, cross-

country trails, mountain biking, etc.).

ESRD will be documenting the following information as part of its trail inventory:

Trail location;

Severity and type of damage sustained; and

Preliminary options for rehabilitation (including replacement, relocation or closure).

Prioritize and Plan ESRD will assess and prioritize damaged trails, and plan rehabilitation works using a standardized set of

project selection criteria. These criteria will be weighted according to their importance and will be

applied consistently to all eligible projects. These criteria have been established to ensure the project

selection process is fair, and will ensure that public funds are allocated to the highest priorities.

Projects will be prioritized using the following criteria:

Severity of damage sustained in 2013 event

Level of Engineering Required

Level of Environmental Impact

Level of Trail Connectivity

Level of Use

Level of Volunteer Interest

Local Priority

Timeline for Completion

Long-term Sustainability

Projects will be prioritized as inventory information becomes available. To date, inventory data has been

collected in the following areas. As such, project plans for the 2014 field season are being developed for

the following areas:

Ghost PLUZ

Cataract PLUZ

MacLean PLUZ

Castle PLUZ



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Kananaskis PLUZ

Upper Clearwater PLUZ

ESRD will complete its inventory of flood damaged trails in 2014. Once the inventory is complete, a

comprehensive prioritization exercise will occur and project plans will be developed to inform

rehabilitation works for 2015 and 2016. Stakeholders will be consulted during the development of the

project plans to ensure their priorities are discussed and considered.

Partner In addition to the ESRD’s commitment to the project, it is anticipated that public volunteers and user

groups will be actively involved and contribute to flood-damaged trail restoration. Our partners are

critical to the success of the Backcountry Trail Flood Rehabilitation Program - it is our intention to

involve user groups, the public and other stakeholders on an on-going basis.

ESRD will engage the public and stakeholder groups in:

Identification of flood damage

Program planning and establishment of priorities

Rehabilitation work

Evaluation and assessment of restored trails in subsequent field seasons

ESRD will hire Recreation Stewardship Coordinators for Blairmore, Calgary and Rocky Mountain House.

These coordinators will work closely with user groups, stakeholders and the general public in their local

areas to both inform and solicit feedback.

ESRD will involve user groups and the public in trail restoration activities and look for opportunities to

collaborate and partner on projects to maximize the amount of trails restored following the 2013 floods.



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Build Rehabilitation work is scheduled to begin during the 2014 field season – trails will be restored, improved,

relocated or closed. Trail construction will be completed will the help of ESRD trail crews, contractors

and volunteers.

Trail Standards

The Backcountry Trail Flood Rehabilitation Program will use the Kananaskis Country, Alberta Parks

Standards as the guideline for all rehabilitation work occurring. The guidelines were intended for non-

motorized trails. The same guidelines, techniques and approaches will be applied to the applicable

motorized trails, though modifications will be made to account for wider trail widths. The intent is that

the trails are adequately integrated in the existing trail system, including those that are not improved by

the Backcountry Trail Flood Rehabilitation Program. Trail widths and style will attempt to match the

surrounding trail conditions as much as possible, while creating a sustainable trail system in the sections

reclaimed and maintaining environmental integrity of the system as a whole.

Trail Closures

Temporary Closure Notifications will be posted and updated on the Environment and Sustainable

Resource Development website. Local notices will be placed at staging areas, and on sandwich boards

on the trail to notify when construction is underway.

In some cases, trails may have to be permanently closed due to the magnitude of the flood damage. The

associated environmental impacts and rehabilitation may be prohibitive to proceeding with the trail

rehabilitation under this program. Stakeholders and user groups will be consulted prior to a decision to

close a trail. Once a decision is made to close an individual trail, the closure will follow standard ESRD

procedures.

Trail Reclamation

Reclamation of trails that are unsustainable, being relocated or permanently closed as a result of flood

damage will be reclaimed to the greatest extent possible to eliminate user traffic on the trail.

Reclamation of trails not associated with flood rehabilitation works is considered out of scope for this

program.

Evaluate

Trail Audits

As part of program delivery, a trail audit program will be developed for post-construction trails to ensure

the constructed works are completed in accordance with the site work plan; result in improvements to

the trails system in the area; result in sustained or improved environmental conditions; and the

individual trails are restored to a similar or better state than before.



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The trail audit program will be completed each year and will assess the works undertaken during the

previous construction season. Trail audits will be reviewed and opportunities for improvement will be

assessed each year after the construction season. An adaptive management approach will be applied

and the project plans will be updated as necessary to ensure that the project outcomes are achieved.

Reporting

The status of all trails that are inventoried or rehabilitated as part of this program will be reported on

ESRD’s website

The success of the program as a whole will be assessed against the outcomes defined in this document

and reported to the public annually.

Get Involved To volunteer or submit questions or feedback you can email:

[email protected].

For more information on the Backcountry Trail Rehabilitation Program, please visit the ESRD website:

ESRD 2013 Flood Recovery Programs

ESRD will provide the most up-to-date information to all Albertans on the following website:

esrd.alberta.ca

mailto:[email protected]

http://esrd.alberta.ca/focus/esrd-2013-flood-recovery-programs/default.aspx

http://esrd.alberta.ca/

Documents

BackcountryTrailFloodRehabilitation-May2014