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BC Parks Day Pass System

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CROSS-OVER TRAILS SEEMINGLY EXEMPT FROM DAY PASS
According to the BC Parks website, access along day pass-administered trails from other trail heads or access points is permitted with parks staff discretion. See the graphic below from its day-use pass general information page.
I am presuming the Lions, Baden Powell and Trans Canada trails are examples where this might be the case for Cypress Provincial Park. Alice Ridge, Brohm Ridge and Black Tusk microwave road for Garibaldi Provincial Park.

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Time for some answers and some digging on the part of Backcountry BC. 
 
Below is today's inquiry to the ministry with the second being the critical ask.
 
Hello xxxx,
 
I have some questions pertaining to the BC Parks Day Pass program.
Could you provide me with the following information?
 
What is the philosophy and rationale behind the present limiting of user numbers to the affected parks and trails listed in the subsequent paragraph.
 
Secondly, please provide me with the methodology, science and reasoning behind the term "carrying capacity" as applied to the affected trailheads in Garibaldi Provincial Park, Stawamus Chief Park, Cypress Park, Mount Seymour Park and Golden Ears Park (i.e. the quantitative reasoning behind the designated caps in the BC Parks Day Pass program).
 
Thank you for your assistance with my request.
 
Best regards,
 
Chris Ludwig - Backcountry BC
 

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Chris Ludwig, president of the B.C. Mountaineering Club, says the only feedback he has heard from his 1,200 members is frustration.

"I haven't heard one positive review of this, sadly," he said. He says he supports limiting trail use but has problems with how it's been executed.

Ludwig says hikers are frustrated by the Discover Camping booking portal, citing a cumbersome website that often crashes as passes sell out within minutes of opening. Multiple hikers told CBC News similar concerns.

However, the Ministry of Environment says it hasn't experienced any technical difficulties with the portal.

Ludwig, a veteran hiker, says he's noticed an explosion in Crown land and regional trail use since the pilot program was introduced; trails that he says don't have the infrastructure to both support the high numbers of users and resist environmental damage.

"These park passes are only typically allowing 20 to 30 per cent of what was formerly allowed, so where is that other 70 per cent going?" he said. "They're going into areas ... that are being trashed completely."

Ludwig says the B.C. Mountaineering Club maintains many different hiking trails on Crown land and the damage to the trails is having a huge impact on his volunteer trail builders who are struggling to keep up.

See full article here:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-parks-hikers-1.5678965?fbclid=IwAR3Ny61asDsJkIwW7871vlWbMtrvgx1apIsCsVyFblD50R5UZdJu_0KLP9s

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PHOTO: MOUNT SEYMOUR "GATE" FROM FIRST DAY OF DAY PASS OPERATIONS LAST WEEK.
A calculation supplied by A.W. of the fed goes like this. They have had at least three PFO staff people (sometimes five) standing around checking passes. By rough calculation, if you took the funds expended to have three people x 10 hr days who are going to be working 7 days a week, (ski area PFO staff, paid by the taxpayer) they could instead have a trail crew of five people working 8 hours for the normal 5 days a week from August through October.
They could also have hired three auxiliary rangers per park instead, to do basic trail work like brush clearing while patrolling, and go to viewpoints to advise and educate the public, which would likely be more effective than simply restricting numbers at the trailhead.
BC Parks staff have been tied up to some considerable extent just planning this rollout, (there even are new maps!) so there is the cost of the three PFO staff, fencing and the BC Parks planning costs. Just at Mount Seymour the calculation would estimate that it will cost between $80,000 and $90,000 this year. The bulk of it goes to the PFO, which is why they can afford their fleet of shiny new pickup trucks. The miles of parking lots were 80% empty mid-week.
The reason the trails are eroded is that they have had almost zero dollars spent on them in 40 years, in part as a policy decision. At Mount Seymour, the BC Parks Seymour Main trail rebuild project was abandoned after two years, although the 200m. of trail reroute that resulted was excellent, (except it goes nowhere, as it was being blasted as a new trail- and there’s 2km to go.) The Dog Mountain trail that is mentioned in the Day Pass table is partially closed, as Metro Vancouver owns the land and has decided this year that it is not hikeable past First Lake to the Lookout.
That's the end of calculation and observations by A.W. Sometimes it feels as if we live in a Kafkaesque world—where the irrational replaces reason, deranged nightmares become reality, where one has long ago given up expecting something and now hopes against all odds for simply nothingness because that is preferable to the less than nothing that we receive.

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An Editorial in the Pique Magazine discussing the problems of displacement and the BC Parks day pass system.

Extracted quotes:

"...the amount of people paled in comparison to places like Lake Lovely Water and Watersprite. Advocates for both locations have painted a nightmare picture saying recent weekends have seen dozens of tents squeezed into every nook and cranny. Now, they’re asking people to stay away—or at minimum, follow backcountry protocols like pack in what you pack out, leave your loud music at home, don’t drink to excess, and follow wildlife safety protocols. "

"On top of that, critics say BC Parks should be more transparent about the number of tickets available each day—and, judging by numbers for the North Shore—potentially increase them. According to a North Shore News story, for example, Mount Seymour typically sees a million visitors each year while Cypress attracts 2 million. The day pass program will allow 500 people per day on the Howe Sound Crest Trail, 300 on the Hollyburn Mountain trails, 500 for Black Mountain Plateau, and 800 for Seymour Main Trail, Mystery Lake, and Dog Mountain. "

Full Article:

https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/opinion/editorial-hiking-day-pass-trail-congestion-2601101?fbclid=IwAR20Wvl8cgL7d8JQnRvW6auJ6ZmJDJG66R_f1-XOtjrWE720WyOTPaq_wSk

  1. The new day-use park pass program - Chris Ludwig on CBC Radio
  2. Backcountry BC on BC Parks Day Pass System on News 1130
  3. Initial Reaction - BC Parks Day Use Passes