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Recreation Management Issues of Vancouver Pacific Spirit Regional Park Pacific Spirit Regional Park is located on the outer limits of Point Grey in Vancouver. Today, the park is spread over 809 ha of land and provides a plethora of recreation opportunities. However, this was not always the case as the park only became recognized as a regional recreation area in 1989. Before this, the area now known as Pacific Spirit Park was not in fact a formal park facility, but was used for recreation purposes. In the earliest stages of history (circa 1880), the park was logged by the Hastings Lumber and Sawmill Company. These activities saw the removal of vast tracts of timber consisting mainly of virgin Douglas fir and western red cedar. These logging operations were done with the use of axes, handsaws, donkey engines, and a variety of other tools including springboards. Springboards were used on cedars in order to elevate loggers above the lower swelling butt of the tree. In doing so, logs that lacked the large, flared butt were much easier to haul out of the forest. Upon examining the remnant stumps in the park, one can observe evidence of these springboards. The logging operations persisted until the early 1900's and up
Safety and liability are important issues for the managers of Pacific Spirit Park. Compared to a small urban park there are more safety and liability issues for managers to deal with. An attempt to limit access to unsafe areas has been made through the use of pathways. The paths are well maintained and signs are posted stating that access off the path is restricted. The main feature of the park is the network of paths that run through it (Which is why we selected this as the feature to discuss.). People come to use the paths and for the most part paths are an acceptable means of controlling access. However, some people would prefer to be in a more "wild" type setting that does not contain paths, and they would tend to resent having someone dictate where they can go (Meitner - Group discussion during tour, 2000). Some areas of pathway contain fences (portions of our section of path contain fences) which discourage off-trail use of the park by these types of people. Paths! Recreation Setting (Context) (in terms of facilities) (Source: www.findfamilyfun.com/pacificspirit.html) Safety and Liability in Pacific Spirit Park is one of the more important recreation management issues, especially as people seek out different, and often riskier, forms of recreation. Some of specific issues present that deal with safety concerns on our trail are cyclists and non-cyclist interaction, dog contact, lack of trail maintenance, and entering restricted areas. Some of the natural features that might be unsafe include damaged or decaying standing trees, uneven terrain due to widening of trails, and trail surface constituents (mud or water movement on the surface during and after heavy rainfall). On the trail there does not appear to be areas that are greatly unsafe. However, the trail has sharp corners that might restrict a cyclist's vision and could potentially cause injury to another user coming in the opposite direction. Another area that has a safety concern is at the end of the trail. This section of the trail is much steeper that the rest. In this section there! Pacific Spirit Park offers a variety of services, many of which are not known by many users. Among these are education opportunities, a park office, restrooms, picnic tables, signage, trail maintenance, maps, fixed operating hours, and sachets for dog faeces to boot. These services are aimed at minimizing conflict and liability, while maximizing safety and the enjoyment provided with the opportunities available. Focusing on the conflicts as they relate to services is wise as conflict can be negated if the proper services are available to accommodate the variety of users. One specific issue that arises is the presence of dog excrement on trails. This issue has been dealt with appropriately by the GVRD as they now provide a "doggy bag" service. This is a wise decision as it aids in the removal of excrement from the trail. This could become a problem if the bags are simply being thrown into the forest after use. The park receives a large amount of use by dog owners and an outcry! cause to help limit the removal of water form Camosun Bog. Visitor management is concerned with objectives used to manage for the experience a visitor has. It can overlap with access and services. Camosun Bog walkways do provide the user a facility to improve their knowledge of Bog ecology, however walkways do not offer information stands or points of interest as to the present health or future trends of the Bog. Camosun Bog is slowly losing its bog status and becoming transformed into a forest. The reason is that local residents use water that comes from the bog. As the bog loses water trees such as Sitka Spruce and Vine Maple that can adapt to higher water tables grow around the bogs parameter. As trees move and invade the bogs perimeter they use the valuable water that is required by Bog plants such as Sphagnum Moss. The park has recognised this problem and has removed some trees. H
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Approximate Word count = 5589
Approximate Pages = 22 (250 words per page double spaced)
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