MOTORIZED RECREATION COMMUNITY DONATES $20,000 ENVIRONMENTAL CLEAN-UP

South Island Motorized Recreation Advisory Council (SIMRAC)

May 16, 2010

MOTORIZED RECREATION COMMUNITY DONATES $20,000 ENVIRONMENTAL CLEAN-UP

For immediate release:

The South Island Motorized Recreation Advisory Council would like to acknowledge the efforts of an estimated 80 volunteers and support from sponsors that made the May 15, 2010 Bear Creek Reservoir clean up a huge success! A number of abandoned and burned vehicles were located, and three dumpsters of garbage were hauled out in what started as an ad hoc effort by three individuals; Sherry Shamblin, Cory Hinds, and Leeandra Brown. Word spread in the motorized recreation community, and corporate support was quick to follow from WestShore Spring & 4x4, Sooke Disposal, Alpine Recycling, Sooke Pizzability, and Raven Marine. Corporate contributions were bolstered by SIMRAC supporters, the Victoria Motorcycle Club and BCORMA.

With 640 work hours leveraged with $250,000 of equipment and $5,000 of corporate contributions, the Bear Creek clean-up is an example of what is being lost to the public by labeling our recreation “inappropriate” and “incompatible” with other recreational uses of public lands. Without managed roadway access to our favorite destinations they become public dumping grounds. Hikers and mountain bikers cannot haul out tons of toxic garbage or pull out burned vehicles leaking toxic contaminants into a watercourse. The motorized recreation community represents a valuable asset that can help reclaim recreational greenspace as public lands, and we look forward to continuing opportunities to demonstrate the value of our recreational preference.  The off-road community does not condone any form of dumping, and will use all the proper law enforcement channels to stop it. We have cleaned much of the dumping out at Bear Creek Reservoir area, and will work with CrimeStoppers to keep the area free from dumpers.

SIMRAC would like to encourage regional and local government management and planners to embrace the motorized recreation community as a public asset with unique importance to environmental protection, and we invite the hiking and mountain biking communities to advise us if a dumped vehicle or trash is located.

Media contact: Terrance Martin
T.F. Martin & Associates 6517 Stonewood Dr., Sooke, BC V9Z 0Y6
250-642-2917 tm@tfmartin.net
On the Web: http://www.simrac.ca