Happy trails are here again — skiers will once again have groomed trails in Riverlot 56 after months of talks.
Members of the Riverlot 56 Natural Area Society and the St. Albert Nordic Ski Club (STANSKI) announced this week that they had reached a deal to allow ski trails in Riverlot 56.
Relations between the two groups fell apart last year due to a dispute over several issues, including tree removal. STANSKI decided not to sign a memorandum of understanding with the society, the designated steward of the river lot, which meant it did not have permission to groom trails in the region. The trails had been a regular feature of the area for about 30 years.
The two groups met several times over the summer with city, provincial and Sturgeon County officials to settle the dispute, said Chris Jardine, head of community and protective services with the City of St. Albert, and have now reached an agreement.
"Unless something falls apart that we're not anticipating, STANSKI should be in [Riverlot 56] track-setting sometime this winter."
Ski accord reached
The two groups fell out because they disagreed on how to manage the river lot, said Georges Binette, treasurer for the river lot society. Natural areas are supposed to be kept in their natural state, which limits what you can do in them in terms of trees and trails. "If they [STANSKI] use and respect it as a natural area, there's no problem."
Although it hasn't signed a new memorandum, Binette says, STANSKI now has permission to create trails along designated paths in the river lot. The river lot society will handle tree removal. The City of St. Albert has also signed a memorandum with the society to mow trails in the lot during the summer — something that it has done unofficially for years.
The two groups did a walk-through of the area and mapped out where they agreed the trails should go, said Vivian Schets, president of STANSKI. The society also agreed to move certain signs to give the ski club's equipment better access to the lot.
"Both groups want to have groomed trails in there," she said. "We're happy we have the key [to the gate] and can go back."
Ski club members would do some prep work in the river lot this weekend, said trail director Hugh Rutherford, but will have to wait for more snow before setting any trails. "We're all doing our snow dance, wishing and praying for more snow." The trail, when complete, will be a three-metre wide stretch of packed snow with a ski track on one side and plenty of room for foot traffic.
The club would take another look at the river lot to see if it could be used for the upcoming 55-Plus Games and 2012 Winter Special Olympics, Schets said. "I'm happy the river lot [group] let us in again and worked with us over the summer."
Binette said he did not expect this dispute to flare up again. "We're on the right foot," he said. "This year will tell."
Visit stanski.ca and riverlot56.ca for updates on trail conditions and the river lot.
