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The History of the
BC Marine Trails Network
THE 1990S: A Tribute to Pioneers of the First Effort
The original concept of a BC Marine Trail as a lineal route running from the Washington State border to the Alaska border was conceived in the early 1990s by Peter McGee, author of Kayak Routes of the Pacific Northwest Coast. He gained support from other paddlers and formed the BC Marine Trail Association in order to encourage public interest and support. The BCMTA established the first Marine Trail Campsite at Blackberry Point on Valdez Island and a rest stop and toilet on Musgrave Point, Saltspring Island. There were many successes that were enjoyed with the initial effort including a mid coast survey, and the continued maintenance of the Blackberry Point site.
The original organization also had an enormous amount of support from several companies including Rainforest Designs, Nimbus Paddles, Feathercraft, Brooks, MEC, Patagonia, Western Canoeing and Kayaking, Ecomarine, and Ocean River Kayaks, to name a few.
The timing wasn't quite right for the project to forge ahead however, because of restraints and cutbacks within Government, and disinterest from the public. Although another pioneer of the effort, Chris Ladner, tried his best to keep the initiative moving, by the late 1990s, the BCMTA had become mostly inactive. Because of the continuing support of Ray Pillman of the Outdoor Recreation Council and Charlie Cornfield, the Recreation officer for the Discovery Coast Recreation District, the work was not lost completely. They kept the preliminary work and dream intact, waiting for a more opportune time.
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER: We Begin Again
This came in November, 2007. Because of increasing private pressures on popular sites, paddlers awoke to the fear of losing access to some of their coveted camping sites. There was a flurry of activity on the WestCoastPaddler.com Forum as paddlers from various different coastal clubs discussed their common concerns.
As a result of this sudden awareness, on December 15th, 2007, representatives from paddling clubs from Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland met with Ray Pillman of ORC, Charlie Cornfield of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, John Kimantas; author of the Wild Coast series of guide books, Dan Millsip and Mick Allen of WestCoastPaddler.com, and Peter McGee and Chris Ladner of the defunct BC Marine Trail Association, at the Outdoor Recreation Council offices in Vancouver.
It was an enlightening meeting. It was there that the dream of a Marine Trail, this time not as a single, linear route, but as an interlacing network of trails, was born. Stephanie Meinke of the Nanaimo Paddlers club became the defacto chairperson and continued to give both direction and unwavering, dedicated drive to the project for the following year.
In March 2008, these same people formed a loosely allied group who took the name, ‘BC Marine Trails Taskforce’. The Taskforce’s mandate was to work with the Government, represented by Charlie Cornfield of MTCA, to design the BC Marine Trails Network. Nearly a year later, in March of 2009 the BC Marine Trails Network Association received status as a registered non-profit association from the BC Government.
Please contribute to help
make the BC Marine Trail a success...
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