Adventures for Wilderness – Aura Creek to Horse Lake Oct 5, 2024

October 6, 2024

Text and photos by Lindsey Wallis

It was a warm fall afternoon when we gathered amid the roar of OHVs at the staging area in the Ghost PLUZ. Our goal was to hike through last winter’s clearcut near Aura Creek and then cleanse our palette with a visit to scenic Horse Lake and the nearby beaver ponds. This trip was a good reminder of what cumulative effects can do to a landscape. We started by hiking along a designated OHV trail and we passed by a number of quads that splashed through the creek, despite a bridge mere feet away and signs at the trailhead imploring users to keep their wheels out of creeks. Further along we walked through a cut-block more than a decade old that has little regrowth of lodgepole pine, which the forestry industry says should be ready to be harvested again in 70 years time. We crossed a road put in by the logging company, which is currently being used by OHVs to gain access to illegal trails deeper into the wilderness. Some of these illegal trails criss-cross the sand hills, causing erosion and damaging fragile vegetation.

Aspen aren’t harvested because they aren’t merchantable

10+ year old clearcut

Dry slash left by logging company

Along the ridge we crossed one of last year’s cutblocks. The slash (trees that they cut and left behind) was tinder dry and we discussed the forest industry’s claims that clearcuts help prevent fire. With all this dry fuel it seemed to us that it wouldn’t take much for fire to rip across this clearcut and into the forest on the other side. As we continued along the edge of the cut, we walked through dying mosses – the clearcut continues right into the wetlands and the increase in sunlight is drying the edges out too much for it to survive. We also saw a herd of feral horses, which are beautiful to see, but also add another impact to the cumulative effects on this landscape.

Despite the ugliness of the human footprint on this landscape, we eventually arrived at the large, multi-tiered beaver complex, which was rich with plant life and tinted all the crimson and ochre shades of autumn. AWA Conservation Specialist Kennedy spoke about how beaver on the landscape can help mitigate floods, fire, and drought and provides rich, productive habitat for many species. This, and Horse Lake provided a much needed connection with the natural landscape, though clearcuts could still be seen on the surrounding hillsides.

As we wandered back under the aspen in the golden evening light we discussed the implications of the continued status quo in forestry practices and what this place will look like when we return next year.