Photo: Andrew Walker

ATV tracks cut a swath through the alpine in the North Okanagan.

Off-road vehicles, especially ATVS, are “punching into the alpine” and damaging habitat in the largest section of alpine land in the North Okanagan, according to a government biologist.

He is proposing a ban on off-road vehicles in the area in order to protect the land and the grizzly bear population.

The area in question covers Joss Mountain south to Tsuius and Mabel mountains, above 1,700 metres.

“What we are trying to limit are the off-road vehicles, the ATVS, that are punching into the alpine and causing a disturbance,” said Andrew Walker, a senior wildlife biologist with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

Walker told a meeting of the North Okanagan Regional Board on Wednesday that the alpine land has “the only viable grizzly bear population unit in the Okanagan.”

He said the 634,892 hectare area also held mountain goat and the only mountain cariboo south of a portion of the Monashees.

“It is really productive alpine....It does have a lot of grizzly bear use and that is because it is large undeveloped.”

While regulations are in place to protect animals, Walker said they concentrate on forest harvesting activities and hunters.

He said hunters were the first to approach him about the destruction of the land by off-road vehicles.

“These areas have a short growing season, they'll take a long time to recover, longer than our lifetime.”

Walker said proposed regulations banning ATVS and similar vehicles would be sent to the minister and posted for public consultation. If accepted they could become law by July 2018.

When asked by electoral area C director Mike Macnabb if the laws in Alberta were tougher than in this province, Walker agreed, calling B.C.'s regulations “a free for all. You can do whatever you want.”

His proposals include installing trail cameras and putting more officers in the field.

The proposals would not affect snowmobiles.

A separate delegation urged the board to consider establishing a conservation fund that would contribute to local environmental projects dealing with water, land, air and wildlife.

A private donor is said to be ready to pay for a public survey to find out what people think of such a fund.