Island off roading Ban in effect?

I haven't heard of any general ban on off roading but a lot of the land that people off road on is privately owned (largely by timberwest who owns close to a million acres here on the island). If they catch you on their 'private property' I have heard of people being fined for trespassing. You may have heard of it more recently because of fire bans which have closed down much of the back country even to the loggers.

This was posted by one of our members (Islandnut) on the BCJC page.

"I read it in the paper and then checked online with both companies to confirm, and the damn paper was right.

All gated logging roads on Island Timberlands and Timberwest lands are closed to ALL PUBLIC USE until further notice. So that`s 23 % of the island, basically a twenty mile wide swath on the east side of the island from Goldstream to almost Sayward.

They even closed the trans Canada Trail where it goes though there land.

They`v also hired a bunch of extra security if your thinking of ignoring the order."

yea but.. gated roads are always closed to the public no? That's why they're gated..

Anyhow I've been out and about a bunch recently and haven't run into any trouble, not to say that it isn't out there.

http://www.timberwest.com/community/access.aspx

http://blog.islandtimberlands.com/

my buddy who used to do servicing for stone pacific says that if you equip your rig with 20L water filled canister capable of spraying 20' or so a spill kit and first aid kit and im sure were missing something but my point is the guys handing out tickets will only be able to give you trespassing fines not any fire danger fines as your properly equipped as a forestry worker who will be ticketing you.

this is hear say but i would like to do more reaserch

Fortunately Timberwest security CAN NOT hand out fines for trespassing, what they can do is document you were trespassing and either have the police waiting for you at your exit (If they know where you're exiting from) or have the police come to your residents if you wheel with your plates on and they are able to determine where you live. Trespassing involves the courts to determine if you are trespassing or not.

I've read through the trespassing laws and the owners or personnel assigned by the owners (security etc) have the ability to arrest you if you are caught trespassing or recently left an area where trespassing has occurred without reasonable doubt. That person then must hand you over to the authorities without delay.

I am no lawyer but this is how I understand it. I'd love to have this confirmed or discussed in more detail as I'm sure we all want to know exactly what rights we and owners have. Would also be interested if anyone had more info on what radical posted about having a fire system onboard. Basic trespassing can carry a $2,000 fine.

One last thing worth noting, the respect of members here to avoid adventures in the bush during this extreme fire hazard is impressive. Goes to show that we value the forest lands and are not hooligans that are ruining it for everyone.