A private donor has stepped up to help fund construction of a raised plank pathway at the Ancient Forest Trail.
Jim Feragen presented the Caledonia Ramblers with a cheque for $10,752 on Thursday. The club plans build a plank pathway almost 1,220 metres long to complement the existing 500 metre long universal boardwalk along the Ancient Forest Trail's existing 2.3 km loop, Caledonia Ramblers president Nowell Senior said. In addition, native rocks will be used to make a stepping stone path along a further 150 metres of the trail.
"It's a fragile area. If you get 15,000 or 20,000 people walking along then... there is going to be some damage," Senior said. "People are basically loving the Ancient Forest Trail to death, in a way. Just touching the trees... can kill lichens that have taken hundreds of years to find a hold there."
The Ancient Forest Trail is located 113 km east of Prince George on Highway 16. It offers a walk through a grove of ancient red cedars, many over 1,000 years old and up to five metres in diameter.
Since the trail opened in 2006, it has quickly become a popular destination for locals and tourists, drawing more than 15,000 visitors last year.
The planned plank pathway will be lower and narrower than the universal boardwalk, and not have guard rails. Senior said the club has estimated it will take more than $27,000 in materials and 3,000 hours of volunteer labour to build.
Feragen's donation is an excellent start on funding the project, Senior said, which the club hopes to have complete by November.
"[Feragen's donation] is over a third of the material cost," he said. "He's basically paying for two-thirds of the cost of the lumber."
In addition to building the pathway to protect the trail from damage and erosion, the club is also planning to add additional interpretive signs and create viewing platforms.
"Some trees are particularly popular for photos," Senior said. "We're going to encourage people to use these platforms rather than climbing on the trees."
Feragen said he was inspired to make the donation after reading a story about the project in the Citizen.
"The Ancient Forest is, I think, unique. I think its a great site. I've been out there with my family and we love it," he said. "If you can provide access to people that limits the amount of damage... it's important to support it."
He hopes the trail will inspire young people the way he was inspired as a child.
"I remember as a kid going to Cathedral Grove... and it made such an impression, the giant trees," he said. "This will do that here in Prince George."
Caledonia Ramblers vice-president Dave King said the club is putting together a proposal for a larger park and trail system around the Ancient Forest site.
Donors and volunteers are still needed for the project, and can reach Senior by e-mail at caledoniaramblers@yahoo.ca.
The Ancient Forest Trail is a designated interpretive site under Recreation Sites and Trails B.C.
