Off-road restrictions in Lac du Bois begin Thursday

Aug 30, 2016 | 1:06 PM

KAMLOOPS — Starting Thursday, August 30, outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy off-roading will face restrictions in a few areas around Kamloops, as the province attempts to protect sensitive grasslands.

Portions of the Lac du Bois and Batchelor Heights areas, as well as Lower Noble Creek, will be closed to off-road vehicles beginning September 1st. The restrictions will apply to ATVs, motocycles, and snowmobiles come winter.

The new rules better define areas where riding quads and dirt bikes is allowed and where it is restricted. The Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources is hoping to maintain, and even help restore, some of the grasslands in those areas. 

“In the 1990s, the Lac du Bois off-road vehicle area was designated. In that, we had riding areas for the off-road vehicles. But there were two pieces on either side that were undesignated,” says Noelle Kekula, a recreation officer with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Development.

“Through a planning process, we found a lot of research that there were sensitive grasslands and sensitive species that were in there that weren’t really being protected and managed.” 

Anyone caught in the newly restricted areas will be fined $115.