The Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Forest Society is doing its bit to boost local tourism.
Thanks in part to a grant from the Island Coastal Economic Trust, the Bamfield society, a non-profit organization, has begun work on the Bamfield Majestic Old Growth Trail.
The project, which will establish an accessible pathway to ancient forests, is aimed at connecting visitors to nature while also advancing cultural and economic development in the area.
Stefan Ochman, the vice-president of the Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Forest Society, said work on the trail began on Monday, March 17.
The first phase includes clearing some trees on the land, located off South Bamfield Road, that will be made into a parking area for the trail. The parking area will be about 20 metres by 30 metres.
The Island Coastal Economic Trust, which partners with communities and assists with developing and financing economic infrastructure, provided $50,000 towards work in the initial phase of the trail.
“It was a grant we wrote for last fall and we got news that we got it,” Ochman said, adding that is the maximum amount allotted per grant.
The society is also providing money to the project.
“We committed to put $75,000 of our own funds that we obtained through harvesting some of the forest,” Ochman said. “It's a community forest so we did a harvest and we continue to do small harvests, trying to get the most money out of our logs we pull out of the forest.”
The first phase of the trail will be 1.85 kilometres long. Work is expected to be completed this fall.
The second phase, which is expected to commence next year and be completed by the fall of 2026, will be about another 1.5 kilometres long. It will connect to another section of the forest where there are existing patch cuts and a lot of culturally modified trees.
“We’ll do our reporting and then apply for another grant, for another $50,000 for next year,” Ochman said.
Ochman is also hoping things will go smoothly with work on the initial phase.
“They kind of open it up and it's going to be very muddy and stuff, so they'll have to bring in a bit of ballast and rocks just to get through the muck areas,” he said. “This phase is going to take two to three weeks. And we'll see at the end of that how wet it is. If it's really soggy, I don't see us putting that nice gravel in because it's just going to sink into the muck. So, I was thinking of letting it dry for a couple of months.”
An original goal was to have phase one of the trail completed by the end of July. Ochman is now anticipating that gravel might be spread sometime in August or September when drier conditions are expected.
He’s also looking forward to when the project is fully finished.
“To complete this is going to be pretty amazing,” he said. “It's in the best part of our forest. From pictures you can see the height of the trees and it's just majestic.”
There are currently two other trails in the area - the Boomer Trail and the East-West Connector.
“Those were done with no machinery,” Ochman said. “It was just people with chainsaws and rakes. And so, there are stumps you have to jump over and you have to crawl under trees. So, it's not for everybody.
“But this trail is going to be nice and wide, like three meters wide with a nice gravel base, which will be compacted. And that will provide even people with walkers a chance to be able to walk into the forest and to have the experience of just relaxing and bathing in the forest and taking in that all that nice, good energy.”
Ochman is hoping the new trail will boost local tourism.
“Hopefully we will be able to publicize it with all the lodges and even have the hikers that come on the West Coast Trail,” he said. “Probably after they hike for 80 kilometers, they probably don't want to see another trail. But I was thinking more of the campers here.”
Ochman said numerous fishermen and their family members come to the area.
“They're always looking for something to do if they're not out there fishing,” he said. “So that’s a good opportunity for people to go walk the trail and enjoy the majestic trees.”
The plan is to also include some signage on the new trail.
“We haven't really decided which things we’ll highlight but once the trail is built we’ll find what to highlight,” he said. “I’ve walked in there but it’s really hard. Walking through the forest now you can't really see what's going on because it's very dense. You walk about 100 meters in about half an hour.”
Brodie Guy, the CEO of Island Coastal Economic Trust, is also confident the new trail will provide a boost to local tourism.
“Working in partnership with Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Forest Society on this nature-based tourism infrastructure project creates positive impacts by protecting stands of ancient forest while building a tourism asset that will attract and keep visitors in Bamfield longer, growing the local economy,” he said.
Josie Osborne, the MLA for Mid Island-Pacific Rim, is supportive of the project.
“I am so grateful to the Island Coastal Trust Economic Trust and the Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Forest Society for building this trail that will give more people the opportunity to visit and explore our world-famous old growth forests,” she said. “Helping to make the natural environment more accessible helps connect people with nature and brings enormous physical and mental health benefits.”