Leader of the pack in trail research

by John Marsh

The recent celebration in Peterborough of the Trans Canada Trail, and the official opening of the Trail in Ottawa on September 9 draw attention to the important place of trails in Canadian landscapes and lifestyles. For thousands of years, Native people criss-crossed this country on trails and portages, securing natural resources and conducting trade. The local Chemung Portage, as well as the Percy Portage, are good examples though hard to locate. We have a legacy of more recent trails, such as the Chilkoot Pass trail to the Klondike, the trail from Kingston to Fort York, and the West Coast Trail, the old lifesaving route along the treacherous coast of Vancouver Island. Perhaps many such routes should be recognized as National or Provincial Historic Trails.

Today, we value trails primarily for recreation and tourism. They afford opportunities for healthy activities, from walking the dog, to roller blading. Last weekend, I encountered over 100 people in 20 minutes on the Rotary Trail. Trails can also encourage alternative transportation, and serve as commuter routes, as exemplified by students who are once again riding from downtown Peterborough along the Rotary Trail to Trent. The potential tourism value of trails was demonstrated by a study we conducted of the Bruce Trail. It counted over 340,000 hikers in a year who spent some $50 million on this activity, the equivalent of 632 full-time jobs.

The abandonment of numerous railway lines has given us a unique opportunity to develop a system of trails from inner city areas to the countryside and wilderness beyond. In this area, the defunct line from Lindsay to Peterborough and Stirling, the proposed route of the Trans Canada Trail, is a good example. However, the provincial government has been tardy in acquiring it for such use, so public support for this is needed and should be expressed now.

Given our heritage of trails, the need to develop new routes and to manage them for local recreation and tourism, there is a considerable demand for research on trails. In recognition of this, Trent University, in cooperation with Fleming College, established a Trail Studies Unit, in 1992. It now has a library of over 3000 references on all aspects of trails and receives requests for information from all over the world. The Unit has hosted national and provincial conferences on trails, and published books on "Rails to Greenways" and "Trails and Tourism." The Unit conducts research involving students, and on a consulting basis. MA theses have been written on the Mackenzie-Voyageur Route across Canada, on policies for trails in Ontario, and on the management of environmental impacts and conflicts in the Ganaraska Forest. Undergraduate students have studied the impacts of mountain bikes and ATVS, as well as the environmental impacts of trail recreation in places as diverse as: Silent Lake and Quetico Provincial Parks in Ontario, Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, and Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island. Such studies have been supported by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Northern Scientific Training Grants, Mountain Equipment Coop, and Shimano Canada.

Students can get practical experience on trails doing a course on trail construction at Fleming College - Lindsay, on trails on the University Campus, as well as through summer jobs. This August, students, faculty and members of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers built a new trail, which we invite you to hike, on the drumlin behind Lady Eaton College. Such academic and practical experience has helped students get jobs with such agencies as Haliburton Trails and Tours, Ontario Parks, Victoria Country Tourism Office, Naturally Superior Adventures and Parks Canada.

Students have assisted with trail research for Kawartha Lakes Tourism, Otonabee Conservation, the Rotary Club and the City. Recent local research investigated the use and conflicts on the Rotary Trail, and attitudes of landowners adjacent to it. Few conflicts are being experienced that could not be resolved by education and design. Adjacent landowners generally have a positive attitude towards it. Currently, Consuelo van Beek is studying the use of this trail, and its economic impact on Lakefield. She has found that users of the trail spend an average $4.82 in Lakefield, mainly on ice cream and drinks. While this may not seem much, given the increasing popularity of the trail, Lakefield will likely receive about $40,000 from trail users by the end of the summer. The Unit also produces trail guides, and just issued ones for the Rotary-Greenway Trail to Lakefield and the Promise Rock Trail on campus.

For more in formation on trails (including descriptions of trails in the local area), and the Trail Studies Unit, see our website (www.trentu.ca/academic/trailstudies), or call: 748-1011, ext.1419, or email me.

John Marsh (jmarsh@trentu.ca)


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Last updated May 4, 2001