Many Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) users are getting ready to hit the trails in popular spots like McLean Creek as the long weekend approaches.

That is just one of many spots in Alberta where OHVs are allowed on designated trails.

However, some in the local OHV community are frustrated and feel they are being portrayed in a negative and demonizing way just for using these areas.

It all stems from a Facebook post published by Bragg Creek and Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation (BCKOR). The post is in response to the Alberta government's latest move to introduce a conservation fee for all users heading to Kananaskis starting in June.

The post raises many questions about where the money will go, what enforcement will look like and why some areas like McLean Creek were exempt from the fee.

Pictures accompanying the post, appear to show OHV users partaking in reckless behaviour and not respecting those lands.

BCKOR Facebook post

Many OHV users have called out that post claiming the pictures were taken out of context and that they are being treated unfairly.

The post also resulted in an article published on a Calgary news site, which has also received backlash.

One Airdrie off-road enthusiast, who preferred to be called Doug, said OHV users pay their registration fees and other dues to legally use public lands and always follow the trails.

He added, they also help hikers and first-time campers who use the land.

"If they're stuck on the side of the road and someone from the OHV community drives by, you guarantee we're pulling a strap out or getting a winch hooked up and pulling them out of the dirt. We're the nice guys in the bush but we're getting turned into the guys that are the problem."

In reference to the pictures on the Facebook post, Doug said some of those were not taken in McLean Creek and one, in particular, was on a marked trail.

Doug said the mess and damage sometimes done to the creek area is from weekend campers and not OHV riders. He added the off-road community continuously cleans up, most times, using their own equipment, time and money.

"They go and spend a day out in the bush and clean up all the stuff that's leftover from the weekend warriors, for one weekend that go out and party and then leave the place a mess and then we get blamed for it. We go out and clean it up so that we can keep playing there because if we don't respect the bush, we don't have a place to go play anymore."

Meanwhile, the BCKOR said since they published that post they have received dozens of responses including many vulgar and threatening messages to its inbox.

In a statement sent to CochraneNow's sister station, Discover Airdrie, the BCKOR said the post was not intended to paint all OHV users with the same brush and acknowledge many do their part to clean up and protect public lands.

"The majority of OHV users are respectful and even participate in clean up crews and we are very appreciative of those users. Unfortunately, with the lack of enforcement in the area, those that don't respect the wilderness have caused major issues and a bad apple with a large off-road vehicle can cause a lot more damage than one on a bicycle. While the low impact areas were also hit hard this year with unacceptable behaviour including mounds of garbage and human waste being left behind, our hope is that this was a temporary issue, as it was not commonplace before the pandemic."

The statement says that McLean Creek experiences the same issues as Kananaskis when it comes to garbage, damage, and an influx of visitors, yet it is exempt from any conservation fees.

"We did welcome the addition of 50 new employees including 20 Conservation Officers being employed in the province. We were, however, very disappointed that the area that traditionally requires significant CO patrols, was exempt from the fee and that the few disrespectful users in the area will continue without any added funding for enforcement. We had no intentions to portray all OHV users as irresponsible and want to reinforce that we support responsible OHV use on public land."

For Doug, his hope is that those outside the OHV community will understand who they really are and not how they are sometimes portrayed on social media.

"The off-road community is not just a bunch of rednecks running into the bush, running into the first mudhole they can find. A lot of them are guys that really respect the bush, they're people that camp on the regular; your everyday individual. People just think we are a bunch of animals and that's not really fair."

Doug added they constantly educate others on how to respect the lands they can use and that they are planning a widespread cleanup following the May long weekend.