News Release - August 22, 2017

RDN, TimberWest and Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club Reach Four-Year Access Agreement for the Doumont Trails Area

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN), the Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club (NMBC) and TimberWest are proud to announce a new four-year access agreement. TimberWest is providing access to nearly 1,000 hectares of private forest land in the Doumont area for non-motorized recreational use, and for the continuation of the successful RDN Biosolids Management Program.

"We are proud to see this partnership continue," said RDN Chair Bill Veenhof. "To be able to work with TimberWest and NMBC to provide first-class recreational opportunities makes this an especially exciting opportunity for the RDN. Our Biosolids program will also continue to improve long-term forest productivity and landfill diversion."

The RDN and the NMBC are working together to conduct a trail inventory, which will help determine the NMBC's priority construction and maintenance projects for the coming year. The focus will be on meeting industry recognized standards for safety and infrastructure, which will include trail improvements, trail ratings, standardized signage and mapping to enhance the recreational user experience. TimberWest and the NMBC will communicate regularly on trail development and harvesting plans and coordinate access information for the public.

"The NMBC is excited to enter into to this partnership with the RDN and TimberWest," said Dana Wacker, Communications Director with the NMBC. "The trail network at Doumont is well-established and popular with local recreationalists and tourists. This partnership will allow the Club to make significant improvements to enhance the recreational experience for local users and visitors."

"This agreement aligns perfectly with our objectives for legitimate and safe recreational opportunities in our working forest," said, Domenico Iannidinardo, VP Sustainability and Chief Forester, TimberWest. "TimberWest has had great success with a similar access agreement in our working forests around Cumberland, and we anticipate that this four year agreement will echo that success."

About

RDN: The Regional District of Nanaimo provides regional governance and services throughout Vancouver Island's beautiful central east coast. Communities within the regional federation include the municipalities of Nanaimo, Lantzville, Parksville and Qualicum Beach, as well as seven unincorporated Electoral Areas. Established in 1967, the RDN provides a variety of local and regional services to more than 155,000 people. www.rdn.bc.ca.

NMBC: The Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting the sport of mountain biking and advocating for the development of fun, safe and sustainable mountain biking trails in the Nanaimo region. The NMBC organizes regular group rides, racing events, as well as trail construction and maintenance activities.
www.nanaimomountainbikeclub.com | www.facebook.com/NanaimoMountainBikeClub

TimberWest: TimberWest has over 100 kilometres of public trail access through its private land by way of access agreements with various organizations. TimberWest has been operating for over 100 years on the BC Coast. All its public and private forest lands are third-party certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. TimberWest is privately owned by two leading Canadian pension funds.

Contact:

Sean De Pol
Manager, Wastewater Services
Regional District of Nanaimo
250-390-6547
sdepol [at] rdn.bc.ca (sdepol[at]rdn[dot]bc[dot]ca)

TimberWest
Monica Bailey
Director of Communications
250-716-3744
Monica.Bailey [at] TimberWest.com (Monica[dot]Bailey[at]TimberWest[dot]com)

Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club
Dana Wacker
NMBC Communications Director
250-709-7301
dana.wacker [at] gmail.com (dana[dot]wacker[at]gmail[dot]com)