(Photo: The Canadian Press)

By Adam Ophus

clearing things up

Off-highway vehicle use not restricted in forest protection area: province

Apr 20, 2020 | 8:52 PM

The United Conservative Government has assured that as of now Albertans will be able to use their off-highway vehicles (OHV) this summer.

“I can confirm that there is no province-wide restriction on OHV use,” Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Devin Dreeshen has stated. “Albertans can continue to use OHVs in the Forest Protection Area. However, OHV use is still restricted in provincial parks.”

Confusion began when the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry sent out a media release stating “the use of off-highway vehicles for use on all public lands” was prohibited. It also claimed anyone found to be non-compliant of the fire ban may receive a violation ticket of $600.

The notice, which has since been changed, was also posted on the Albertafirebans.ca website.

Having been inundated with inquires, Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon posted on social media that “There is currently no province-wide OHV ban. I’m happy to report that, after discussion with officials, Ag and Forestry is now recommending a region-specific approach based on overall fire risk within an area.”

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The reason for the initial ban was to reduce the number of human cases caused by wildfires since firefighting resources may be challenged due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dreeshen says that they are continuing to monitor the ongoing wildfire season and are taking steps to limit potential wildfires.

“COVID-19 will undoubtedly affect our capacity to fight wildfires and evacuate communities,” Dreeshen explained.

Any future updates on OHV restrictions can be found here.