The first aerial patrol of the year by the BC Conservation Officer Service in Williams Lake resulted in charges for three snowmobilers over the weekend.
“We conducted some enforcement patrols by helicopter and by ground,” says Conservation Officer Jared Connatty.
“During those patrols, we located three riders that were operating their snowmobiles in a closed area in the Mica Mountain area and as a result of that there’s been four charges laid and three warnings on those three individuals that were identified.”
Connatty says that riders need to educate themselves on where the closure boundaries are adding that there are lots of resources they can refer to online including the Ministry of Environment website.
The area that the riders were in is closed to snowmobiles for the protection of caribou.
“There are lots of areas out there to ride and to access. We’re finding that the vast majority of riders are compliant with these closure boundaries,” adds Connatty.
“We’ll continue with both aerial patrols and ground patrols. We’ll have officers that will be operating snowmobiles in and around some of these areas ensuring that the closure of boundaries is being respected by other riders and also continuing to educate riders on various other things such as the off-road vehicle act requirements as well as the wildlife act.”
Connatty says anyone who has any concerns or witnesses any violations can call the COS RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277.