The Three Levels of Road De-Activation

There are currently three forms of deactivation for roads on Crown land.

1. Permanent deactivation which means re-sloping of the road to the natural ground line prior to harvesting and subsequent planting of trees. No access is created and this is not very common.
2. Semi-permanent deactivation is where all the structures are removed (bridges, culverts etc.) and cross-ditches, waterbars are put in. This may include pullback of fill slopes on sections of road where the side slopes exceed 60%. This can unfortunately narrow the road width considerably (ATV access only). However this must be done in order to stabilize the fill slope and prevent the potential for landslides.
3. Temporary deactivation where culverts are backed up with cross-ditches in the fall/winter. The road is usually active on a yearly basis.

I was told by an employee of the Chilliwack Forest District that deactivated roads will be on a use at your own risk basis. But "if the road is under some type of gov't tenure agreement (ie.Road Permit) or a special feature is getting damaged (hot springs), access may be restricted."

To me, I read this as saying that, unless specifically posted, a road is not off-limits to motorized vehicles if it is de-activated.

...lars

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