We were honored that the Four Wheel Drive Association was the first sponsor to come onboard and support the CanToy Divas. Their generous donation covered the fuel required to compete in the Rally. I am proud to say I am a member of this amazing group.
The Four Wheel Drive Association of BC (4WDABC) is a registered non-profit society and was founded in 1977. 4WDABC is a huge presence in the off-roading community and advocates for the public to have access to public lands. The association works closely with regional government and has partnership agreements with Ministry of Forests and BC Parks. Currently the association is also in active stewardship of maintaining 16 Rec sites in BC. This relationship helps make these backcountry sites available to explorers and off-roaders free of charge. Some of the sites include:
Sea to Sky – Hut Lakes
West Harrison includes – Hale Creek(Harrison Lake), Francis Lake, Sunrise Lake, Lookout Lake, Skwellepil Creek (Chehalis Lake)
Thompson- Nicola Region – Lac du Bois ORV Park
East Stave – Kenyon Lake
Whipsaw – Lodestone Lake(in conjunction with After The Blacktop Ends), Wells Lake (in conjunction with BC Toyota 4WD)
Peace Region – Windfall Creek
Omineca Region – Alexander MacKenzie Heritage Trail 0-5km
Throughout the year the association organizes 20 or more maintenance runs to above sites or other various locations. Some of these locations include the Nahatlach, Cornwall and Mount Lavina fire towers where volunteers rebuild, repair or make site improvements as necessary keeping the location open and safe for all enthusiasts who visit. The association works closely with the powers that be to re-designate sites like Stave Lake Mud Flats and Thunder Mountain to be official mud driving areas as well they maintain those areas.
4WDABC also offers training programs such as “Wheeling Wisely”, which after several years of development was launched in September 2019. The program focusses on concept and methods to off-road driving, recovery and safety. In 2020 they added another course; “Essentials of Off-road Recovery”. http://www.wheelingwisely.ca/ Another program the association also offers is the “Wheelers of Tomorrow” created to educate our youth in the hopes the tread lightly philosophy will be instilled in our youth. Enabling them to enjoy BC’s backcountry responsibly and keep it open to future generations to enjoy. https://www.4wdabc.ca/wheelersoftomorrow
What does Tread Lightly mean?
When in the back country, stay on designated roads and trails. Respect the environment where you are, whatever you pack in with you pack back out, yes that means all items including recyclables and trash. It also is good practice to pick up after others whenever possible to help keep our back country clean and open. Do not vandalize or deface the environment you are in, includes carving into trees, defacing rock faces with graffiti (that includes scraping or marking of any kind on rock faces etc). Act responsibly when hunting and fishing, follow all laid out rules. Leave the land as you found it. It should look like you were never there.
If you would like more information regarding membership to this amazing association please check out their website https://www.4wdabc.ca
Upcoming Events & Training with 4WDABC https://www.4wdabc.ca/event_list?current_page=1&sort_type=upcoming&filter%5Bperiod%5D=all&display_type=default