We can  bike, run, walk and hike the Goose Lake Road for now.    The route through the grasslands, riparian zone wetlands and forested hills have long been a recreational corridor, especially for cycling.   The road follows the wetlands of Peterson Creek for a few kilometers, habitat for wildlife of the area.

The grasslands cover the hills on both sides, with the north-facing slopes forested with douglas fir.

Aspen and cottonwoods can be found in the wetlands in the valley floor.

At 7km, Goose Lake is reached.   It is a really a large shallow pond, but is also usually full of waterfowl, especially in spring.

Goose Lake will be gone with the proposed Ajax Mine.   From above Goose Lake down to Peterson Creek will be the center of the mine operations.   Waste rock, tailings storage, a conveyor belt connecting the crusher to the plant,  and mine operations will replace  what we now see.   A map is available for our review – Ajax Mine Map (Update).

It would appear from the map that the Goose Lake Road will no longer be a through-road.   The mine will start a few kilometers from either end of the Road and will fill the entire area with a 15 square kilometer (est.) open pit mine.    Although there is a lot of local opposition to the mine, the Federal Mining Tenure Act lays out a process that makes a new mine an inexorable force if all environmental concerns are met.   The mine will happen, so get out onto the Goose Lake Road while you still can.

On this last spring day bike ride, bluebirds were spotted, perched on fenceposts.   Sandhill cranes flew overhead, working their way north to the Chilcotin.   Ducks filled all the wetlands along the route.   The whole area was quiet and peaceful, a perfect environment for outdoor self-propelled recreation.

Soon it will be…Gone, Goose, Gone.

• Article – Goose Lake Road
• Article – The Goose Lake Road in April
• Environmental Concerns – Stop Ajax Mine – Goose Lake
• Armchair Mayor – Whither Goose Lake?
• Kamloops This Week – Ajax Mine Footprint
• Armchair Mayor – KGHM buys Ranches…
• Ajax Map – Map Update