New prohibition of firearm signs in Sibbald and Kananaskis

[kykamo]

Hey,

I usually target shoot in mclean creek, but recently my dad and i went to sibbald flats on homestead rd off 68. We havnt been there in years and to our surprise we found some new signage along homestead rd that say

"HIGH USE RECREATIONAL AREA Use of this area for firearms practice is prohibited under the Public Lands Act"

So what is that suppose to mean exactly? I looked at the Public Lands Act and the only thing pertaining to shooting is that the Lieutenant minister guy in charge of the act can designate different land uses like recreational areas, parks, shooting areas, ect.

But can they prevent someone from doing something that they can legally do normally? So under what authority or reasoning are these signs up? are they even enforceable?

More importantly, what "area" are they talking about? all of kananaskis PLUZ or sibbald PLUZ? 200 yards from sign? I'd like to not break any laws, but also want to exercise my privileges. These signs help none of that.

from what iv heard, they are there because too many idiots where leaving their garbage targets and not cleaning up. Fair enough. But what does this sign mean specifically and is it enforceable?

Anyone here have more info and background on what these signs mean and why they are lawful?

Thanks in advance for any help and clarification

[DougC]

There were too many complaints from the public regarding irresponsible shooters. Leaving garbage, shooting across roads, up and down high use trails, not having suitable backdrops behind their targets, driving vehicles right past no motorized use signs to access shooting areas, starting grass fires, and shooting within Provincial park boundaries are just a few of them. It was only a matter time before somebody was killed out there. It is enforceable and there will be more of these signs in additional areas in the years to come as well.

[DiabeticKripple]

You can still hunt that area, but not target shoot within 1km of a road is what I think the signs say

[DougC]

Yes, there are absolutely no restrictions on hunting.

[WesternAlien]

Here is the PDF map of the particular zone:
http://aep.alberta.ca/recreation-pub...e-Map-2016.pdf (link taken from this page: http://aep.alberta.ca/recreation-pub...skis-pluz.aspx).

Print it out for reference. Just hike away from the yellow, and use GPS to be absolutely positive you hiked away enough

[kykamo]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

You can still hunt that area, but not target shoot within 1km of a road is what I think the signs say

i know that rule well being in mclean often. However, i dont think that is true for sibbald, which is why im really confused.

here's a map of all kananaskis pluz http://aep.alberta.ca/recreation-pub...ap-Apr2016.pdf notice map legend and differences between different zones from mclean.

on the mclean map, there are hash marks on the firearm restriction areas. Making it obvious that u must be 1km from the road to target shoot, but on the sibbald there are no suck restrictions labelled. just the no camping/open fire signs. Also, the firearm prohibited signs in mclean and sibbald pluz are totally different. the mclean ones clearly communicate the no shooting of 1km of road same as no camping/open fires. Sibbalds are something different, which makes me think the rule is different.

heres a pic of the sibbald sign. i hope the link works http://i.imgur.com/Op1rHRR.jpg

Further evidence that i think the mclean firearm restrictions only apply where specified on the mclean map, is the fact that not all of the no camping/open fires yellow zone is labelled a firearm restriction area. so it seems that the firearm restrictions only apply to 1km off the main roads. I havnt seen any other pluz with those same obviously marked, hashed firearm restrictions. So i dont think the no camping/open fire yellow zone and the hashed 1km from road firearm restriction are one in the same and blanketed everywhere.

i have read language explaining the mclean creek firearm restrictions to be for mclean creek and kananaskis, but i dont think that means a blanket statement for all of kananaskis pluz. It is just confusing language because part of the hashed firearm restriction marked on the mclean map, extends down into the kananaskis area a bit. So i think that is what they are referring to if you read about the "kananaskis" firearm restriction. not all kananaskis pluz, just part. The part that is labelled on the map. That's how i have come to understand it.

The mclean creek signage is obvious and well marked on the map. the sibbald ones are not. So what's with the sibbald signs? where do they come from and what area do they mean??

Hope this all makes sense.

[Headdamage]

Is "Firearms Practice" even a legally defined term/phrase? Is target shooting practice? I'm not practicing shooting targets, I'm shooting targets

[kykamo]

Anyone know any background on these sibbald signs? Who would one call to investigate?