Snowmobilers in the Whistler area won't be able to plead ignorance anymore if they're found in local watershed areas. The municipality has installed new signs in the Rainbow Mountain Wildland Area to notify backcountry users of areas where snowmobiling and other motorized activities are not allowed.
The signs have been placed at key trailheads and a map is included to show the non-motorized zone. Snowmobiling is not permitted in the 21 Mile Creek area, Rainbow Lake, Gin and Tonic Lakes, the north side of Mount Sproatt and Rainbow Mountain.
The areas must be protected from contamination because they're part of Whistler's watershed, which supplies much of the resort's drinking water supply.
The non-motorized zone is not signed or roped — backcountry users are responsible to know their specific location and proximity to the boundary, according to a press release issued by the Resort Municipality of Whistler.
The new signs are part of the Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plan, which was approved in 2008 and provides direction for the management of public land and natural resources.
