I wonder if Todd Pope knew what he was getting into when he decided to take the job as District of Squamish trails coordinator in the Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada.

“Here you are, sir — you are now responsible for our unbelievable network of trails – so amazing, in fact, that economy-driving event organizers flock here for the venue, people come from around the world to try it out and we even named ourselves the Mountain Biking Capital of Canada.”

Oh, but there’s one catch… the District of Squamish doesn’t actually own 90 per cent of these trails.

So Todd, your next job is to approach landowners with trails running though their properties and ask whether they are willing to sign trail licence agreements that will designate that section for five years, or sign trails right-of-way agreements for a perpetual statutory right of way, even applicable if the land is sold.

And make sure to do it quickly because Coun. Corinne Lonsdale thinks it’s wrong to show a trail on someone’s property if s/he hasn’t agreed to it being there.

And Mayor Greg Gardner is actually suggesting putting a dotted line for trails on private property so if the landowner has a change of heart, people will know it’s not guaranteed.

Now, that’s a lot of dotted lines.

In fact, of the 981 trails on the Squamish Trail Recreation Map (which doesn’t include Half Nelson, Your Mom and other new trails) sold in the Adventure Centre and local shops, only 19 are actually on district-owned land.

Not that any given trail only crosses one property or even one type of property — Jack’s Trail, for example, runs through private property, Crown land and a provincial park.

Landowners will be paid a whole dollar from the district to agree to either of these contracts. But it does mean the district assumes liability.

The licence agreement isn’t too stringent — new development plans can be taken into account so that the deal generally applies to trails that could be moved 10 or 20 feet without huge implications.

The right-of-way agreement is a little more binding, a.k.a. forever, unless both parties agree to discontinue, and is generally reserved for main commuter trails such as the Corridor Trail.

So far most landowners have been understanding, but if Bob Fast decided to put a fence around his properties in Valleycliffe tomorrow, an entire component of “Squamish’s” trail system would be off-limits, and lawfully so.

Lucky for those of us who value “our” backcountry playground, Fast hasn’t done this yet and once the trails master plan is approved by council, the trails coordinator will be able to approach Fast to negotiate some licences.

Even before the plan was approved, Pope managed to move forward on one landowner issue — the Halvorsons gave a right-of-way agreement for the Corridor Trail.

It was unclear from the trails master plan discussion on Tuesday (Jan. 25) how long legalizing more than 1,000 trails would take, but at least the trails master plan aims to recognize the benefits of trails in Squamish, both as a convenience, and adventure and an economic driver.

In other words, it is evident from event organizers’ comments in recent weeks that the Squamish trails network is a substantial tourism component, so thank Pope that the complexities of this issue are finally being addressed, and ideally, funded.