Many Squamish hikers and climbers appreciate the thousands of volunteer hours he puts in to improve local parks, and now the provincial government has acknowledged his achievements as well.
Squamish climber and trail guru Brian Moorhead is the winner of a 2017 BC Parks Volunteer Award for his individual contribution to our trail network.
The awards recognize individuals and groups who go above and beyond to care for provincial parks.
"British Columbians are known for their incredible volunteer spirit, and the passion and dedication demonstrated by our 2017 BC Parks volunteer award winners is truly inspiring," said George Heyman, minister of environment and climate change strategy in a news release about the awards, the winners of which were announced Friday.
"Congratulations and thank you for protecting and enhancing the spectacular natural environment that British Columbians cherish in our parks and protected areas."
Moorhead spearheaded the creation of many popular Squamish trails including the Murrin Loop Trail, the Murrin Loop Trail Jurassic Park extension, Baseline Trail and Malamute Trail.
He has long worked with various volunteer groups — as founder of the Squamish Access Society and its current vice-president — to maintain the many paths he creates.
"Instilling a love of natural areas in countless volunteers and trail users, Moorhead is always planning more work to bring the trails within the parks to a high standard. He is currently working on making the Shannon Pools Trail safer and more accessible," reads the release.
Always humble, Moorhead declined to comment for this story.
The Squamish Access Society's Toby Foord-Kelcey pointed The Chief to a post on the organization's website for a statement on Moorhead:
"All of this work has involved countless hours labour by Brian himself as well as many weekends managing volunteer trail-building groups," reads Foord-Kelcey's post.
"From his years of experience, Brian has developed a concept for Squamish Access Society that he calls '10-3' for trail work with volunteers; 10 people being the optimal group size and three hours being the best duration. Brian often gets repeat bookings from groups who have enjoyed working for him so he is obviously doing something right!"
Other BC Parks Award winners include:
• Volunteer group – Mitlenatch Island Stewardship Team (MIST)
• Volunteer legacy – Konrad and Gerda Feldmann [Park hosts at Coldfish Lake in Spatsizi Plateau Provincial Park]
• Community Partner of the Year is Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – B.C. Chapter (CPAWS-BC), and Sandstorm North Contracting is the recipient for Park Operator of the Year
To learn more about the recipients of the 2017 BC Parks Volunteer Awards, visit: www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/volunteers/recognition/
**Please note, this story has been corrected to clarify Moorhead's role in SAS.
