Leadership Transition at GBCTA

It’s been 9 months since Peter Tucker stepped down as President of the Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association (GBCTA) after 3 years of both rewarding and challenging times leading the GBCTA. He took over the organization from Robert Sadee who helped found the GBCTA almost 14 years ago.

The organization has grown into a leader within the Alberta trails community which has much to do with strong leadership.  We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Peter for his calm, steady leadership and clear vision for the GBCTA.

Peter was President of the GBCTA from June 2015 to May 2018.  During that time, much was accomplished with Peter at the helm:

  • Peter was instrumental in obtaining formal Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) approval for 2 unofficial WBC trails, Sugar Mama and Sugar Daddy, in June 2016.
  • The 7 km West Bragg Creek Trail (TCT) was finally built with Peter playing a key role in obtaining Rocky View County approval to construct Phases 2-3 in 2017,
  • The GBCTA developed and implemented a comprehensive safety program which was transformative by building a culture of safety in GBCTA operations,
  • Peter was able to walk the organization through difficult times as we dealt with the accidental death of one of our volunteer workers. Peter ably represented the GBCTA with Government led safety investigations and in dealing with the victim’s family.
  • Peter continued fostering the strong relationship that the GBCTA enjoys with AEP staff and the other land users with which we share the WBC area. Recreation was elevated to an equal land user status in this multi- use zone under Peter’s guidance.
  • Peter, together with Alf Skrastins and Eric Lloyd, met with Minister Shannon Phillips in Edmonton in May 2017. Those discussions laid the groundwork for 3 key items:
    • The placement of an AEP Consultative Notation (CNT) on the WBC/Moose Mountain area in December 2017. This CNT has provided much needed protection for 200+ km of trails from the potential negative impacts of industrial development,
    • The successful negotiation of a new 10 year Cooperating Agreement between the GBCTA and AEP,
    • The first AEP Capital Grant ($49,950) to the GBCTA for safety related items and trail maintenance and grooming equipment which was approved in February 2019.
  • Peter is a master of mediation and meeting facilitation. He led a number of key GBCTA Board and volunteer leader meetings that strengthened our leadership team and resulted in important decisions on future directions,
  • Peter represented the GBCTA on the Rocky View County Active Transportation Committee thereby ensuring our input to the municipalities’ plans for trails was heard,
  • Peter is a highly competent trail builder and crew leader who participated on a number of volunteer days on the WBC trails helping build and maintain trails and bridges.

All this work was done while he was working as Executive Director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides – a full and intense load in and of itself. We have no doubt that the support of his wife, Debbie Maclean, also a trails volunteer, was an enormous factor in all the above.

Photo left to right: Willie Prebushewsky, Dean Giesbrecht, Tim Hudema, Peter Tucker, Conrad Schiebel