Wouldn't it be nice to have your own wilderness cabin tucked away in the bush? A warm wood stove, a sink and a water bucket are all you really need to be comfortable, right?

Many people dream about a cabin and a few people build them. We're not talking about legal cabins on recreation leases, we're talking about illegal cabins that are built on Crown land without permits or permission. We're also talking about hunting camps with rustic tent frames and tables left from year to year along the side of logging roads across our region.

You might ask "What is the problem? One little cabin or camp tucked away in the forest isn't hurting anyone".

Illegal cabins and camps create three big problems. Implied ownership, access and litter.

When you stumble on a cabin in the bush where you don't expect it, your first reaction is... this is someone's home or property. It's a natural reaction and your first impulse is to back away and leave the area. A cabin implies that someone owns it. But in the case of an illegal cabin on Crown land, there is no right of ownership. All the building materials hauled to the site are in trespass and the builder has no right to maintain or occupy the building or camp.

The length of time spent using the cabin doesn't give the builder any rights. Each time that the builder, or anyone else, occupies or maintains the cabin is an offense.