Written by Chris Ludwig

Created: 26 January 2018

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The planning process for Pinecone Burke Provincial Park is currently underway.  This planning process is to create the park's first Masterplan that will determine what is allowed and what is not allowed in the park for decades to come.  This is accomplished through zoning.

During the development of any park masterplan, there are many different stakeholders.  Inevitably, there are a small vocal minority of stakeholders (special interest groups) in the past who have been very successful at creating large Wilderness Zones that exclude all public access (with no human impact).  This was the case for Garibaldi Provincial Park in 1990 where almost 70% of the park would be locked away as a conservancy in secret with almost no consultation.  In practice, the Garibaldi Park Wilderness Zone has prevented all trail and hut development for decades in 70% of the park, but at the same time has permitted multiple exceptions and abuses by commercial operators such as Whistler Heli Ski and Commercial Film Productions.  Under current legislation, pipelines, transmission lines, communications towers and drillling platforms are permitted in the conservation zone, but not hiking trails.  I think most people will agree that a hiking trail is more desirable and appropriate than an oil and gas rig in a provincial park.

We at Backcountry BC have learned from the mistakes of the past.  We understand that there are some special situations pertaining to Wildlife, Bio-diversity and First Nations cultural and archeaological values that may warrant Wilderness Conservation Zoning.  At the same time, we know that Wilderness Conservancies are often negotiated and imposed by small special interest groups at the expense of the recreation interests, desires and needs of millions of British Columbians.   Such back-room special deals benefit the few at the expense of the many, and have not served to protect these lands from commercial interests.  In fact, the presence of a trail brings numerous eyes who will notice and complain loudly if an unwanted pipeline or transmission line is to be rammed through a park.  

For some Governments, an empty wilderness zoned park is a fallow piece of unproductive land ripe for the plundering where no one will every be the wiser or complain.

We at Backcountry BC will strive to make sure that our parks are zoned for the benefit of all British Columbians, and not the interests of a very small group of noisy special interest groups and commerical stakeholders; very few of whom have the interests of the recreating public in mind.

Learn more about the BCMC/Backcountry BC proposal here:  Pinecone Burke Proposed Trails