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With this announcement, the cynic in me immediately imagined that BC Parks management has finally achieved the perfect utopia it has been hoping for since its creation in the 1950's - A provincial park system completely devoid of people and the final triumphant extermination of the "recreation" portion of their dual recreation and conservation mandate.
My active little (and somewhat twisted) imagination envisions champaign bottles being popped open around the BC Parks board room, with...
‘The border is this imaginary line’: why Americans are fighting mining in B.C.’s ‘Doughnut Hole’
"Logging permits in the Skagit River headwaters will no longer be issued by the B.C. government but mining exploration is causing friction with Americans downstream. We travelled the river to meet the people fighting an Imperial Metals permit"
https://thenarwhal.ca/border-imaginary-line-why-americans-fighting-mining-doughnut-hole/?fbclid=IwAR0Soe3RxCp7eoYeMnSng5YxKep53yra653EzhBWq9_W8S1XoMYdzqRZz4o
BC PARKS RESPONSE TO COVID-19
For the health and safety of BC Parks visitors, employees, park contractors, volunteers and partners, effective immediately, we are temporarily suspending services and closing facilities in most provincial parks.
Day-use services and facilities will remain available at the following provincial parks
Mount Seymour Provincial Park – access restricted to some lower elevation trails; parking and road access closed
Cypress Provincial Park – access...
BC Parks Zoning Framework pub. June 1, 2012, BC Parks
Garibaldi Park Cultural History pub. March 14, 1984, author Katie Bell, Bell Forests and Parks Enhancement
Garibaldi Park map pub. January 22, 2016, Ministry of Environment
Garibaldi Park Master Plan pub. September 1990, BC Parks
Garibaldi Park Zoning Map pub. 1989. included as Map 3A in Garibaldi At Squamish resort proposal
Garibaldi Park Zoning Map pub. 2016 showing Whistler Heli-skiing Ltd. permit area overlayed on the wilderness...
BC Timber Sales, Arrow Field Team, has road construction plans within areas that overlap with the Columbia Western Rail Trail The roads proposed in Operating Plan #16 will be authorized under Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) #601. As per the Forest Stewardship Plan, BC Timber Sales refers the location of the planned blocks and roads to stakeholders, interest groups, and the public that may be affected by the development. The road construction plan for Operating Plan #16 includes plans to...
This issue regarding trail management on Crown land on Bowen Island came up at the March 2020 meeting of the southwest B.C. recreation and conservation committee meeting of the Federation of Mountain Clubs of B.C. The group Bowen Community and Nature (Bowen CAN), has posted the following information.
The Issue
There has been inadequate community consultation regarding the management of trails and the use of motorized vehicles on Crown Lands.
What you need to know
Bowen Island is treasured...
Good BC Parks!
We are making slow progress here by you at long last including the phrase "Parks are for people too" (albeit buried deep and near the end of the blog post and in only the context of front country recreation). Now how about putting your money where your mouth is and directing a little of that Licence Plate money to trails, access and infrastructure instead of exclusively to conservation, political correctness, managerial salaries and paper pushing?
I'm rooting for you BC...
I noticed this campsite reservation only issue over at Golden Ears Park when it first came to light. I'm ambivalent about it personally and am undecided as to whether or not it is a good or a bad thing.
"With the names of close to 6,500 supporters on a petition, a group of ‘unhappy campers’ from Maple Ridge is continuing its fight to stop Golden Ears campsites from becoming 100 per cent reserved during the busy summer season.
Angela Dunne-Massey is the spokesperson for a group of...
The following is recent blog post at Vancouver Trails on access issues for Tunnel Bluffs.
Seems to me that with all the access challenges in the Sea to Sky Corridor, I am going to have my hands full this summer managing and maintaining the Watersprite Lake Trail up to snuff to handle the hordes of hikers who are now facing fewer reliable S2S hiking...
Dig Dig Dig at Rubble Creek...
Reference: https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/sea-to-sky/50-volunteers-dig-out-blocks-of-ice-for-improved-access-to-rubble-creek-trailhead-2509740
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AROUND 50 OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS picked up shovels and ice axes on Saturday, March 7, in an effort to dig out a major section of Daisy Lake Road.
"We cleared what we think will be about 20 car spots," said Haley Foladare, huts coordinator for the VOC. "So yes, we think it was a success."
At the start of...
In 1470, Paolo Uccello painted Saint George fighting a dragon to save a damsel in distress.
The painting led me to reflect upon cash starved BC Parks, events of late, and my experience with BC Parks over the decades.
I wonder if BC Parks is the damsel in distress, or is in fact the dragon itself?
I personally believe the world is never so black and white, and perhaps BC Parks is both part dragon and part damsel in distress.
The old-school shovel approach to a problem.
This is a rather interesting method of increasing public awareness about an access issue by the youngsters over at the VOC.
There is currently an active petition to improve Winter Parking at Rubble Creek linked in the article.
Of particular note is the statement by the BC Parks representative that they "cannot accept donations for specific jobs".
Does this mean that BC Parks will only accept money if they can spend it on what they...
Last Friday an agreement was reached between First Nations and the Federal and Provincial governments to protect the endangered and declining Mountain Caribou of Northeastern BC.
Not everyone seems happy though as there still seems to be issues to address in the areas of recreation (mainly motorized) and the resource sector.
"The Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations have partnered with the federal and provincial government to protect southern mountain caribou in northeastern...
Garibaldi Provincial Park Southwestern Amendment ⇐ click on the link to launch the website.
A proposal by the British Columbia Mountaineering Club for new recreation opportunities and conservation in the southwestern corner of Garibaldi Provincial Park.
The West Rogers Winter Restricted Area in Glacier National Park is closed until further notice.
According to a Facebook post in Parks Canada’s Parks Mountain Safety page, this closure comes after several people entered the Macdonald West Winter Prohibited Area on Feb. 22.
“The Winter Permit System in Glacier National Park needs 100 per cent compliance,” reads the post.
Full Article:...
Steve Jones in the Medium presented four possible outcomes/solutions for the current decline of BC Parks funding. I have provided a few additional options below worthy of consideration.
Quotas and Closures
Downgrade Facilities
Increase Fees
Commercialize the Parks
https://medium.com/@stevejoneshikes/whats-next-for-bc-parks-in-an-era-of-declining-budgets-and-continued-growth-of-the-tourism-991b1f9eebbd
My Solutions
5) Stop punishing, issuing fines, shutting down and...
I noticed this article on News 1130 (which includes our old Garibaldi Park 2020 website photo) where the VOC discusses the current parking problems at Rubble Creek.
The article correctly points out that funding for BC Parks in the 2020 Provincial Budget (from what I have heard and read) actually includes budget reductions over the next few years.
As much as I have been critical about some of BC Parks's policy and decision making, I have sympathy here as they seem to...
Crest Creek Crags, BC Parks and The Heathens Mountaineering Club
A personal retrospective, and perhaps an epitaph.
The Heathens over on Vancouver Island for many years performed extraordinary volunteer trail work at Crest Creek Crags on Vancouver Island. Unfortunately, they fell into conflict with the Government pertaining to camping and a proposed volunteer agreement, which eventually led to a court case culminating in a plea...
The following organizations have endorsed the Garibaldi Park southwestern amendment.
British Columbia Mountaineering Club Squamish Access Society
Conceptual layout of a hiking trail between Coquitlam and Squamish. The Opal Cone trail as laid out in the Garibaldi Park southwestern amendment is necessary to its realization.
As part of longer range planning, it is highly desirable that a long distance hiking route between Coquitlam and Squamish be considered. Here we propose a high elevation trail that follows the Coquitlam-Pitt Divide north from Widgeon Lake. The divide provides hiking and mountaineering access to Meslilloet Mountain,...
Watersprite Lake in fall. Photo: Michael Iwasaki.
Watersprite Lake lies 700 meters south of Garibaldi Park Park and less than 3 kilometers west of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park. A trail, campsite and hut were built in the last five years by the B.C. Mountaineering Club. The trail and campsite were built in partnership with Recreation Sites and Trails BC. As such, the experience is a good proxy for what to expect of recreation development and impacts should the proposed Garibaldi Park...
Old but relevant news.
I have expressed concerns pertaining to the large quantity of recent heli-tenure applications (in this case Blackcomb Helicopter's Heli-biking tenure being just one of many).
While on one hand I do believe that commercial tenures and operators are very often beneficial for both recreation, employment and the economy, it is important to still be mindful of their long term environmental impacts.
While I did not oppose this tenure outright, I did have...
On the west flank of the Garibaldi massif (Dalton Dome, Mount Atwell and Mount Garibaldi) there is important mountain goat winter range identified by the province as UWR MQ-1, meaning "ungulate winter range". It is one of the largest winter ranges identified for mountain goats in the south coast region. There are several threats to its viability that are emerging. It is suggested that UWR MQ-1 be given enhanced protection by either adding the entire UWR area to Garibaldi Provincial Park or...
The BC Parks License Plate Program - Where does the money go?
What are all of these 220 projects I ask?
"These funds support diverse projects related to Conservation, Community Engagement and Education, and Indigenous Relations.".
I don't see the word "recreation" anywhere in this description. The word "conservation" is of course ever-present throughout their website, but the word "recreation" seems to be treated like the name "Lord Voldemort" (the word that must not be named or...
Google Earth rendering of an oblique view looking north up Skookum Creek to Mount Garibaldi, Opal Cone and Mamquam Lake. There is a proposed trail from the Skookum Creek trailhead to Opal Cone. It would provide connectivity to the Diamond Head trailhead.
Looking south across Eanastick Meadows and down Skookum Creek. The meadows are created by a volcanic plug that dams the outwash from Pyramid Mountain and Spire Peaks to create a meadow. The term "meadow" is more of a misnomer...
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