SCRD supports bid by Mountain Adventures - If at first you don't succeed... Article Below From the Coast Repiorter:  https://www.coastreporter.net/news/local-news/scrd-supports-bid-by-mountain-adventures-1.23441111?fbclid=IwAR2biM7aRS-TM5XS3ZCA8vgRvyfPYA-9Y8Ts5ew2GSY8bSSzBC8pUwA9PUg Areas in the Phantom Lake and Woodfibre Lake areas would have overlapping tenure with Sea to Sky Air and Black Tusk Helicopter, which provide similar services based on the Squamish side. Sneddon said the...

The Coast Reporter (primary Newspaper on the Sunshine Coast) today published a decent piece on the mega-adventure Tourism application bid. The supportive position of the Sunshine Coast Regional District to this application is revealing when put in the context of their pro-drain Chapman Lake and Pro-Rezone Tetrahedron Park as of late. I am very pleased to see that the Coast Reporter is starting to take a more assertive role and approach towards reporting conservation, recreation, and land use...

Take the time to add your voice to those opposing logging in Manning Park's "donut hole". https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/take-action/comment-now-new-logging-manning-park-donut-hole?utm_source=root&utm_campaign=a76a5be616-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_10_19_09_37&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f26346b88d-a76a5be616-98900045&fbclid=IwAR267iE8leQf5jWTTSisZglrMqIor_ppcbNLjxQsCUTYvdth9fJZdzuSkzc#newmode-embed-536-6695

Mountain goat winter range threatened by logging in Manning Park's "donut hole". Last year, on the north slopes of Silverdaisy Mountain across Highway 3 from Skagit Bluffs, we came across tracks of mountain goats above the elevation of 1350 meters. The Chilliwack forest district's ungulate winter range map UWR Plan Number U-2-001 does not show winter range in the vicinity of Smitheran Creek. I plotted the area where we observed goat tracks on top of the official map in red and yellow stripes....

B.C. Parks reservation system protest continues ‘Unhappy campers’ petition against elimination of drive-ups in Golden Ears From the Maple Ridge News:  https://www.mapleridgenews.com/news/b-c-parks-reservation-system-protest-continues/?fbclid=IwAR0s5q5SPkF1yLN5-s6ArsP6RddLBSUzHJUXNNAU5Pl3TWQQ-ERcwXcIJQU -x- 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...

More good news from Lions Bay. Finally, a parking remedy that is welcoming to visitors but not overwhelming the residents (article from 2017) https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/lions-bay-pitches-pay-parking-pilot-project-to-deal-with-the-zoo?fbclid=IwAR3-hlH3_EjWSvj6l3faQvuPWW0NDgYpVjP4dHnRGdwoT4vOPQ9JWj2LbBE Lions Bay is a small village with a big parking problem. That’s why the municipality, which straddles the Sea-to-Sky Highway about 13 kilometres north of West Vancouver,...

Rod Macleod, vice president of planning at Aquilini Group was interviewed by Sea to Sky Podcast in September. The interview is over 30 minutes long but there are a few takeaways that are of interest to the backcountry community. Macleod couldn't help taking a dig into Vail Resorts, owners of Whistler Blackcomb. According to Macleod, Vail doesn't care about the local market. They are interested in the international destination market, whereas Garibaldi at Squamish sees its biggest market as...

Is the Mount Archibald gondola proposal a cookie cutter project on the Sea to Sky template? What are your thoughts? Sea to Sky-style gondola floated for mountains above Bridal Falls in Chilliwack A proposed gondola above Bridal Falls could enhance recreation opportunities in the eastern Fraser Valley, but could it destroy the area's rugged charm? From the Vancouver...

Union of B.C. Municipalities just endorsed resolution B72 from Pemberton to have tourism marketing dollars matched to investment in infrastructure, maintenance, enforcement and staffing. Makes sense?

I'm just looking at the Mount Seymour Provincial Park website and I see that: " Overnight parking is permitted in parking lot 1." Based on the parking lot map, that means that anyone who is doing an overnight trip needs to park down at the hairpin corner which is a full 1.7 km away from the trailhead. In recent years, there were a handful of designated overnight parking stalls in Lot 2 and that worked out well. Does anyone know if this new policy was in place in the 2017/2018 season?

An interesting article today in the Squamish Chief on current volcanic activity on Mount Meager near Pemberton. Article from: https://www.squamishchief.com/news/local-news/risk-rising-1.23432188?fbclid=IwAR0z8XlpfaKucQT4UnXqyXvBH-8z1if4FDlqvI5Yz2kgEiLlJIrb_ST43sU -x- On July 21, 2016, a local helicopter pilot was flying a group of biologists to the mountains outside of Pemberton, where they planned to conduct a survey of the mountain goat population. But the pilot—who happened to...

Today's news, although underfunding and undermanagement of BC's parks has been an issue for decades:  -x- From the Vancouver Sun:  https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/hiking-reservations-pitched-for-b-c-parks-in-danger-of-being-loved-to-death?fbclid=IwAR3cCg9Uz-8ahey0uW5k9G9PyG7W2rGAZUJo1-sz9-rs4Cah9TmZ3pxZKLc With its turquoise glacial lakes and proximity to Metro Vancouver, it was only a matter of time before Joffre Lakes provincial park became a social media...

And now a proposal to build a tram to "Mount Archibald", above Bridal Falls near Chilliwack. There doesn't seem to be a Mount Archibald on my copy of 92 H/4, but it's pretty clear that it would be on the shoulder if not on top of Mount Cheam. ("the sub-alpine and alpine region above Bridal Falls"). And that although it's billed as a "study", by the time it's done it'd probably be a fait accompli. The...

BackcountryBC met today with Rod Macleod, vice president of planning with the Aquilini Group down at Rogers Arena. We discussed our concerns with the Garibaldi at Squamish development.  https://www.squamishchief.com/real-estate/construction-could-begin-in-four-years-gas-1.23335649?fbclid=IwAR3Seto45mAQigxtS4E1dnh5pxXKcrnfIVWib84xtUP_sA-0rF9JIGMRsHo We strayed onto the topic of Singing Pass access. Mr. Macleod worked at Whistler Mountain when Peter Alder was the general manager. Mr....

From the CBC:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/jumbo-s-back-developer-asks-court-to-resurrect-decades-old-ski-resort-project-1.4713016?fbclid=IwAR1AWX2ETWj3nnk0WFMnpWxteC1zgG0Q__Sk0SFTZArI4qsJvhHib4KLxsA CBC Article Below: Developers say 2015 decision to kill project was politically motivated The developers behind one of B.C.'s longest running land-use battles — the Jumbo Glacier ski resort near Invermere — are back in court on Monday trying to resurrect the failed...

Garibaldi at Squamish Resorts just never seems to go away, and it seems ever more likely that it will go ahead. There were a whole pile of shenanigans that we uncovered regarding this proposal a few years ago (see below) and we performed extensive mapping work on it. Reference:  https://backcountrybc.ca/…/backcount…/brohm-ridge-custom-map and https://backcountrybc.ca/…/brohm-ridge-garibaldi-at-squamis… Hopefully the Proponent and Government have come up with a better...

From Mountain FM: https://www.mountainfm.com/2018/06/08/moti-adds-no-parking-barriers-sea-sky-highway/?fbclid=IwAR30nfQMZOwQY_eWrOvLJQaGdZ6_w0poLwleLat6JU1UaZyw-dQvP-LOpM8 The Province cannot say how long temporary no parking barriers along the Sea to Sky Highway will remain in place. Recently temporary barriers were installed at various pull-outs between Squamish and Vancouver to deter drivers from parking illegally. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) says the...

From the Seattle Times:  https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/logging-in-upper-skagit-river-watershed-put-on-hold-as-seattle-has-grave-concern/?fbclid=IwAR2RkPqMYTf8SDAyskR38RYfdACWF08N13s3lENOM6SpRP0BZiVV7QrRWt0 Conservationists fear recent logging at the Canadian headwaters of the Skagit River, the premier salmon producer of Puget Sound, will open the door to mining down the road.  Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, in a rare step earlier this...

VANCOUVER - Lawyers from Ecojustice, representing the Wilderness Committee today called on B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman to rescind a 2014 Parks Use Permit that allows logging trucks to travel through a section of Manning Park, or face possible court action.  “Are B.C.’s environmental laws so weak that they allow logging trucks in parks? The former minister of environment apparently thought so,” said Devon Page, executive director of Ecojustice. “We’re asking the current B.C....

Logging in Manning Park Donut Hole From the Western Wilderness Committee: https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/take-action/protect-manning-and-skagit-parks?fbclid=IwAR1CSpoyb66RBcXJXreRisP0p1zIQ-4G1IARnxLy5h6aNgJemQ16KL0s9V4 Your help is urgently needed NOW to stop road building and logging in the heart of Manning and Skagit provincial parks! BC Timber Sales (BCTS), the BC government’s own logging operation, has barged into the Manning Park Donut...

https://projects.eao.gov.bc.ca - List of Projects https://projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/projects - Project Dynamic Map

BC Crown Land Use Application Dynamic Maps BC Crown Land Use Application Dynamic Map at the following Link:  https://comment.nrs.gov.bc.ca/applications  

To fund need infrastructure improvements in the Sea to Sky region, an annual vehicle pass is proposed. Read the proposal here: Carrying Capacity Plan—Sea to Sky Region Two classes of pass are proposed: Forest Pass and Sno-Park Pass. Initially, priority should be given to provision of parking and trail head sanitation for the forest pass. For Sno-Park, priority should be for winter plowing to parking. {jcomments on}

A meeting was held at the Whistler Library on July 26, 2018 between the backcountry community, government, and business to discuss a better approach to Singing Pass. The meeting can at best be described as a complete failure and reversal of progress that had been made and memorialized in the 2014 Garibaldi Park Management Plan Amendment. Page 8 of the document clearly states that BC Parks is to work with adjacent land managers to establish a new vehicle-accessible trailhead on the north side...

While the Heathens may have won their court case regarding the illegal camping fines levied against them at Crest Creek Crags, reaching an acceptible volunteer agreement with BC Parks still seems to be elusive.  Without an agreement, the Heathens will be unable to continue their exception volunteer trail work at Crest Creek Crags on Vancouver Island. The Heathens's attorney Tees Kiddle Spencer recently drafted and submitted a letter to George Heyman outlining the Heathens's position and...