LIBERALS ATTACK CHILCOTIN PARK : WC Mediawire

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – The BC Liberal Government has just posted on a government website <a href = "http://srmhttp://www.gov.bc.ca/sir/lrmp/lill/">http://srmhttp://www.gov.bc.ca/sir/lrmp/lill/ several options for completing land use planning in the Lillooet District of the province of British Columbia. Several of the options posted by the Liberal government propose gutting BC's newest Provincial Park, by drastically downsizing its boundaries to provide access to logging and mining companies.

The 72,000-hectare South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park is located just over 100 km. north of Whistler. It was designated a Provincial Park by former Premier Ujjal Dosanjh in April of 2001 via an Order in Council. BC conservationists had been advocating Provincial Park status for this extremely important wildlife area and famous recreation destination since the 1930s.

"There was rejoicing across the province in the spring of 2001 when it was formally designated a park," explained Wilderness Committee Director Joe Foy. "At that time the government promised at total of 13 other protected areas for the district as well as wildlife management zones and logging deferral areas to allow for First Nations planning.

"Now the new government has issued maps that indicate they are considering rolling the boundaries back by cutting Slim, Leckie and lower Tyaughton Valleys right out of the new park," he said. "If this government moves to tear up Provincial Park legislation in this way – then we can all expect to see a backlash, resulting in a major amount of unrest and environmental protest in the forests this year," said an angry Foy.

The Liberal government has also eliminated all of the wildlife management zones and First Nation planning areas and is now considering protecting only a few shriveled bits of additional parkland mostly bereft of trees. The government website provides an email contact, <a href = "mailto:Marc.Imus@gems6.gov.bc.ca?subject=South Chilcotins Park">Marc.Imus@gems6.gov.bc.ca where citizens can register their opinion regarding the Liberals move to downsize the South Chilcotin Mountains Park. 

The Minister responsible for the Lillooet District land use process is the Honourable Stan Hagen, Minister of Sustainable Resource Management. He is expected to hand down his final decision regarding the fate of the South Chilcotin Mountains Park and other Lillooet wilderness areas by the first half of April at the latest.

"The Minister Responsible for Parks, the Honourable Joyce Murray hasn't uttered a peep in defence of this endangered park under her protection," said Foy. "She is utterly failing in her responsibility to protect and preserve our province's natural heritage," said Foy.

Many of BC's leading conservation organizations have banded together to present a public slide show and discussion about the South Chilcotin Park and other Lillooet area wild places in a last minute attempt to pull the government back from the brink of another provincial-reputation-ruining War in the Woods – this time over the fate of the park system.

On April 4 at 7pm the Friends of the Rainshadow will host a gathering and slide show in the 200 seat Victoria venue, St. Anne's Academy, 835 Humboldt St. and on April 11 the same show will be held at the 600 seat Vancouver venue, Point Grey Sec. School, 5350 East Boulevard Street.

"Our parks are one of our greatest gifts to future generations," said Foy. "They will be defended".

For more information on this issue go to the Wilderness Committee website http://www.wildernesscommittee.org

Contact: Joe Foy (604) 683-8220 Cell: (604) 880-2580

Through our online opinion polls:

<a href = "http://www.wildernesscommittee.org/campaigns/rainshadow_wilderness/pollcard.htm">Sustainable Resource Minister, Stan Hagen

<a href = "http://www.wildernesscommittee.org/campaigns/rainshadow_wilderness/pollcard2.htm">Premier Campbell

Whistler residents urged to save South Chilcotins park

With the future of several new parks and protected areas in the Lillooet area hanging in the balance, including a provincial park in the South Chilcotin Mountains, environmental groups are urging people to write letters to members of the provincial government in support of parks.
"Whistler needs to stand up and be heard louder than before," said Dennis Perry of the South Chilcotin Mountains Wilderness Society. "In the end, the government and (Sustainable Resource Management Minister) Stan Hagen are going to listen to the communities on this issue, and right now Whistler is the only community in the area where the council is in favour of conservation in the area.
"Support your council and mayor. Write to them. Write to Minister Hagen. Write to Victoria and ask them to respect the NDP?s and the LRMP table?s decisions in this area."
Perry was among the speakers at a March 7 AWARE presentation on the future of the Lillooet Land and Resource Management Plan.
Back in November the Liberal government announced its plans to review the first phase of the Lillooet LRMP, which was completed on the outgoing NDP party?s last day in office before calling an election, when cabinet voted in favour of the conservation option.
Stakeholders in the area have met at round table discussions since 1997, and in those years managed to hammer out agreements over most of the land base. The table was split into two sides on certain areas, conservation verses industry, and both sides agreed to table their options for those areas to the government and allow cabinet to decide.
The conservation side recommended the creation of a 71,400 hectare park in the South Chilcotin Mountains, including the Spruce Lake area, plus the protection of 13 other areas. In addition to the roughly 12 per cent of the land base that was already protected, the conservation option brought the total protected area in the Lillooet LRMP to just over 20 per cent.
The mayors with the LRMP asked the new Liberal government to set aside the conservation option based on the fact that they NDP failed to conduct an economic impact study. The Liberals agreed, and the government is currently in the process of reviewing the LRMP. Minister Hagen will release his decision in May.
The South Chilcotin area is popular for cycling, hiking, horseback riding, camping and fishing, and has been a proposed site for a provincial park since 1937. The area is also considered to be the line of extinction for grizzly bears in the region; without protection, that line is expected to move even further north.
The tourism industry in the area currently provides 150 full-time equivalent jobs in the area and generates $10 million in annual revenues. Perry believes that the threat that logging poses to the scenic quality has prevented the tourism industry from further investing the area.
"This is our last chance, these next two months," says Perry. "This area has been recognized as the highest degree of wilderness values of anywhere in the province. Logging and mining are short-term, and would spoil the tourism values in this area forever."

Lillooet LRMP still a work in progress
There are four tentative land use maps for the Lillooet LRMP currently before the government and all, except one, call for the reduction of the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park.
The four focus maps were created after getting input from the various area stakeholders.
They were asked: "What would the package of protected areas look like if ... greater emphasis was placed on the following values:

? Biogeoclimatic Representation and Wildlife
? Forestry
? Mining
? Tourism

The tourism map is the only one where the boundaries of the controversial park do not shrink. In fact, they get larger under that scenario.
Stan Hagen, minister of sustainable resource management, was in Lillooet on Monday, March 18 meeting with stakeholders but he could not comment on the details of the focus maps.
"I haven't looked at them because I don't want to prejudge them, but certainly the staff has done a lot of work on them," said Hagen.
He does not want to look at the maps because he may have to make the final decision about the future of land use in the area if the stakeholders fail to reach a consensus.
"Sometime in the spring we'll be looking at whether or not we have a decision or whether I'll have to make a decision," he said.
"I want to give all of the groups a chance to come to a consensus."
An online summary report on the discussions thus far shows there are still diverse opinions over the areas that should be protected in the LRMP.
Reaching a consensus on land use in Lillooet has been very difficult in the past.
It has been more than five years now that the debate over this area has dragged on. Under the NDP the Lillooet LRMP was unable to achieve consensus and, as a result of the impasse, the table presented two land use options to the government.
The government chose the "conservation" option over the "resource" option in March 2001, essentially creating the current boundaries of the provincial park, making it 72,000 hectares.
The South Chilcotin Park is a hot spot in the Lillooet LRMP, a place with ancient forests and diverse wildlife, as well as opportunities for mining and forestry.
Environmental and conservation groups were very pleased with last year?s decision, but other groups at the LRMP table felt their interests weren't given due consideration.
Over the past few months, since the Liberals decided to reopen the Lillooet LRMP, the process to reach a decision has been revamped.
"This whole process we've changed to make it open and transparent so that people can actually see what's going on and know what's happening to their lives," said Hagen.
Last month the government gave the public the chance to comment on the process though a Web site. They are currently compiling the information that was gathered from about 160 online users.
The focus maps are another new tool to help the public. The maps are not intended to be final options, said Hagen. Rather, they are a new way of recording information.
The maps are available online at http://srmhttp://www.gov.bc.ca/sir/lrmp/lill/
"It's really so that people can look at an area and understand what areas are being suggested as far as the logging or mining perspective or what is being suggested as far as the conservation perspective," said Hagen.
"Instead of trying to read it on a paragraph, you can actually see it on a map."
At Monday's meeting Hagen met with the mining, forestry, tourism, conservation, recreation and community sectors as well as local government and First Nations.
Each group had roughly one hour each in which to bend the minister's ear.
"I felt (it) was a very productive day and a very worthwhile day so I'm glad I did it," said Hagen.
The LRMP is currently in the second draft stage. All replies must be handed in to ministry staff by March 28 and there will also be more meetings among First Nations and staff.
"We're trying to see if we can find a consensus that wasn't there before," he said.
The ministry is also in the process of conducting a preliminary Socio-Economic and Environment Assessment around the four focus map scenarios to develop an understanding of the differing level of benefits and impacts associated with each.
Of the Lillooet LRMP process Hagen said: "It's what we call a work in progress."
--

Western Canada Wilderness Committee

Western Canada Wilderness Committee