 Opening
up parks for commercial resorts
By Judie Steeves
It’s a grueling climb from the Ashnola River Road to serene
Quiniscoe Lake, the hub from which nearly a dozen hiking trails radiate,
ascending into the alpine areas of Cathedral Provincial Park in the
south Okanagan.
Some of those trails take a full day to hike in themselves, so to
exhaust yourself first with a full-day hike to an elevation of 2,000
metres, or 6,800 feet, before even beginning your alpine explorations
would be daunting for all but the hardiest hiker.
In that instance, it’s an ideal situation to have a private,
commercial lodge located well inside the park, at Quiniscoe Lake, to
provide the comforts of home in a wilderness setting.
It allows those of us who are no longer young
and as fit as we once were, to still enjoy
the park.
Cathedral Lakes Lodge owner Richard Padmos
also provides a shuttle service up the steep
and narrow goat track carved out of the forest
on the mountainside to access the core of
the park.
That shuttle service generally consists of
old Swiss army troop carriers called unimogs,
which grind their way up the rough 4x4 road
to deliver 16 or so bruised and battered bums
to the starting point for their hiking adventures.
(That trip’s an adventure in itself, much like an hour-long ride
at the fair, but it costs a bit more.)
A private, commercial lodge in the middle of
Manning Park also makes perfect sense because
it provides people of every level of fitness
and capability, access to that wilderness jewel
for hiking, skiing or sightseeing.
I don’t see any similarity to Fintry Provincial Park or Myra-Bellevue
Provincial Park, both of which are within a few kilometres, at the
most, of very comfortable accommodations at Lake Okanagan Resort or
McCulloch Resort.
The cores of both parks are also within 13
gravel kilometres, or 24 paved ones, of Kelowna,
where all manner of accommodations are available,
along with every other service a visitor
might wish to enjoy.
Why, then, has the provincial government decided
to invite proposals for “fixed roof accommodations” within
both these local parks, from commercial developers?
Oxford describes a park as a “large tract of land kept in a natural
state for public benefit.”
To me, designation of a piece of land as a
park, is inviolable. That means no private
interests should be permitted to take over
any part of that land for their own gain.
Drew Carmichael, regional manager for the environment
ministry in this area, perceives this as providing
an alternate form of recreation for park patrons.
I just can’t wrap my mind around that, particularly when there’s
lots of nearby land, immediately outside the
boundaries of both parks, where private, commercial developers are
free to construct whatever
they wish, within their ability to buy the
land, and applicable zoning bylaws are in place.
Why should the public subsidize developers
by allowing them access to public park lands
on which to build their commercial enterprises?
At best, it’s simply unnecessary, and at worst, I can envision
this government permitting hot dog stands and
souvenir stalls in our wilderness parks next.
The ministry didn’t even consult with local volunteer groups
who are fundraising and maintaining these parks, before announcing
that a request for proposals for fixed-roof accommodation facilities
in Fintry will be issued Aug. 10, and Myra-Bellevue Aug. 31.
Drew says the thinking is that Fintry, with
its heritage buildings such as the Manor House
and octagonal dairy barn, has the potential
for a new facility in concert with existing
site values.
He notes there were once boat docks along the
lake there, and says proposals would have to
be in keeping with the heritage values of the
park.
I wonder how many potential developers will
realize much of the delta in the park at Fintry
remains in the Agricultural Land Reserve?
In the area’s newest provincial park, he envisions a facility
in the Myra parking lot area, which would operate
in concert with the existing facilities already on that portion of
the Trans Canada Trail,
at McCulloch and Chute Lake.
In Europe, he points out, cycling trails often
have bed and breakfast or hostel facilities
all along the route.
Asked about the financial benefits to the public
of such park incursions, Drew said the operators
would pay fees for their park use permits.
He anticipates the deadline for proposals would
likely be within a couple of months, and there
would be opportunity for public input.
So, if you have concerns about these proposals,
which impact 12 provincial parks in total,
including Silver Star (Sovereign Lake), you
should have a chance to make them known before
something new pops up in your favourite provincial
park.
Judie Steeves writes about outdoors issues
for the Capital News.
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