~ PRESS ~

EarthCare asks stakeholders to tell the government to honour the Okanagan Shuswap Land Resource Management Plan

Dear Regional Districts of the Central and North Okanagan, and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District,

The Canadian EarthCare Society (EarthCare) is writing to you regarding the Okanagan Shuswap Land Resource Management Plan (OKSLRMP). This plan was negotiated from July 1995 to September 2000 and approved by the Provincial Government in January 2001. EarthCare was one of the 30 stakeholders who agreed to the plan.

Currently 29 of the 49 parks agreed to under the OKSLRMP have not been implemented - as per the original land use agreement. The current Provincial Government has rationalized its decision by stating, “In order to avoid the need for future legislative amendments when the decision is made to build the road, this area has not been converted to Class A park at this time.” (memo from John Meeson, WALP)

On January 6, 2004 the Regional District of Okanagan-Silmilkameen (RDOS) passed a resolution that stated, “that the Province does not legislate any new protected areas within the Land Use Planning Area until the Land and Resources Planning Committee has been able to come to an agreement on how to mitigate the impact that the new National Park proposal will have on other resource users.” The Province acted on the Regional District’s request by stopping the approval of seven Goal 1 areas to Class A parks and eight Goal 2 areas to Class A parks. These Goal 1 areas currently have protected status by Order in Council while the Goal 2 areas have no status whatsoever.

EarthCare has sent correspondence to both the Premier and the Regional District of Okanagan-Silmilkameen (RDOS) on this matter. To date we have received no response from the RDOS, and likewise no response from the Premier to questions and concerns directed solely to his office. These letters may be viewed at our website www.earthcares.org

With regard to the rest of the plan area within your jurisdiction - four Goal 1 areas and 10 Goal 2 areas were not included in Bill 50. The four Goal 1 areas are:

1. Greenbush Lake -not included in case a future road is needed for mining access.
2. Fintry (commonly referred to as Chapperon-Shorts) - new road.
3. Kalamalka Lake - new road.
4. Enderby Cliffs - new road.

Goal 2 areas omitted from Bill 50 include:

1. Adra Tunnel -Kettle Valley railway R/W; pipeline development.
2. Denison-Bonneau -new or upgraded road.
3. Eagle River -new or upgraded road.
4. English Lake - new road.
5. Mara Meadows Park use permit for Ministry of Forests’ road.
6. Richter Grassland - new road for mining development.-)
7. Turnbull Creek - pipeline development.
8. Upper Perry River - new road.
9. Upper Shuswap River - new or upgraded road.
10. Wap Creek - new or upgraded road.

The current situation within the OKSLRMP is unacceptable.

Within the plan, 18 Goal 2 parks are without any status whatsoever, as well as 11 Goal 1 areas being left under the Environment and Land Use Act protected by an order in council. These can be deleted by a stroke of the pen.

The Okanagan Shuswap Land Use Plan creates a framework of certainty on the land base, which in turn provides security for all stakeholders. That balance is now in jeopardy. The rationale for creating a parks system for our region was to create a legacy for present and future generations. The RDOS and the Provincial Government have now created uncertainty on this aspect within the plan area.

These actions have impacts to many sectors within the OSLRMP. For example, miners whose claims are to be expropriated as per the LRMP cannot claim for compensation until the area becomes a Class A park. This situation creates economic hardship for the mining industry.

In a letter, dated July 21, 2004 Minister George Abbott states, “The Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management is committed to implementing the Okanagan Shuswap LRMP.” EarthCare hopes that Minister Abbott will keep his word.

EarthCare encourages the Central and North Okanagan, and the Columbia Shuswap Regional Districts, to request that the OKSLRMP be implemented as per the consensus agreement of September 2000. We also encourage you to request that these road and pipeline locations be put under the Environment and Land Use Act (create a corridor) and that the rest of the Goal 1 and Goal 2 areas be rolled into Class A Parks as per the OKSLRMP agreement.

We look forward to your response to our concerns and would appreciate being copied in any further correspondence you have with the Provincial Government and the RDOS regarding this issue.

Environmentally yours,

Canadian EarthCare Society
Lloyd Manchester
Director

Cc: All provincial MLA’s and Ministers
Cc: Provincial and Local Media
Cc: Gordon Campbell, Premier
Cc: Gord Macatee, Deputy Minister, WALP
Cc: Chris Trumpy, Deputy Minister, MSRM
Cc: Parks and Wilderness Caucus of the B.C. Environmental Network|
Cc: All local governments in the OKSLRMP area.
Cc: Dan Jepson, Executive Director, Yukon Chamber of Mines
Cc: Dave Parker, Mining Association of B.C.
Cc: Don Couch, South Okanagan Forestry Association
Cc: Jim Cooperman, Shuswap Environmental Action Society
Cc: Don Sloan, Okanagan Silmilkameen Parks Society (OSPS)
Cc: OKSLRMP Implementation and Monitoring Committee
Cc: Don Fast, Regional Director General, Environment Canada
Cc: Doug Harvey, Parks Canada
Cc: Senator Ross Fitzpatrick
Cc: Dan Ashton, Chair, RDOS
Cc: Chloe Loughlin, Executive Director, CPAWS
Cc: Mary Mahon Jones, Executive Director, COTA
Cc: Anthony Toth, Executive Director, B.C. Wildlife Federation
Cc: Dan Johnston, Facilitator, OKSLRMP

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Canadian EarthCare Society

Street Address:
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E-mail: info@earthcares.org