“Lies, Damn lies, and Statistics”.

This quotation has been attributed to Mark twain, but whether he or another is the originator, it could well be from observing the manipulation of public opinion by the proponents of the proposed National Park Reserve.

Since the inception of this attempt of expropriation of not only the land base of the Area of Interest, but surely the very lives and life styles of those thousands who will be ghettoized by the creation of this Park, the proponents have used speculation, exaggeration, fear mongering, and outright deception to further their selfish agenda for the Area of Interest.

The initial rational was the specter of further development and human use of the area that would jeopardize the existence of some 247 +/- species at risk. 247 species of flora and fauna that most of us have never seen or know existed, all of which must be “protected”.

Following hard questioning, biologists admitted that of the 247 +/- species at risk, less then a dozen ever existed above 500 meters of elevation, and the rest, well, they now “rest” under the concrete and asphalt of the various towns and cities or are interred beneath the orchards and vineyards of the South Okanagan and Similkameen including the developed areas of the respective First Nations lands.

This “PARK” will rival all other National Parks by its very uniqueness. This Park if created will look much like a jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces lost. Provincial lands, Federal lands, Nature Trust lands, Conservancy of Canada lands, Indian Reserves, and, oh yes, PRIVATE LANDS, are all thrown together in this wonderful concept. Of course the proponents expect that the Land Owners in the Area of Interest will all rush to include their fee simple properties in this concept..??(at 20-30 cents on the dollar?)

The nearest “rival” might be the Saskatchewan Grasslands Park, but here again, exaggeration. The population of the area taken for that Park numbered in the hundreds, most of whom “left” or have been replaced by parks personnel and or operators. [Val Marie pop. pre park-370+-, now 250+-] mostly parks personnel and operators. Certainly there is a modicum of tourist activity, but not the tens of thousands that the proponents imagine will flock to the Okanagan-Similkameen for a grasslands park experience. The usual comments from Saskatchewan, “solitude’, “there`s nobody out here”. This flies in the face of the Economic Model that predicts the Grassland Park as a “mecca” for tourists bringing untold economic benefits to the area in line with Banff and Jasper. Such nonsense, or are the proponents simply “strangers to the truth”. Should this area have been a National Park it should have occurred in the same era as Banff and Jasper, before the area gained tens of thousands of residents, few who will benefit from a park.

One most rabid proponent, sees Okanagan-Similkameen Grasslands National Park Reserve as a sterling opportunity for First Nation management of the Area of Interest, or, perhaps much, much more. Here again there is an attempt to compare this area with Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Island). But on Haida Gwaii, with a population of 4500 +/-, fully half are First Nation. In the Okanagan- Similkameen, are a few hundred First Nations people to be the “governors and dictators” for the Park, and all those ghettoized by its creation?

The concept of this “Park” is, in the minds of the majority of local residents flawed, fraudulent, and unnecessary. The creation of this Park will spell the end of the lifestyle most local residents enjoy and perhaps take for granted. Why else are we all here??

Donald L. Barker
Cawston