No. No National Park.
“If you go into a discussion with an all or nothing attitude you have a 50-50 chance of getting nothing.” – Mary Polak
Final recommendations on the three proposed reserves ( the Intentions Paper 2015 ) not likely by end of the year but some interim action may take place. i.e. co-management with the Okanagan Nations Alliance on specific sites, Spotted Lake, Yellow Lake and remote areas where native petroglyphs have been discovered.
What about adding Mt. Kobau to Area 1? ( A popular revision to the Area 1-2-3 plan – “it could happen – it is certainly on the table.” says Polak.
There are two streams – the general protection of the land/the environment that is of concern to all and the specific issues brought to the table by Chiefs and native groups in the South Okanagan Similkaemeen.
Polak acknowledged her meeting Monday with Chief Kruger, Louie and Crow and the technical staff of the Okanagan Nation Alliance at the band headquarters of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band.
“Linda Larson is NOT driving this issue”
I, Mary Polak, Minister of Environment, am tasked with this file and yes Linda was with me in meeting with local chiefs this week on a broad range of issues of concern. This she says is normal government to government discussions about issues and problems.
“It is disingenuous to portray Linda Larson as the target. This file started a long time before she was elected (see CBC file below) and Linda has done much to move the question of land protection in the South Okanagan before all of us in government leadership.”
A recent report from the Wilderness Committee says the government is downplaying the wishes of most of the people who have a desire for a National Park. And that the government is suppressing information. Polak says she has made it clear to this group that the survey on the intentions paper was not designed as a way to go back into time.
No. National Park.
A bit of history in an ODN flashback (CBC report February 01 2012)
Parks Canada has abandoned its feasibility assessment, and is stepping away from plans to create a national park in the South Okanagan-Similkameen.
Saying it “respects the position of the Government of British Columbia regarding the creation of a national park reserve in the South Okanagan-Lower Similkameen Valley Parks Canada recognizes that it cannot proceed without the support of the Government of British Columbia.”
To create a national park, Parks Canada needs the support of federal, provincial and First Nations governments.
The controversial project was first pitched in 2003 and has been hotly debated ever since but in December 2111, B.C. Minister of Environment Terry Lake announced the province would not support the proposed park.
“While the feasibility study determined a national park reserve was feasible, it also recognized there was a large contingent of people opposed to the initiative,” said Lake in a letter to park proponents.
“The Province is not convinced there is enough local support to move forward with this proposal at this time.”
A public opinion poll commissioned by the Western Canada Wilderness Committee in May 2010 showed 63 per cent of the 405 people surveyed in the South Okanagan-Similkameen supported Parks Canada’s plan for a national park.
‘No national park’
But the plan wasn’t popular with hunters and recreational ATVers, who vocally protested the idea and erected signs across the region that read “No national park.” Oliver orchardist Greg Norton says it’s more than that.
He says the park would have taken ranch land away from producers and allowed deer populations to get out of control, affect orchardists with property near the park.
“We’ve been around for over a hundred years in this valley, and have used the mountain as our place of peace, our place of recreation, our place of food. And to have it taken away, severely restricted, is something that people in the area were uncomfortable with,” said Norton.