VANCOUVER, BC May 14, 2015 – As British Columbians head out to BC parks for the long weekend the Wilderness Committee is providing a handy map to show visitors which provincial parks could have their boundaries adjusted to accommodate resource extraction.
“When people head out into BC’s parks this weekend, we recommend that they take mosquito repellent, sun screen and a map. Of course the map we are providing isn’t for directions – it is to let British Columbians know which parks are under threat from mining, logging, LNG and oil and gas development,” said Gwen Barlee, policy director with the Wilderness Committee.
In March 2014, the BC government passed the Park Amendment Act which allowed resource extraction companies to engage in research for “industrial” purposes – something that wasn’t previously allowed. When research is completed, whether for a logging road, transmission line or LNG development, the proponent can then apply to the BC government for a park boundary adjustment – removing land from park boundaries
“Right now we have oil and gas, logging and LNG companies lining up to slice and dice BC’s parks,” said Barlee. “Soon park visitors could be picnicking right next to a logging road or walking their dog along a pipeline route.”
Currently, there are applications to adjust the boundaries of 8 provincial parks for industrial purposes including: Sasquatch Park (logging road) near Harrison Hot Springs, Kalamalka Park (road plus potential future utilities) near Vernon, and Bridal Veil Falls Park (Kinder Morgan pipeline) near Chilliwack –one of five parks and recreation areas that could have their boundaries adjusted for the pipeline proposal. The BC government has already approved removal of land from Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Park for a proposed natural gas line.
“Bill 4 and the government’s Park Boundary Adjustment Policy is a blueprint for how you erode and degrade BC’s park system,” said Barlee. “Minister Polak, our Minister of the Environment, needs to do her job and stand up for our parks instead of making it easier for resource companies to take land out of our park system.”
Map in PDF format; https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/sites/all/files/BCparks_proposed_boundary_adjustments_Map2_Feb2015.pdf