B.C.'s Joffre Lakes Park to close for part of the year for conservation
An agreement between the B.C. government and the First Nations that manage Joffre Lakes Provincial Park will see the popular tourist spot closed for part of the year to protect its “natural and cultural values.”
The announcement comes after a disagreement over the park's public use led the Lilwat and N'Quatqua First Nations to shut down access to the park for about a month last year.
Environment Minister George Heyman said Thursday that the decision to close the park for short stretches comes after consultation with the two nations and talks with other locals about “heavy visitor use.”
“What we want to do around the province is collaborate with First Nations around management of parks where they're interested, around ensuring that we have a good sense of how much load the environment in the park can take without actually destroying the features that bring people there,” Heyman said.
In 2019, visits to the park with mountain peaks and aqua-blue lakes reached an all-time high of 193,000 visitors, an increase of more than 200 per cent since 2010.
Visitors to the park are now required to reserve free day-use passes in order to reduce visitor impact on the natural environment, and Heyman said 500 passes are allowed per day.
The park will be closed this season from April 30 to May 15, June 14 to 23 and from Sept. 3 to Oct. 6, allowing the Indigenous communities to conduct cultural celebrations and traditional fall harvesting practices.
Opposition BC United Leader Kevin Falcon said he doesn't agree with shutting down a public park “for whatever reason.”
“I would work with the First Nations and the local nations to try to understand what needs they have and make sure that we can do that in the context of ensuring that this park is still available to the public,” he said at a news conference at the legislature.
Heyman said the closures will also allow the park to “rest and recuperate,” with visitor counts reaching as high as 1,000 a day before restrictions were put in place.
Lilwat Nation Chief Dean Nelson said in a statement the park area is sacred for his community and the closures are necessary for his people's well-being.
“By implementing these closures, we are striving to reintroduce our community to an area where they have been marginalized,” he said. “The time and space created by these closures will allow our youth, elders and all Lilwat citizens to practise their inherent rights while reconnecting with the land.”
The Lilwat and N'Quatqua nations stopped public access to the park for parts of August and September last year for their harvest celebrations, saying they were asserting their title rights on the land.
Heyman said the Lilwat and N'Quatqua Nations' desire for periods of closure at Joffre Lakes “is not an unreasonable request,” and the province will deal with similar requests from other Indigenous groups on a case-by-case basis.
The province said its monitoring of the increasing impact of visitors at Joffre Lakes has found the “need for enhanced visitor-use management” to prevent the degradation of the environment due to “unsustainably high human traffic.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Maple Leafs eliminated from NHL playoffs with Game 7 OT loss to Bruins
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
What a judge's gag order on Trump means in his hush money case
A gag order bars Trump from commenting publicly on witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the matter. The New York judge already has found that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, repeatedly violated the order, fined him US$9,000 and warning that jail could follow if he doesn't comply.
Israel says Hamas attacks a crossing point into Gaza, wounding 10 Israelis and forcing its closure
Hamas militants on Sunday attacked Israel's main crossing point for delivering humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, reportedly wounding several Israelis and prompting Israel to close the terminal.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Trudeau 'absolutely' best person to lead the Liberals in next election: LeBlanc says
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc insists he's not planning a leadership campaign to head the Liberal party, should current leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resign, seemingly quashing rumours he's planning to make a move for his boss' job.
Bombarded with spam texts? Stats show the problem is getting worse in Canada
In particular, messages that involve phishing — an attack where a scammer tries to trick the recipient into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware or sharing sensitive information — are on the rise.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.