A4 . Terrace Review _ Wednesday, February 20, 1991

_ Wilderness area
~ concept draws —
_ diverse interests

| by Tod Strachan

About 100 local residents
gathered at the Inn of the West
Feb, 13 to hear representatives of
the ministries of forests, parks and
energy. describe plans for new
wilderness ‘areas in the province.
Nine of those.in the crowd offered
a few ideas of their own. . -
~ Provincial Parks and Wilderness
for the 90s is a misnomer for the
program. This is the name used by
the forests ministry, while B.C.
Parks describes it as Parks Plan 90
and energy amd mines uses the
name Resource Management for
B.C.’s Protected Areas. And along

-with these differences in names
come a few differences in mandate
and objectives...

Regardless of these differences,
however, the Terrace meeting, 11
others in the northwest and many
more held around the province
have a distinctive theme: coopera-
tion between the three ministries in
addressing a problem of common
concem and the desire to: listen to
public and commercial concems.

The first order of business was to

' describe the two primary designa-
tions designed to preserve our
environment; Class A Provincial
Parks and Wilderness Areas. Wil-
demess Areas protect “wildemess
values” within designaied boun-
daries by preserving unique cn-
vironments, maintaining biological
diversity and providing oppor-
tunities for a "wildemess experi-
ence".

There is no logging allowed
within a Wilderness Area. There

are no roads. But there may be-

mineral exploration and mining,
which often co-exists with trapp-
ing, hunting, and grazing enter-
prises and a variety of recreational
uses such as fishing and hiking.

A Class A park, on the other
hand, offers no mining opportunity
and existing trapping and grazing
activities are in the process of
being phased out.

Mining interests, while they can
continue exploratory and develop-
ment work in a newly designated
Wildemess Area, may find them-
selves on a government-set time-
table. After 10 years, Wilderness
Areas can be redesignated as Class
A Parks, bringing to an end all
mining exploration and develop-
ment work.

The Ministry of Forests has
proposed 59 areas in the province
to be considered for Wilderness
Area designation. Thirteen of these
are in the Prince Rupert Forest
Region.

A Wildemess Area has been
proposed for Swan Lake, near the
Iocation where Orenda Forest
Products would like to build a pulp
and coated paper mill. And pro-

wilderness study areas in the
general Swan Lake area include
the Damdochax Creck area and the
Atna Pass/Shelagyote Peak area.

South of Terrace there's the
Kitlope water shed, which takes in
a good portion of West Fraser's

TFL #41. East of Terrace, a por-

tion of the Telkwa pass between
Terrace and Smithers has been
tagged, and in the Ootsa Lake area
there’s Entiako Lake.

To the west are the Simpson-
Gamble Lakes chain, Banks Island,
Dundas Island and Stephens and
West Porcher Island. Near the
Yukon border is the Windy Craggy
area, the Kawdy Plateau/Level

Mountain area and the Chutine ,

Lake/Whiting River area.

Strong concem was noted by a
West Fraser spokesman and [WA
Local 171 over job loss that would
result from the dedication of the
Kitlope water shed and the resul-
tant deletion of sizeable chunk of
TFL #41. Ian Gordon, representing
the Seven Sisters Society, noted
the "conspicuous" absence of the
Seven Sisters arca from the plan
and asked if the native land ques-
tion had been considered when
wilderness study arcas were first

proposed.

Danny Sheridan, representing the
B.C, Yukon Chamber of Mines,
spoke in favour of employment
opportunities and against the fur-
ther alienation of land. On behalf
of the Northwest Trappers Associ-
ation Rob Seaton suggested that
after years of no action, the
government was moving too quick-

_ ly in designating wilderness lands..

Seaton also questioned the ability
of the. Ministry of Forests to
manage our forests, particularly
"after the PA17 fiasco", and in
addition noted problems with the
Ministry of Parks. The existing
park system is under-funded, says
Seaton, and visitors to provincial
campsites are overcharged.

Diana Wood spoke for the Ter-
race branch of Women in Timber
in calling for an overall provincial
land strategy for the benefit of all.
And others like Jorma Jyrkkanen
of the local hiking club, Rob
Brown of the local chapter of the
Steelhead Society, and Terrace
resident Rene Mikaloff spoke
generally of greater environmental
protection and expanded wilderness
opportunities.

Also mentioned by some were
other areas not listed in the
government’s plan such as the
Khutzeymateen valley north of
Prince Rupert. It was explained,
however, that many areas such as
the Khutzeymateen are already
under study, or in the process of
receiving some form of protection,
and were therefore not considered
in this current proposal.

Representing the province at last
Wednesday's meeting, were district
manager Hugh Markides and
Lakelse zone manager Gordon
MacDonald from the Ministry of
Parks, district geologist Dave
LeFebure from the Ministry of
Energy, Mines and Petroleum
Resources, and district manager
Brian Downie and regional recre-
ation officer Eric Buss from the
Ministry of Forests.

Would you want your auto

mechanic to do your income tax.
and your tax man to fix your

car?

Terrace Teachers want your

~ Your School Board is
hiring non-teachers to
provide instruction for
your children.

child’s education to be provided .

| by qualified teachers.

job work experience.

‘Hire a Student.

This summer, back the future of Canada’s
workforce — provide a high school, college
or university student with practical on-the-

Under Challenge ‘91, the Government
of Canada's summer employment
for students, organizations of all
kinds — private businesses, municipalities
and non-profit groups — are eligible to
apply for funding assistance that supports

| Your children are entitled to the best —

professional teachers! |

! kemace Distriot Teachers! . Association |

the creation of summer job opportunities
for students,

Apply now through your local Canada
Employment Centre — listed under
Employment and Immigration Canada in
the blue pages of your telephone directory.

Back the future. Become a
Challenge’91 employer. It's good for
students, employers, and the future of
Canada.

Calle

Applications must be postmarked no later than March 18,1991 oe

7 ivi oer pate tor Youth

_ Gouvernement du Canada
_Minisire Etat A la Jeunesse