TERRACE _ “An open house
and public meeting here next
week represents a significant
change of direction by the Parks
ministry, one of the co-hosts,

says its northern i region plann-

ing manager.

‘At also represents a significant |

change from previous practice,
Mike Murtha added,
©While in the past the public

had. only been directly involved —
"vole in helping focus attention .

when it-came to preparation of

management ‘‘masterplans”' for |
“he suggested. :
"Another. area where the parks
service -had not done enough :
work to date was in highlighting |

existing parks, *'This is the first
‘time we've done it. for park
establishment,’* he explained,

The Terrace meeting is one of.“

16 being held in the northwest

this month. as part of Parks -

Pian '90, a ministry review of its
présent. mandate, goals’ and
planning process which also in-
vites ‘suggestions of areas which
should. be: considered in future
park development plans..

‘That last point was impor-
tant, - Murtha ‘said, because
members -of the public could at
times provide detailed informa-
tion that the parks service might
not have on specific areas in
. their region. ;

As far as the Terrace area was
concerned, he said a number of
features — Lakelse Lake and its

‘hotsprings, Shames Mountain
ski hill, internationally renown-
ed. fishing and native heritage
sites — made it a. potential”
. some sensitive areas, however,
_ that: might not be a goad idea
and a Wildlife Management
would
‘therefore be more appropriate.

tourist destination.

While much of the work of
marketing those attractions fell
to the private sector, he said
B.C. Parks had’a role to play by
“putting some of the green
blobs on the map that draw peo-
ple.” And although there were
already some in. the Terrace
area, ‘there could be more,’? he

-added.

For example, given the
reputation and popularity of the
Skeena River fishery, he sug-
gested his agency did not pro-

vide adequate access to the -

river,.“‘We are certainly weak in
terms of. actively managing a
section of the Skeena River for
sport fishing.”

Esker Bar might be one spot

‘However, although he agreed

where the provision of improv-
ed access, picnic tables and
toilets should be considered,

there was also a shortage of
boat launch ramps on the river,

_ his agency would have to assess
‘its responsibility in - meeting:
such needs against that of local .
‘government or: “Private enter-,

prise...
“Jt may be we have a minor

on some’ of those deficiencies,”

the native history of the area.
However, it had been. working

‘with the Nisga'a on developing.

the proposed Lava Beds park

"and. had ‘advised the Kitselas it

was ready ‘‘at any time’’ to
assist the band in establishing a
heritage park.

The need for wildlife viewing
opportunities was also recogniz-
ed but, Murtha-said this aspect
was: being co-ordinated by the
Wildlife branch of tie Environ-
ment ministry. The part played
by B.C. Parks, he explained,
depended on the area under

consideration and the objec-
tives,

_ “4 park would generally im-"
ply you do something to enable

people to get in there and use
the area,” he explained, In

area designation

“it depends on why the area is
important,”"

On completion of the public
meetings, Murtha. said the

results would be presented to~

cabinet including a list of what
had emerged as the most impor-
tant study areas in the province.
B.C. Parks would then seek

cabinet’s go-ahead to start the —

park establishment process. |
Next Wednesday’s open

house begins at 2 p.m. in the -

Inn of the West which will also
be the’ venue for the public
meeting scheduled for.7:30 p.m.

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BD

‘Smithers 2

benefits, °

benefits.

“Facts and figures

‘ The first provincial park — Strathcona — was created in
“1911. Early parks covered large tracts of land ‘selected for
their: beauty, tourism potential and therefore economic

With the increased popularity of camping, picnicing and
‘hiking in the ’50s5 and '60s, there was.a heavy emphasis on
scenic and recreational qualities in creating new parks. .
Through the '70s.and ’80s, wilderness, marine and special
feature parks began to appear as demand for backcountry “
recreation and environmental awareness increased. -
Today, there are 390 parks in the province system’ ‘ranging m
from small recreational areas to vast wildernesses such as the -.
Spatsizi Plateau. They include 11,500 campsites, 5,000 picnic --
sites, 3, 600 kms of trails and 900 kms of road.
. Recorded visits to provincial parks have increased by more
than 40 per cent over the past 10 years. That period has also -
seen the growth in popularity of new outdoor recreational
pursuits such as mountain biking and river rafting.
A ministry survey conducted in 1989 showed 50 per cent of -
BCers had-visited a provincial park in the past year. In that
same: year, B.C, Parks. recorded 21 million visits which
generated an estimated ‘$400 million in direct economic .

Adventure tourism is the fastest growing sector of that in-
dustry, expanding at the rate of 20 per cent a year. It currently
brings i in $150 million annually while revenues from tourism
in. general were expected to hit $4 billion last year.

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TERRACE — While he agrees
there is a need for some addi-
tions to the parks system in the
northwest, past chamber of
commerce president Bob Park
says upgrading existing parks
should be a priority. ;
Park. said alot of. tourists
came into his sporting goods
store during the course of a
season and he therefore had an
opportunity to. find out what
they thought of the northwest.

The message, he ‘said, was
“They like what we have,” but

wanted to see more facilities in
the parks suchas hot. water,

sewage tanks and greater

numbers of picnic tables.

With fishing still the major
draw for visitors to Terrace, he
agreed increased access to. the
Skeena was needed. However,
there might be little point in
B.C. Parks pursuing that unless

- other agencies got in step.

- As an example, he pointed to
the city's decision last year to

tiésin’ park:

MB cary

close Ferry Island beach to vehi-
cle access. While that was in-
tended to eliminate overnight
camiping on the beach, it also
prevented any boats being laun-
ched from there. .

A more serious problem was

. the introduction last year by the

Environment. ministry of new
angling regulations which re-
quired tourists. to buy special,
additional licences to fish many
local rivers,

Maintaining those regulations
and the extra cost they led to
were hurting the tourist angler
‘business; Park said there seem-
ed little point in one agency in-
creasing access to the river if the
policies of another were scaring
people away from the Skeena.

Apart from ‘fishing, visitors
were drawn to the northwest by
its wildlife. He therefore sug-
gested B.C. Parks also examine
the ‘possibility of providing
more wildlife viewing oppor-
tunities,

SCENIC VALUES are not hard to find when crulsing Alastair Lake at status. The Parks ministry is naw asking the pubilc to suggest ways
“the head of the Gltnadolx River, The Gitnadolx watershed Is cur. -  Rcould improve its system in the northwest. S

rently classed as a recreational area, a step on the way to ful I park,

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Bob Park

However, while such addi-

tional features would be
welcomed by tourists, he

repeated the main objective in- |

itially should. be to upgrade the
existing parks inventory.

= produced a draft . working

Yh CASH atid Pilea

eyed

The _ Parks ministry. “has

map cuilining “potential ad-
_ ditions to the parks system’?
across the entire province.

_ Areas in the northwest iden-

tified as possible candidates
in the northwest are shown at
left.

The lone (rangle shape
-denotes the Kitlope Basin.
which is already the subject
of a joint study by effected
government agencies.

_. Box shapes denote propos- _
ed ‘large study areas” where

’ the goals are landscape con-

‘servation and/or backcoun-
try recreation. They are the.

Bear Glacier and Pass near

‘Stewart (7), the Nass Valley
(9), Campania Island (12)

'. and Foch and Miskatla Inlets.
"on the Sue Channel (13).

Diamond shapes denote
Proposed ‘‘small study. .

“areas? where. recreation and
» special feature conservation
- are the goals. These refer to

Sites on Dundas Island (9),
Kitson Island (10), the Lower

' Skeena and its estuary (11),

Porcher and Stephens
Islands (12), Portland and
Observatory Inlets (13),
Work Channel (14), Bulkley
Junction. (15), Doeglas
Channel and Gardner Canal
(28), Grenville Channel (29),
Pitt amd Anger Islands (31)
and Princess Royal Island
(32).
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In identifying the potential
study areas, the Parks service
took into account six objec-
tives. They were:

¢ Landscape conservation
— protection of of ‘viable,
representative examples’’. of
differing landscapes;
feature conser-
fon of Key"?

natural and menbtarel:"
features’’;

¢ Provide recreation op-—
portunities on tourism travel
routes;

e Ensure availability of
backcountry recreation;

* Provide outdoor recrea-
tion, holiday destinations;
and

* Ensure local residents
have adequate outdoor
recreation facilities available.

In terms of study areas
proposed in the northwest,
all the above criteria are met
by the Nass Valley, with its
250 year-old lava beds and
native history.

The lower Skeena River
and its estuary is earmarked
because it meets the travel
route, holiday destination, |
local recreation and special
feature benchmarks.

The Bouglas Channel and
Gardner Canal area falls
under the travel route, back-
country, local recreation,
landscape and special feature

- categories.

R.D. splits over —
Kitlope camp idea

TERRACE — A local resident’s
plans to establish hunting-
fishing camps in the Kitlope
Valley have drawn very mixed
reactions from Kitimat-Stikine
regional district directors.

The debate was sparked by
Lakelse Air operator Harry Mc-
Cowan’s application to the
Lands branch for a licence of
occupation. McCowan wants to
set up a base camp at Kitlope
Lake with satellite camps on the
Kitlope River and nearby Ear
Lake.

Although the planning com-
mittee had recommended the
district not object to, the pro-
posal, Kitimat director Ray
Brady took exception to that
suggestion. . '

Pointing out many organiza-
tions had identified the Kitlope

as perhaps the only example of

unlogged temperate rainforest
left on the B.C.*coast, Brady
added even the Forests ministry

had asked West Fraser to put its.

- harvesting plans for the area on

we: -

thon “eVetitinally-pass a

lf McCowan. wanted to
operate a fly-in service for
hunters and anglers, he added,
there were lots of other places
on the Douglas Channel.where .
he could do so.

Defending the recommenda-
tion, planning committee chair-
man and New Hazelton director
Pete Weeber noted only tent

camps were planned, He

therefore could not ‘see there
would be much impact.

Wondering what the . dif-
ference was between setting up
camps for sportsmen and camps
for people carrying out the pro-
posed studies of the Kitlope, —
Terrace director Bob Cooper .
also dismissed claims. of * ‘the
valley’ $ uniqueness.

' Recalling he had flown over

the area last summer, Cooper
said, ‘‘There’s nothing special
about it,
coastal valley.” ....

The proposal'the district not!

Object’ to :McCowair’s: ‘applica: ;

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it’s just. another

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