BC Government News Release: Park Additions Boost Outdoor Recreation, Strengthen Ecosystem Protection

Details from the BC Government news release:

Newly introduced legislation will expand B.C.’s parks and protected areas, strengthen biodiversity conservation and provide more opportunities for people to access outdoor recreation.

The additions, proposed through legislative amendments to the Protected Areas of British Columbia (PABC) Act, add 189 hectares to six existing provincial parks and one conservancy.

“Our actions this week to expand and enhance B.C.’s parks and protected areas play an important part in our ongoing work to preserve ecological, recreational and cultural values,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “That’s why we are expanding and strengthening our parks and protected areas to ensure these special places will be here for our children and grandchildren, as well as maintaining irreplaceable provincial ecosystems and biodiversity.”

The additions consist of private land acquisitions, private donations and Crown lands, and include:

• Tribune Bay Park (on Hornby Island): 10 hectares, along with three hectares of adjacent marine foreshore that includes the last remaining beachfront property at Tribune Bay and an existing private campground with 135 sites;
• Muncho Lake Park (near Fort Nelson): 2.5 hectares to protect additional waterfront along the jade-coloured Muncho Lake that’s located a few minutes from the Alaska Highway;
• Edge Hills Park (near Clinton): 11 hectares to protect panoramic river canyon vistas, forested slopes, grassy benchlands and ravines along the Fraser River;
• Valhalla Park (near Slocan): six hectares to reduce the number of private land inholdings (land surrounded by existing park), protecting the diverse topography, majestic peaks and unique vegetation of the Selkirk Mountains;
• Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Park (near Kaslo): 24 hectares to reduce the number of private land inholdings in the park that includes habitat for mule deer and grizzly bears;
• Mount Pope Park (near Fort St. James): 4.8 hectares to expand parking in the park that’s popular with hikers and rock climbers; and
• Taku River/T’aḵú Téix̱’ Conservancy (near Atlin): 127 hectares that could not be added to the conservancy when it was established in 2012 due to an active mineral tenure that has now expired.

In addition to these expansions, Cardiff Mountain Ecological Reserve will be renamed to Tŝi ʔEẑɨsh (pronounced Tsy-ezoish) Ecological Reserve to better reflect the First Nations place name for the area. BC Parks collaboratively manages the ecological reserve with Xeni Gwet’in First Nation in the Tŝilhqot’in Declared Title Area, located 70 kilometres southwest of Hanceville.

As part of these amendments, the responsibility of existing roads in two parks and one conservancy is being transferred to other ministries. This includes Kikomun Creek Park, Nancy Greene Park and Yaaguun Suu Conservancy.

Amendments to the PABC Act are required to add new land to parks, conservancies and ecological reserves, modify or correct boundaries and improve boundary descriptions.

Quick Facts:

• B.C. has 1,039 provincial parks, recreation areas, conservancies, ecological reserves and protected areas covering more than 14 million hectares, or approximately 14.4% of the land base.
• The Province acquires land each year through the BC Parks Land Acquisition Program to expand parks and protected areas. The cost for these acquisitions is often augmented by partnerships with conservation groups, individual donors and corporations.
• ​The majority (630) of provincial parks in the system are Class A, which means that they are dedicated for the preservation of their natural environment and for public use and enjoyment.

Read the full Government of BC news release, here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024ENV0013-000343 

Learn More:

For more information about BC Parks visit, https://www.bcparks.ca

For a summary of the types of parks and protected areas, visit https://bcparks.ca/about/our-mission-authority/types-parks-protected-areas

Media Contacts:

Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Media Relations
250 953-3834
envmedia@gov.bc.ca