There are over 800 parks, protected areas and ecological reserves in British Columbia covering nearly 13% of the province's land base. In spite of this, large land areas still warrant protection from industrial development along with ecosystems that are insufficiently represented, such as Vancouver Islands Garry Oak meadows. Other threats to our world famous parks system include chronic funding shortages, lack of connectivity between parks, increased commercialization and proposed logging, mining and road construction that have steadily eroded our world class wilderness heritage.

BC Parks - A World Famous Legacy

Wilderness Committee Educational Report Vol.23-No.05 - Summer 2004

Promised Parks Disappear

On May 12, 2004 the BC Liberal government introduced Bill 50, The Parks and Protected Areas Statutes Amendment Act. Trumpeted as increasing the provincial park system by 150,000 hectares, in reality the Act rubber-stamped areas already slated for protection under regional Land Resource Management Plans (LRMP), reclassified protected areas into Class “A” parks, and expanded 29 existing provincial parks by less than 5,000 hectares in total. At first blush the Act appears a modest step in the right direction. However, under closer inspection it seems the provincial government actually used the Act as an opportunity to eliminate 15 “about to be designated” protected areas in the Okanagan, an area with the highest concentration of endangered species in the province. Astoundingly, these areas had previously been agreed upon in the region’s 2001 consensus driven land use process.

WRITE ON!

If you love our parks and want to keep BC beautiful stand up and be counted!


1 .Write to BC’s Premier and let him know how you feel about BC’s parks.
Premier Gordon Campbell
Legislative Bldgs, Victoria, BC, V8V 1X4
Email: premier@gov.bc.ca
Phone: (250) 387-1715
Fax: (250) 387-0087

2. Volunteer some time this summer on the BC Park Lovers Roving Tour. Our volunteer team will be visiting parks across the province to collect names on our Save BC Parks petition. Call 1-800-661-9453 (683-8220 in Vancouver).