 Help
prevent CANADA'S GREATEST CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITY from being lost!
Right now the BC and federal governments are undertaking a
joint feasibility study to look at the possibility of
creating a new national park reserve in the desert,
grasslands, and Ponderosa pine forests of the South Okanagan
and Similkameen Valleys in southern BC. To be located near
the towns of Osoyoos, Oliver, and Keremeos, this proposal is
currently Canada's greatest conservation opportunity. A
decision on whether the park will go ahead is expected to
occur late this year or in 2009.
A new South Okanagan - Similkameen National Park would be a
park of superlatives. The national park would:
- Protect Canada's only "pocket desert", one of
Canada's top four most endangered habitats.
- Protect more species at risk than any Canadian
national park. One-third of BC's species at risk live in the
region, including canyon wrens, badgers, white-headed
woodpeckers, tiger salamanders, spotted bats, sage
thrashers, and Great Basin spadefoots.
- Protect a greater diversity of ecosystem types
than any Canadian national park, ranging from "pocket
desert" with rattlesnakes and cacti in the valley bottoms,
to alpine tundra with mountain goats on the mountaintops.
- Be a major economic boon for local citizens and
the BC economy by protecting and enhancing tourism and many
recreational opportunities. A national park in the region
would produce $72 million in investments, 832 full time
equivalent jobs, $56.3 million in incomes, $120 million in
expenditures, and $39.9 million in government tax revenues
over ten years, according to a 2006 report by the South
Okanagan - Similkameen National Park Steering Committee.
- Bring in greater funding and expertise for
wildfire management.
- Protect the native landscapes and local
environmental values for First Nations, local residents, and
the people of Canada in an area under intense urban sprawl
and development pressures.
Right now an opposition movement is rallying to stop the
national park based on concerns about hunting opportunities,
grazing rights, and First Nations rights. However, the park
also has very strong local and national support, with over
6000 Okanagan residents signing a petition
(www.okanaganpetition.org) in favour of the national park
and 19,000 people in total signing from across Canada.
It should be noted that hunting opportunities would continue
in the majority of the region, as the national park would
only restrict non-native hunting in a smaller subset of the
Okanagan region, and in fact would enhance regional wildlife
populations that would ultimately benefit area hunters.
Grazing leases would be purchased or traded for grazing
rights outside the park, while private property would also
be purchased only from willing sellers.
Environmental park advocates are also calling on the federal
and provincial governments to respect First Nations title
and rights through the park feasibility process and to work
together with First Nations governments to create a mutually
agreeable negotiation process. Conservationists are in
favour of Parks Canada adopting a park "co-management"
approach with the local First Nations as in Gwaii Haanas
National Park Reserve, in guaranteeing park jobs for local
First Nations, in providing economic development funds for
environmentally-friendly projects (ie. conservation
financing) for local First Nations, ensuring that aboriginal
rights to hunt and gather are protected on park lands, and
ensuring that national park lands are still available for
First Nations land settlements.
WRITE and PHONE NOW so we don't lose this opportunity!
It's VITAL at this point that YOU write and phone the
following politicians so they know there is substantial
support for this most exceptional conservation opportunity!
It's also important that you include your NAME and HOME
ADDRESS when writing and phoning.
Let the following politicians know whether or not you:
- Support the creation of a sizeable South
Okanagan - Similkameen National Park to protect BC's
greatest concentration of species at risk and Canada's only
"pocket desert".
- Ask that the federal and BC governments respect
First Nations title and rights by working towards a mutually
agreeable negotiation process, and to ensure there are
guaranteed jobs and economic development funds for local
First Nations.
- Believe that the national park will be a major
economic boon to the local and BC economies by creating new
jobs and attracting greater revenues into the region.
Contact:
BC Environment Minister Barry Penner:
barry.penner.mla@leg.bc.ca
Ph: 250 387-1187
Fax: 250 387-1356
Federal Environment Minister John Baird
bairdj@parl.gc.ca
Ph: 613-990-7720
Fax: 613-993-6501
AND if you are a RESIDENT of the Penticton - Okanagan Valley
Constiuency (ie. live in Naramata, Penticton, Osoyoos,
Oliver, Kaledan, Okanagan Falls) write to:
MLA Bill Barisoff
Penticton - Okanagan Valley Constituency
bill.barisoff.mla@leg.bc.ca
Ph: 250 487-4400
Fax: 250 487-4405
More info and maps are available on the following websites:
Parks Canada:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/np-pn/cnpn-cnnp/os-os/index_e.asp
Wilderness Committee: http://www.okanaganpetition.org
Canadian Parks And Wilderness Society:
http://www.cpawsbc.org/campaigns/newparks/sos/index.php
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