BC Government is adding 107 hectares of new land to existing Class A parks, expanding the parks and the protected areas.
Class A parks are lands dedicated for the preservation of their natural environment and for public use and enjoyment.
The proposed additions are the result of private land acquisitions and include:
- 29 hectares to Bridge Lake Provincial Park in the Cariboo region;
- 2.5 hectares to Harmony Islands Marine Provincial Park along the Sunshine Coast;
- 17 hectares to Kikomun Creek Provincial Park in the Kootenays;
- 19 hectares to Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park in the Okanagan;
- Four hectares to Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park in the Kootenays; and
- 35 hectares to Syringa Provincial Park near Castlegar.
The amendments will also replace boundary descriptions with official plans for two ecological reserves (Gilnockie Creek and Trout Creek) and three Class A parks (Conkle Lake, Jewel Lake and Johnston Creek).
Official plans provide a clearer description of where the parks or protected area boundaries are located, leading to less chance of unintentional trespassing.
In addition, a minor administrative correction will be made to the boundary description of McDonald Creek Provincial Park and a new official plan has been prepared for Fintry Provincial Park to reflect a boundary modification completed in spring 2018.
To reflect ancestral connections and support reconciliation efforts, the amendments also include renaming John Dean Park to ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱/John Dean Park (pronounced Tlay-will-nook), which means “place of refuge” in the language of the W̱SÁNEĆ people.
“Giving this park a traditional Indigenous name connects us all with the original history and cultures of our province and supports ongoing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples throughout B.C.,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.
