A group of national park supporters takes a hike on Mount Kobau in early May. In the foreground is Harry Nielsen and behind are Jim Wyse and Doreen Olson. They were showing a reporter some of the areas they hope to protect with a national park. Parks Canada documents show the agency sees Mount Kobau as offering world-class star-gazing and other tourism and educational opportunities. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Town of Osoyoos Council is asking B.C.’s environment minister to include the area surrounding Mount Kobau in a proposed national park reserve.
Mayor Sue McKortoff sent a letter to B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak last week outlining the town’s position on the B.C. government’s Intentions Paper – Protected Areas Framework for British Columbia’s South Okanagan.
The deadline for public submissions on the paper is Oct. 31. The paper was released by the government on Aug. 13 and it proposes a national park reserve in two unconnected areas of the South Okanagan, separated by a larger area around Mount Kobau, which would become a provincial conservancy.
“In council’s view, the tourism marketing of the area will be compromised by the entire area not carrying the title of national park,” said McKortoff’s letter, which reflected the views of the rest of council and was discussed at the Oct. 19 committee of the whole.
“Mount Kobau is a really key area that we should include in here,” McKortoff said when council discussed the letter.
She also suggested that several local heritage sites should be considered for federal protection including the Haynes Ranch and Haynes House in Osoyoos.
The province has already suggested that Spotted Lake and the Osoyoos Desert Centre should be included in Area 1 – an inclusion the mayor said she supports.
Area 1 is the portion of South Okanagan grasslands south of Highway 3, which the province has proposed as a national park reserve.
Area 2, is the portion north of Highway 3, extending to the Oliver and Cawston areas and including Mount Kobau.
The province has proposed that this be provincially protected as a conservancy, a status that park supporters say would give it weak protection and deny it federal funds.
The town wants Area 2 to be placed in the national park.
“International travellers are familiar with the concept of ‘national parks’ and are drawn toward that specific distinction,” the mayor wrote.
Area 3, to the west of Vaseux Lake north to the areas around White Lake and Okanagan Falls, is also proposed as a national park reserve. This area is not joined to the other two areas, which was a concern for councillors.
Both McKortoff and Coun. Carol Youngberg noted the importance of having corridors for migrating wildlife.
McKortoff’s letter noted the lack of connection between areas 2 and 3.
“If connectivity is important for species that need to move, some form of a corridor may need to be established connecting the three areas through legislation rather than relying on the good intentions of the landowners that control the land between areas 2 to 3,” the letter said.
Pointing to the broader public or common good, such as protection of poorly represented eco-regions of B.C., the letter said: “Council would not want the proposal to be excessively skewed to a political compromise that ensures that specific recreation lobbies and the tenure holders of public Crown Lands are not inconvenienced or fettered.”
The mayor’s letter also suggested that the potential for making the boundaries of the town coterminous with the national park should be assessed.
It also recommended that the Osoyoos British Columbia Visitor Centre (BCVC) should be considered for an education and interpretive centre for the newly created protected area.
“Visitor information and interpretive centres are an important part of the national park experience,” McKortoff said. “The existing BCVC is a facility that is strategically placed and has a current link to First Nations culture.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
