A conceptual drawing shows a possible design for a future building at the Osoyoos Desert Centre.
What do the Great Barrier Reef, Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Egyptian pyramids and Osoyoos Desert Centre have in common?
At present, their only similarity is that they are all tourist attractions.
But MLA Linda Larson wants to change that by having the Osoyoos Desert Centre join the others as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The MLA for Boundary-Similkameen held a meeting last Thursday of a committee she has put together to discuss the idea and to follow up on a January meeting with the Osoyoos Desert Society.
Her project, however, comes as a surprise to some other local politicians who say they weren’t invited or even told about it.
Others see this as an attempt to divert attention from Larson’s opposition to a national park in South Okanagan-Lower Similkameen, a park that now has more than two-to-one support in her constituency, according to a recent poll.
Besides Larson, only two other politicians were at last Thursday’s meeting. They were Mark Pendergraft, chair of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) and representative for Area A, which includes the Desert Centre, and Dan Albas, the Conservative federal MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla.
Neither Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff nor the federal MP for this area, Alex Atamanenko, were even told about the project, let alone invited to participate. Both are strong supporters of the national park.
Atamanenko, the MP for B.C. Southern Interior, was taken aback when informed by the Osoyoos Times about Larson’s project. The process for having a site nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site falls under the federal government and Parks Canada.
“If an MLA is looking to have a certain site declared a World Heritage Site then obviously her Member of Parliament should be involved,” said Atamanenko. “This is not very respectful and you can quote me on that. Protocol would even dictate that if she is applying for this, what would be wrong with getting support from her MP.”
Atamanenko was especially upset that Larson invited two Conservative federal MPs without even informing him of the idea. The second MP, David Wilks of Kootenay-Columbia, didn’t attend Thursday’s meeting.
McKortoff also said she knew nothing of Larson’s project until she was told of it by the Osoyoos Times.
“This is the first I’ve heard about it,” she said.
Former Mayor Stu Wells said Larson never told him about it either, even though she first approached the Desert Society with the idea in the fall while he was still mayor.
He acknowledged, however, that he had heard a little about the project third hand and verbally. Wells is also a strong supporter of the national park.
For her part, Larson insists the idea has nothing to do with the national park, but rather is an attempt to protect the fragile environment and to attract tourism.
“I don’t even think about the national park anymore,” Larson said in an interview Thursday. “I know the province has moved on.”
Larson said the idea came about after she did a tour of her riding in September and visited the Desert Centre. She saw plans developed by the Osoyoos Desert Society for a new interpretive centre to replace its current leaky trailer, plans which carried a $1 million pricetag.
“I was saying to myself, ‘how on Earth can we raise $1 million to build this new building here?’ and that’s why I went down this path,” she said.
Larson said there would be both provincial and federal funds available for it as a World Heritage Site.
As for the lack of invitation to Osoyoos, Larson said: “Mark Pendergraft is representing the regional district, which includes everybody. I don’t need a whole room full of politicians.”
Others at the meeting included Dr. Daryll Hebert of the Nature Trust of B.C., Don Triggs of Culmina Family Estate Winery, Lee McFadyen, president of the Osoyoos Desert Society, and Denise Eastlick, executive director of the Desert Society. Glenn Mandziuk, president of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) participated by phone. Larson’s Oliver and Victoria staff also participated.
McFadyen, president of the Desert Society, emphasized that this was Larson’s initiative and that the MLA’s office drew up the list of committee invitations.
“The Desert Society is open to exploring options that afford added protection to endangered habitat in the South Okanagan,” said McFadyen. “With that being part of our mandate, and our belief, we were quite prepared to discuss options.”
She pointed out, however, that the Desert Centre is situated on provincially owned Crown land and has a 30-year-lease signed in 2011.
World Heritage Status requires that the site be permanently protected to ensure survival of the property against development and change that might impact its heritage value.
McFadyen said Larson and her staff are following up to see whether there is an arrangement that could provide sufficient protection for the property to be considered.
McFadyen declined to comment on any motivation the MLA might have for making the proposal and whether it is linked to the national park issue.
“The Desert Centre views the possible heritage status as a complement to the proposed national park,” McFadyen said. “The society is on record and is in support of a national park in the South Okanagan and Similkameen. Heaven knows if we got a national park then the whole thing could get UNESCO World Heritage Site status.”
Albas said his role at the meeting was to listen and to liaise with federal officials and Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who he plans to discuss the idea with next week.
Atamanenko should be automatically supportive because of his passion for the environment, Albas said, however he added: “I think what she (Larson) is looking for is that obviously to be nominated as a UNESCO world heritage site, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done and she clearly needs political leadership in Ottawa to understand what the Desert Society is trying to do.”
The bigger a committee is in the beginning, the harder it is to get traction, Albas said.
“I think she’s very purposefully put together a rock-solid team to bring forward a stunning proposal,” said Albas. “Her staff knew the process inside out. This is something I think she’s very serious about and I think her constituents should know that when an MLA or an MP is trying to line things up, there are certain political realities and I think Linda recognizes that.”
Asked if the nomination of the Desert Centre is realistic, Albas said he has a great deal of respect for Larson and that she is “incredibly smart and intelligent.
“I don’t think I was there to have my time wasted,” he added. “I think the proposal makes a lot of sense. It will not only promote tourism for the area, but it will protect the antelope brush, which is very unique and is not found in very many other areas.”
Pendergraft said he supports the idea, though he’s not sure if it will be successful given the number of other sites put forward for World Heritage status.
It’s also a very lengthy process, he said, adding that he wasn’t very familiar with the process before the meeting.
“Here in the Okanagan Valley, particularly the Osoyoos area, we are known as Canada’s only desert, which is a fairly unique wonder all its own,” Pendergraft added. “So from that point of view, the Desert Centre, while only a portion of the actual desert environment, should stand a very good chance of receiving status as a World Heritage Site.”
Under UNESCO’s criteria for inclusion, “sites must be of outstanding universal value.”
Sites may be included if they are “outstanding examples” under several cultural categories or “contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
