Dear Editor:

I am a lawyer living in Oliver and have for many years represented First Nations across British Columbia in commercial matters.

This letter is written in response to local MLA Linda Larson’s ‘Small Park’ proposal for the Osoyoos Desert Centre and how it disrespects Syilx environmental values.

The establishment  of a national park reserve in the South Okanagan and Lower Similkameen offers local First Nations a level of protection of Syilx environmental ethics and cultural values and a Syilx role in management and decision-making that cannot be achieved through the Province’s current patchwork approach to protecting environmentally and culturally sensitive areas.

A national park would protect Syilx environmental ethics and cultural values by setting aside a specifically defined geographical area rich in biodiversity for restoration and preservation, with an outright prohibition on incompatible uses such as mining, clear cut forestry, hydro-electrical projects and residential development.

The areas dedicated to the national park would be managed in partnership with the Syilx people under a consensus-based co-operative stewardship regime (similar to the successful model used in Gwaii Haanas), including the use of traditional ecological knowledge to meaningfully inform and guide park management and decision-making.

As in other national parks, traditional native uses would continue to be permitted, including hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering of roots and berries, spiritual and ceremonial activities, small scale removal of rock removal by artisans and aboriginal tourism. Aboriginal rights and title would be fully protected.

The current provincial approach to protecting endangered habits and species in the South Okanagan is fragmented and piecemeal and offers little opportunity for First Nations involvement or input.

Under the most recent proposal, the area which would be consolidated into a national park includes 93 kilometres of provincial protected areas (in five parcels), 83 km of multi-use Crown land, and 98 km private lands; as well as the Vaseux Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary and the Bighorn National Wildlife Area.

The current provincial land designations cater to economic development and unrestricted recreation use rather than an alignment to Syilx values.

Local First Nations currently have minimal involvement in the management of provincial protected areas.

Multi-use Crown lands are used intensively for quadding, hunting, fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding and camping without accommodation to Syilx interests and without any process to reconcile these activities with traditional First Nations activities such as hunting, gathering and spiritual and cultural uses.

First Nations have no access to private lands and little influence over private landowners regarding protection of environmental values. First Nations currently have little or no say in water allocation decisions.

The Okanagan National Council first proposed the concept of a SOLS national park in 2002, and in March 2011, wrote to Minister of Environment Mary Polak requesting that discussions on the national park be resumed.

They did not receive a response.

In 2012, after an extensive two-year study, the Okanagan National Council, on behalf of the four local bands, proposed that the federal and provincial governments continue negotiations towards establishment of the national park.

However, the provincial government has ignored this request and has refused to further discuss the concept.

The recent suggestion by local Larson to consider a small national park makes no sense. The 2012 Syilx Report recognized clearly that a national park must be of sufficient in size to promote the broader Syilx vision for protection of cultural and ecological integrity.

It must be large enough to encompass key habitats and unique elements of biodiversity and to ensure ecosystem protection. In fact, the 2012 Syilx Report recommended an increase in the size of the proposed park to include the White Lake and McIntyre Bluff areas.

The size of the proposed park has already been reduced from 650 to 250 square kilometres to leave room for more hunting, mining, logging and other pursuits.

The Snowy Protected Area, which is highly valued by the Lower Similkameen Band, has been excluded and the proposal has been modified to permit continued cattle grazing under adaptive management and a continuation of current helicopter training programs. Fishing and other compatible back country activites (but not quadding, would be permitted).

A properly sized national park in the South Okanagan would be a showcase for Syilx environmental values and culture. The area designated for the park would be restored and maintained in an unimpaired state for future generations and managing cooperatively by the Syilx people using traditional Syilx ecological knowledge.

Visitors to our region would be given the opportunity to better understand the Syilx people, and their strong cultural, physical and spiritual connection with the land.

A properly scaled national park is an opportunity for all Syilx People to preserve, protect and celebrate their land and to pass on their knowledge, tradition uses and cultural links with their lands to younger generations.

It would also ensure that Syilx voices and perspectives meaningfully inform management decisions on Syilx lands on an ongoing basis.

Al Hudec

Oliver, B.C.