BC Parks

BC Parks is an agency of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy that manages all provincial parks and other conservation and historical properties of various title designations. The Executive Council of British Columbia created the agency on March 1, 1911 through the Strathcona Park Act.[3]

BC Parks
Agency overview
FormedMarch 1, 1911 (1911-03-01)
JurisdictionBritish Columbia
Headquarters525 Superior Street
Victoria, British Columbia
V8V 1T7
48°25′04″N 123°22′17″W
Annual budget$40.6 million (2020)[1]
Executive Director responsible
  • Bob C. Austad [2]
Parent ministryMinistry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Websitebcparks.ca

The agency is charged with a dual role of preserving the ecological and historical integrity of the places entrusted to its management while also making them available and accessible for public use and enjoyment.[4]

In 2020, BC Parks oversaw 1,034 park units of the British Columbia Parks and Protected Areas System.[5]

History

Early history
Strathcona Provincial Park, the first provincial park in British Columbia

In July 1910, a party of the British Columbia Provincial Government Expedition led by the Chief Commissioner of Lands Price Ellison explored the region surrounding Crown Mountain on Vancouver Island for the purposes of setting aside land to establish British Columbia's first provincial park. Ellison then reported his findings to the Executive Council of British Columbia.[3]

On March 1, 1911, the executive council passed the Strathcona Park Act, which protected approximately 250,000 hectares (620,000 acres) of mountainous terrain from being sold, settled or otherwise occupied. While the Park Act was intended to protect the land from being exploited, it exempted both mining claims and timber holdings had been granted prior to the establishment of the park from being voided. This statute was further clarified through an amendment made in 1918 that explicitly permitted the "location, acquisition and occupation of mineral claims under the Mineral Act."[3]

21st century

On April 8, 2020, BC Parks announced the full closure of the parks and protected areas system in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] The agency began to selectively reopen parks for day-use only starting on May 14.[7]

Parks and Protected Areas System
See also: List of British Columbia Provincial Parks
Statistics (February 2020)[5]
Designation Number Area (ha)
Class A Parks 629 10,544,873
Class B Parks 2 3,778
Class C Parks 13 484
Conservancies 156 2,999,899
Ecological Reserves 148 160,293
Protected Areas 84 384,733
Recreation Areas 2 5,929
Total 1,034 14,099,989

The British Columbia Parks and Protected Areas System is a collection of physical properties managed by BC Parks. The system encompasses 1,034 park units covering an area of about 14.1 million hectares (54,440 mi2) - about 14.4% of the entire province - with over 6,000 km (3,700 mi) of hiking trails and approximately 12,700 campsites. It is the third largest park system in North America after national parks systems of Canada and the United States.[8]

The largest park unit is Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park at 989,616 hectares (3,821 mi2).[8] The smallest park unit is Ballingall Islets Ecological Reserve at just 0.2 hectares (0.49 acres).[9]

BC Parks reported attendance of 26,253,500 at all parks and protected areas in 2018-19.[8] Cypress Provincial Park is the most visited park unit with over 1.8 million visitors in 2017-18.[10]

Designations
BC Parks trail marker in Golden Ears Provincial Park

The British Columbia Protected Areas System consists of five different designations:[5][11]

  • Provincial Parks: Significant protected Crown lands, divided into three classes:
    • Class A Parks: Lands dedicated to the preservation of their natural environments. Development is generally restricted for recreational facilities only.
    • Class B Parks: Additional activities and uses are permitted, provided that they are not detrimental to recreational values. The only parks with this classification are Sooke Mountain and Strathcona-Westmin.
    • Class C Parks: Managed by a local board, and are generally smaller, providing local recreational amenities.
  • Recreation Areas: Lands set aside for recreational use by the public. It is also land that is being evaluated by BC Parks from both a protected area value and an economic opportunity perspective to determine whether the area should be "upgraded" to full protected area status or returned to integrated resource management lands. As of October 2020, there are only two recreation areas: Coquihalla Summit and Kettle River.
  • Conservancies: Lands that are protected and maintained for biological diversity, natural environments, and recreational values. These lands are also explicitly recognized for social, ceremonial and cultural uses of First Nations.
  • Protected Areas: A natural area that generally has existing or proposed activities that are normally restricted from a provincial park, such as an industrial road, pipeline, transmission line, or communications site.
  • Ecological Reserves: An area reserved for its ecological importance, and providing suitable scientific research and educational purposes, representative examples of natural ecosystems or ecological recovery from human activity, habitat for rare or endangered native plants and animals, and/or unique and rare examples of botanical, zoological or geological phenomena.[12]

The BC Parks and Protected Areas System also feature two sub-designations:

  • Marine Provincial Parks: Waters dedicated to the preservation of their natural environments and recreational value.
  • Historic Provincial Parks: Lands dedicated to the preservation of their historic significance to the province. Since the adoption of the Heritage Conservation Act in 1998, these parks have been gradually re-designated as "Provincial heritage properties" and placed under local administration.[13] As of October 2020, only two Historic Provincial Parks remain: Morden Colliery and Seton Portage.

See also

References
  1. Ross, Andrea (2020-09-27). "Boosting B.C. Parks budget deserves more thought this election, outdoor enthusiasts say". CBC News. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  2. "BC Government Directory, ENV - Regional Operations". dir.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  3. Environment, Ministry of. "The History of BC Parks". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  4. Environment, Ministry of. "BC Parks Mission and Mandate". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  5. Environment, Ministry of. "Summary of the Parks and Protected Areas System". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  6. Austad, Bob (2020-04-08). "PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Park Act Order of the Executive Director" (PDF). bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  7. Austad, Bob (2020-05-14). "PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Park Act Order of the Executive Director" (PDF). bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  8. Environment, Ministry of. "Facts and Figures - BC Parks - Province of British Columbia". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  9. Environment, Ministry of. "Ballingall Islets Ecological Reserve - BC Parks". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  10. "BC Parks 2017/18 Statistics Report" (PDF). bcparks.ca. 2018. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  11. Environment, Ministry of. "Legislation, Acts and Regulations". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  12. Environment, Ministry of. "Ecological Reserves - Conservation - BC Parks". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  13. "Heritage Conservation Act". www.bclaws.ca. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.