Thank you for your editorial comments (Penticton Western News, Feb. 1, There’s still a long way to go) on the recent provincial announcement re: the national park reserve.
The South Okanagan Similkameen National Park Network (SOSNPN) is pleased to hear that the province has invited the Government of Canada to resume talks, but the fact that this is a tri-governmental (Canada-B.C.-ONA) announcement is remarkable and significant. We are cautiously optimistic.
We are pleased to see that the Penticton, Osoyoos and Lower Similkameen Indian Bands are ready to move to the negotiations stage of the park establishment process.
We fully support their leadership.
We are encouraged with Minister Mary Polak’s statement that the boundaries of the three areas (Kilpoola, Mt. Kobau and White Lake) are not carved in stone and the province is prepared to look at protection for Mt. Kobau beyond conservancy status.
Mt. Kobau is an essential component of the national park reserve. With its inclusion the park will be worthy of international recognition, and will provide the maximum benefits to our tourism industry while protecting an important wildlife corridor. It will ensure that critically endangered ecosystems will be protected within the national park as Parks Canada has the legal obligation, expertise and funds to protect endangered species. The national park could also be designated as a Dark SkyPreserve — astronomy is historically important to our communities. It will also ensure that Oliver can become one of thegateways and able to access the benefits of a national park.
We would like to make a small but important comment about your editorial, although MLA Linda Larson advocated strongly for a review by her secretly appointed focus group, this, to our knowledge, never happened as her focus group was disbanded before beginning any work. The results of the province’s public consultation process showed that 92 per cent of the 3,600 respondents supported the establishment of a national park.
Establishment of this park has been glacially slow, but now that the door has been reopened we are encouraged that the process will move forward. It is in the next stage, that HNZ Topflight and the ranchers will be able to participate in finding arrangements that work for them. Clarity would be immensely reassuring for citizens throughout the region.
There is a lot to be done to create a park that we can all be proud and, as you say; we’ve a long way to go.
Doreen Olson, co-ordinator
South Okanagan Similkameen National Park Network
