East Kootenay Residents Land Use Coalition, click to view their blog
'As outdoor enthusiasts we have a firsthand understanding of nature and the wild outdoor world. Our vision and perspective is not tainted by untruths or the opinion of influential lobbyists or of global photographers. Ours is the perspective of truth and experience. Experience in this place of awe. The Flathead.
Members of all outdoor interest groups who live and play in the East Kootenay, understand why we live in the East Kootenay and what areas like the Flathead Valley mean to us. Without it, our quality of life is compromised. The Flathead Valley has been a part of the economic equation of the Kootenay for a very long time. And yet, there are those that would call it pristine and untouched. It is far from that. But it is beautiful and it does provide for a surreal outdoor experience with Nature.
If we want to enjoy the Flathead in future years, we should continue to ‘manage’ it, and the activities it currently provides, in the strong environmental and conservation minded way that we have, for the last 50 to 100 years. It seems to be doing well under our guidance.
My fear is a significant shift and management regime, will take away all that we have. And it will become another pawn in an American strategy to secure water into their future.'
Jim Turner, United Bowhunters of BC
'You have my full support of no national park in the Flathead. If you want to get rid of the grizzly bear then turn it into a national park. Please DO NOTmake the FLATHEAD into a national park.'
Doug Peck, BCWF Director, Fundraising & AGM Committee Chairman
'I am not if favour of the Flathead becoming a park. Not only do my wife and I use the area for recreation but the company I work for, Tembec, relies on fibre from the area to support it’s Elko Sawmill.
We have a very good balance in the area at this time and the moratorium on further mining and oil/gas development has only improved the chances of us maintaining that balance.
Don’t “fix” what isn’t broken, particularly if the people who live in the area don’t want it “fixed”.'
Elko Resident
'Good job on standing up for the flathead area! This area absolutely needs to stay park free. Keep up the good work.'
Jared Keber
'I do not support a park in the Flathead. Let's keep it the way it is, wild!
A park will add no value to the Flathead. It will only put many high paying jobs at risk.'
Roland Kemperman
'The way the Flathead is managed now is a finacial benefit to BC tax payers whereas the cost of developing and maintaining a park is a cost we can do without; we can't afford to fund the parks we have now.'
Gerry
I live in the Similkameen Valley and am a member of the Grasslands Coaltion Review. We have been fighting the imposition of a National Park Reserve in our Valley for 8 years. They have kept us on the hook that long with deceit, lies and studies. They keep doing surveys looking for the answer they want. Doing surveys in Kelowna which is 75 miles away and getting petitions signed by people in England. If there is any way that we or I can be of help please do not hesitate to contact me. I wish to take my Grandkids hunting in the Flatehead one year.
Ernie Marven TBBC/BCWF/UBBC
I am concerned with the amount of pro-park pamphlets circulating. I strongly agree with their description of the importance of the Flathead Valley but I think their presentation of data is misleading in order to generate support for their cause and not in the best interest of the Flathead. I agree that the area has critical wildlife habitat, an incredible diversity of species and crystal clear water but this just demonstrates that the past forty years of forest management and public use has not had a negative impact on the area.
What is most unique about the Flathead Valley is the lack of people - for such a wide valley to not have a town or even a campground is very unique in southern BC. The key to maintaining the important values of the Flathead Valley is to manage people. The current strategy works which is again supported by their reports about the diversity of species and health of the populations. A park would need to generate revenue by encouraging visitors and this does not support biologists’ recommendations on the management of wildlife, it contradicts it.
Forest management can provide the diversity of ecosystems and habitat that animals need to survive. Areas of old growth and riparian need to be maintained but what is also important are open areas that encourage shrubs and herbs for animals to eat. Natural fires are how Mother Nature maintained this balance of open areas with various stages of forests but because we have tried to put out fires for the past century, the forests have lost their balance. Natural fires were more frequent and less intense. Foresters can help by managing our forests to make them more resilient. Maintaining diversity of ecosystems and habitats is paramount and forestry supports, encourages and maintains it. Forest management also provides opportunity for research in the area and can help contribute to better data and better management of animals and their habitat.
Kori Vernier, RPF, local professional Forester
I am a Kimberley resident, prospector, and director of the East Kootenay Chamber of Mines. We began dealing with the issue of a park in the Flathead many years ago, unfortunately for us in the mining sector the result was not a good one. As a lifetime resident of Kimberley, home to the world-class Sullivan Mine, I know that mining and resource development can take place without negative impacts on the environment and wildlife populations. If mining is the terrible industry that these NGOs are working to paint it as why are Wildsight headquartered in our town? Unfortunately for us we were the easy target for these foreign funded groups to raise money on and lobby government for a park in the Flathead. The decision to ban mining and exploration in the Flathead was not based on science or local public opinion, it was merely the first step in the full implementation of a park. These are issues that we are going to continue to face in the East Kootenay as current land use plans are still under attack by these groups. I applaud your efforts to stand up to these guys and for calling a spade a spade but it is time that the people who depend on the land base (hunters, loggers, miners, ranchers etc) band together and let government know that we are capable of protecting our environment and maintaining our heritage and economy. The other option is we go at it alone as independent groups and get picked off one by one by these foreign funded lobbyists.
Sean Kennedy
Logging in the Flathead has improved habitat to the point that whitetail deer numbers have increased, the predators like wolves and bears then increase as well, because they follow a good food source (deer)
Don
My take on it is that WE ARE the green side, because we have seen past the false premise that national park status will protect the Flathead valley and its wildlife.
Our argument includes that a Flathead National Park will bring the opposite of what the environmentalists say they want to achieve. Why? Because a NP inevitably brings habitat degradation and wildlife habituation to human presence. If we can drive this simple point home with the general public and some of the 'greenies', we can win this battle.
Example: Tourism in Banff and other NPs close to large urban settlements and international airports = more people, more roads, more buildings, more infrastructure to provide electricity, sewage, garbage handling and potable water. It is a fact that more people (i.e. more tourists) less habitat and more dead animals.
The Flathead is dangerously close to cities and their airports...it is also being promoted as the "Serengetti of the North", and the "missing piece of Waterton Glacier World Heritage Site". This simpleton's sloganeering needs to be debunked by our Flathead Facts website, our Save the Flathead campaign, and through one-on-one discussion not just with our friends but especially those who have bought into the greenies' progaganda or who are un-informed.
The economic i.e. jobs argument is a good one too. Why replace $20+/hour mill & falling jobs with $8/hr tourism jobs? As we have experienced in the Elk valley, more tourism means house price inflation beyond the ability of the local economy to make up in higher wages. Tourism wages combined with tourism house prices brought about by the proposed World Heritage Site would mean the loss of our kids and the death of our tightly knit communities.
Pierre Alleyn
Check out this link which illustrates what happens when bears are habituated.
The Flathead Valley should remain free of the obstructions to the opportunities this area has offered British Columbians for generations. It is a shining example of wise land and resource stewardship that has involved business, industry , the public and First Nations for many decades and with ongoing collaboration will continue to be so.
The preservationist agenda will take away my family's hunting opportunities. This is a significant loss which will never be regained.
Rodney Wiebe, President, BC Wildlife Federation
After continuing to experience the problematic process and the resulting misleading innuendos put forth by Parks Canada when trying to initiate the Grasslands Park outside my front door in the South Okanagan, I can only state that I would never support a National Park being instituted anywhere in British Columbia. We currently have appropriate, and sound management of our resources, based on science. Federal agencies muddle emotion, personal biases, and special interest group initiatives, over facts and science based decisions.
If one was to put faith in the Federal government for the (mis)management of our resources, it would behoove one to investigate the decision just implemented by our Federal Fisheries where the residents of B.C. now do not have appropriate access to a common resource, that being Halibut. Federal agencies have proven in the South Okanagan, that, in my opinion, they do not have B.C. residents' best interest at hand. This initiative was, is, and will be, flawed and should never be considered for the Flathead, nor any other region of British Columbia.
Ken Sward
The Kootenay Backcountry Horsemen Society is a non-profit group of men ad women dedicated to preserving access to the beautiful trails of the Canadian Rockies for horses, mules and all who enjoy the back country trails. We would like to inform you of our support in your campaign against a National Park in the Flathead Valley. The members of The Kootenay Backcountry Horsemen Society do not feel a National Park would be in the best interest of either the animals or the residents of this area.