Whereas the negative impacts to lower mainland Provincial parks and Crown Land recreation areas continue to occur due to increasing tourism and limited funding; Therefore be it resolved that the Province be requested to allocate additional funding to managing BC Parks, specifically Joffre Lakes Provincial Park, and Crown Land recreation areas in the Sea to Sky Corridor and Lower Mainland.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy Addressing the visitor use at Joffre Lakes Park is a complex situation, involving multiple land managers. Therefore, BC Parks has developed an integrated, multi-agency approach using the Visitor Use Management Framework model developed in the United States. In collaboration with the Lilwat Nation and NQuatqua, Ministry of Transportation, and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, BC Parks has developed an Action Plan for Joffre Lakes Park, which contains management strategies for the 2019 season. We are working on developing a long term management strategy which will guide management decisions for the coming years. The key strategies in the Action Plan implemented in 2019 include: parking lot expansion, implementation of a shuttle bus service, emergency phone service installation, introduction of a First Nation Park Stewards pilot project with the First Nations, inclusion of the backcountry campground on the reservation system, park facility maintenance increases, and delivery of compliance and enforcement strategies through a Compliance Action Plan. In 2019, BC Parks invested over 242,000 in additional support to Joffre Lakes Park, in addition to the pre-existing yearly budget. This investment was dispersed to the following priorities: 100,000 to expand the parking lot, 25,000 on an emergency phone system, 33,900 to support the First Nations Park Stewards project, 10,270 for increased facility cleaning, 27,000 on traffic management, and 15,000 for installation of a heli-pad to support Search and Rescue response. We have also funded a 7-month Senior Ranger position within the park for an investment of 30,800. BC Parks is actively working on a long term strategy for Joffre Lakes Park and is also a member of the Sea to Sky Visitor Use Management Project by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, to address increasing recreation pressures in the overall corridor. BC Parks will continue to engage with the public, stakeholders, and the local First Nations on strategies that will help us achieve our desired condition for the park and ensure our environmental and cultural values are protected, and the park is safe for visitors to recreate in.