At a glance…
The wilderness and fragile ecosystems in BC parks are vulnerable to the current state of overuse and unmanaged outdoor recreation within these protected places.
The Details:
Kevan Bracewell has advocated for and helped shape responsible policies that allow visitors to enjoy the magnificent BC wilderness through sustainable, low-impact outdoor recreation.
Purpose:
To prevent unregulated, high-impact outdoor recreation from permanently damaging fragile ecosystems in BC parks.
Goals Achieved: By advocating a dedicated adherence to protective park management policies, Kevan Bracewell and other conservation-minded parties have prevented unregulated overuse of trails that would seriously damage sensitive habitats.
The Whole Story…
Natural parks and wild places in BC have reached a critical stage. The massive increase in protected parks, with no accompanying increase in funding or management resources, has left some of BC’s most spectacular wild places vulnerable to irreversible degradation and destruction. For over two decades, Kevan Bracewell has been lobbying for stronger park policies that will limit high-impact outdoor recreation in BC’s most fragile natural parks.
High-impact outdoor recreation poses serious risks to environments they rely on. Planes and motorized vehicles are the greatest offenders among all forms of outdoor recreation. In 2006, the Ministry of Environment for BC identified these forms of outdoor recreation as potential hazards to the well-being of natural habitats. Both forms of transportation can disrupt and damage sensitive sites, including habitats of endangered species, nesting and calving sites, and fragile ecosystems within parks. What’s more, the noise pollution from these high-impact forms of outdoor recreation can cause harmful psychological and behavioral changes in wildlife. Thanks to the dedication of Kevan Bracewell and other conservation-minded individuals, outdoor recreation in the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park forbids the use of motorized vehicles. However, float planes still pose a major threat to this BC wilderness. Currently an endless queue of float planes fly in to Spruce Lake throughout the summer months, delivering mountain bikes and riders to the doorstep of their mountain adventure. While this is certainly a fun opportunity, the noise pollution and physical pollution caused by the planes, through fuel spills and waste, have serious ramifications for the health of the local environment. One of the guiding principles for the Trails Strategy of BC is to secure recreation opportunities for all trail users. The influx of fly-in mountain biking trips has seriously impacted the ability of other trail users, namely hikers, horseback riders, and pedal-in-pedal-out mountain bikers, to enjoy their low impact outdoor recreation in this pristine wilderness. By guaranteeing unlimited recreational rights for fly-in mountain bikers, the rights of other visitors and, most importantly, the rights of the wilderness, have been put in serious jeopardy. As such, Kevan Bracewell has been advocating for responsible management of fly-in mountain biking trips and establishing caps to daily trips, decreasing the current burden on the wilderness of the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park.
Kevan Bracewell is not the only party concerned about the present state of BC’s natural parks. Recently, the Outdoor Recreation Council (ORC) put out a call to action for all people to speak up on behalf of BC parks. The ORC listed numerous statistics to justify the council’s concerns. According to the ORC, the total acreage of the BC Parks system has more than doubled over the past twenty years. In the same time span, the number of full time employees who care for and manage the parks has been cut by over half. The ORC has stated in no uncertain terms that increased funding for BC Parks is crucial. BC Parks need improved infrastructure and additional park rangers to manage outdoor recreation and the overall well-being of the wilderness within these natural places. Kevan Bracewell shares these concerns. Recently, tourism initiatives have threatened to damage the pristine wilderness of the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park through unregulated and unsupervised overuse of the park’s trail system. Had Kevan Bracewell and other concerned parties not defended the policies that were created to protect this wilderness, the fragile ecosystems within this park would have been seriously, and most likely irreversibly, harmed.
Next steps…
The popularity of outdoor recreation in BC parks, along with the growing economic role that wilderness tourism plays in BC, have brought BC parks an important crossroads. Either BC residents and policy makers will step up to provide more funding for greater management and improved infrastructure throughout BC parks, or the treasure of BC’s wilderness will deteriorate to unsalvageable levels. For Kevan Bracewell, the latter option is not an option at all. That’s why Kevan continues to raise his voice and lobby for sustainable policies in park management. Only then will BC parks support Canada’s magnificent wildlife and visitors’ love for outdoor recreation for years to come.
Resources & References:
- http://orcbc.ca/pro_bcparks.htm
- http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/twg/documents/wildlife_guidelines_recreation_may06_v2.pdf