OSPSOKANAGAN NEWSLETTER SIMILKAMEEN PARKS SOCIETY Spring P.O. Box 787, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0 2010 Phone: 250-494-8996 • Email: [email protected] Editorial 45th ANNUAL GENE L MEETING of the kanagan Mountain Park is the fea- ture of our 45th Annual General SIMILKAMEEN Meeting. It was an early success Oof this society, the first Provincial Park in PARKS SOCIETY the Okanagan Similkameen. The Park has so much to offer – hiking trails, wild life visions of all sorts and gorgeous vistas. presenting Harold Baumborough’s slides and talk shows his enthusisan for his neighbour, “New Life in Okanagan Mountain Park” Okanagan Mountain Park. A Record of Growth and Change Much has been written about the lack of support – budget and staff of BC’s wonder- ful parks. Perhaps, we hope, some of the much talked about Olympics Legacy will be directed towards improving the condi- tions of protected areas and the people who manage them.

BEFORE THE DISASTER Parks are valuable. They generate growth. They generate funds. They preserve natural life and resources, they encourage healthy activity. They are living classrooms for all and can promote love of the land among children. A Slide Show by Parks deserve our unqualified support. Harold Baumbrough of Naramata We must agree with resolutions of the ‘naturalist extraordinaire’ Outdoor Recreation Council regarding Off AFTER THE DISASTER Road Vehicle use our trails and in natural Since the Okanagan Mountain Park re in 2003, Harold has made areas. The first steps of long requested leg- islation regarding licensing and regulations numerous trips into an area he knew well. He had made an unique for ORVs is a good beginning. We hope record of the land healing itself as new life emerges. that the government will move quickly to introduce the legislation. As with all volunteer organizations, the CENTRE STAGE THEATRE OSPS is happy to have new Directors. We Rosedale Road, Summerland could use more. Any offers? March 12 • 7pm We thank all our members for their contin- ued support, and hope they will encourage ALL WELCOME Refreshments NO CHARGE Donations Welcome others to join us.

33526 OSPS poster.indd 1 2/23/10 9:39:11 AM Please used the enclosed membership form on the back page to help us carry out our mission.

OSPS Newsletter www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca Spring 2010 • 1 BCs Provincial Parks could be the Best Place on Earth for Outdoor Recreation – but...! by the Outdoor Recreation parks and protected Report – Editorial – Fall 2009 areas are also likely to be our most enduring hey could be – but these days legacy and the founda- they are falling a long way short. tion for sustainability With the grinding reduction in an in the Province, which Talready inadequate operating budget for makes us doubly Cultus Lake Provincial Park, October 2009. Photo by Larri Woodrow. BC Parks over a number of years, there responsible for pre- has been a steady decline in the standards serving them. incredibly beautiful and popular Garibaldi of BC Parks’ infrastructure and services. Lake campsite were shut this past summer, For a long time this deterioration was not At ORC’s AGM in June the member orga- as a result of which campers were defecat- especially noticeable and it was possible nizations present passed the following ing around their campsites instead. to argue that no real harm was being done, Resolution: Be it resolved that the Outdoor but their steadily worsening state is now Recreation Council urge the Provincial This unhealthy situation continues with becoming obvious to visitors from overseas Government to ensure that the Olympic little or no supervision by park rangers as well as BC residents. We believe that legacies include an adequately maintained because the ranger complement for the the BC Government is failing to provide BC Parks system, including infrastructure area has been scaled down to just two BC Parks with the resources it needs for and services. rangers at Garibaldi Lake for a park which the trails, bridges and buildings which are receives 10,000 visitors a year, including such an integral part of this potentially It is questionable whether initiatives of this many tourists from all over the world. In world class system. type can do anything to support BC Parks fact the rangers’ hut in Garibaldi was not primary mandate of conservation and rec- even opened in 2009! Since our parks are one of BCs greatest reation, including the goal of maintaining resources for our health as well as the their ecological integrity. Keeping our park system in good shape greatest draw for our visitors and therefore should be a no-brainer and it would cost vital fro the economy, we think that short- How can we brag about the glories of a fraction of what it willcost to put a new changing them is very short sighted. Our Garibaldi Park when half the toilets in the roof on BC Place!

West Bench Property Donated for Park by Kristi Patton – Western News Staff – November 2009

alter Bonin enjoyed watching beautiful park for all to enjoy,” said Bonin, Bonin said he would like to one day see a his family grow up and make who has owned the land since the late 50s. baseball diamond on the plot of land that memories on his West Bench “We really enjoyed living up here and I’m he said is close to a sewer hookup and pos- Wproperty, now he wants everyone to be able pleased to be able to offer it as long as it is sibly could have a secondary road down to to do the same. designated parkland so everyone will be the highway. able to enjoy it forever.” A 3.4 hectare portion of his property in “My whole family thought it would be West Bench was donated to the Regional The RDOS directors voted unanimously a good idea to do this and it was a good District of Okanagan Similkameen to be to accept the donation of land from 320 place for it,” said Bonin, who co-owns the used as park land. Newton Drive. The property is described as land with his children. “We wanted to give wedge-shaped with a deep gully overlook- something back.” “It’s a beautiful view property and if the ing right along the Kettle right things happen there, it will be a Valley Railroad trail.

2 • Spring 2010 www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca OSPS Newsletter Outdoor Recreation Council of BC

he tern “Shared Use Trails” has RE: Shared-use/multi-use trails (These what vehicles bring to a trail. Simply put, suddenly become a significant two terms are interchangeable) single track trails are not suitable to mix definition in the context of the these two categories of users. They need to TFederal trails funding program because a he NTC is completely dominated be on separate trails. There are exceptional commitment to “demonstrate shared use” by the motorized lobby. Its mem- circumstances such as pinch points where of any trail for which funding is sought will bers have made it clear that their the trails need to come together, or other be one of the key criteria for eligibility, goalT is to access as many trails as possible. factors such as trails that hardly have any according to the COHVDC document I They use the term shared-use as a way to users in remote areas. circulated earlier this week. access existing trails. An example is the Trans Canada Trail that is defined as a To use the term shared-use to include all Jeremy McCall multi-use trail catering to specified trail trail users as criteria for a shared-use trail, – Executive Director users. The ATV and dirt bike riders inter- now that we have powered vehicles wanting pret this as an invitation for them to use to use trails, can allow for the legitimizing he BC Recreation Trails Strategy the trail. The term is being used to get a of mixing of motorized and non-motorized Committee is considering recom- foothold on all kinds of trails that were uses on a trail as a viable trail project. Once mending a system of parallel trails never declared or intended for motorized a trail is open to motorize use it is no longer Twhere one trail would be motorized and recreational use. a trail that the vast majority of other users the other would be non-motorized but will want to use. It defaults to a motorized there would be no mixed use permitted It is only in exceptional circumstances that trail. on a motorized trail. This would be OK if motorized can be mixed with non-motor- there was sufficient space for parallel trails ized users on a single track trail. We would Applying the term shared-use without and lots of money to build them but usu- need to turn that majority of our trails into qualification by the NTC can have real ally that is not the case. There are plenty of utility roads for these tow categories of uses negative implications for the non-motor- examples across Canada where shared use to be compatible. Even at that there would ized trail users. trails (both motorized and non-motorized) be a need to grade the trail several times in work well. There are a number of motorized any given season. I think we can all agree Our goal must be to give quality experi- shared use trails in Alberta, Saskatchewan, that we have enough utility roads to serve ences for all trail users and this cannot be Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and this purpose. These two sets of users must done on the same trail when it comes to Newfoundland. In most cases it is the local almost always use separate trails because motorized and motorized trail users. We community that decides what trail uses will they are, in fact, incompatible; that is, the can wish it to be so but we must to face be permitted. My research has found that motorize user employs these trails to the this reality. the majority of residents in many rural com- detriment of non-motorize users. Apart munities wish to have motorized shared from the huge impact motorize users have Léon Lebrun – Vice-President use trails. on a physical trail the two sets of users do – Southwest Regional Director not share the same values. Non-motorize Trails BC Terry Norman – Director trail users take to trails to get away from

encountered no ATV traffic. However from did. The rail bed going north to Brookmere ATVs on the Summerland to Brookmere it was a differ- was dominated by ATVs and I was being ent story. The section from Summerland constantly passed by them. There was real Kettle Valley Railway to Princeton had vehicle traffic on it from damage to the rail bed leaving Brookmere trucks to ATVs but the predominant traffic going toward Hope so that I really had a I am replying to Jim Cooperman’s article in was ATV, and their thick treads roughened difficult time riding in sections. the November-December 2009 issue of the the surface of the rail bed. The worst section Watershed Sentinel regarding unregulated I am in full support of the regulations of through was from Tulameen to Brookmere, ATV use in BC. ATV traffic in BC. with Tulameen being ATV central. In At the end of June 2009, I cycled the Tulameen, ATVs were being ridden up and Rick Raynsford, West Vancouver, BC – Kettle Valley Railway from Midway to Hope. down streets of the town with no regard Watershed Sentinel – Jan-Feb 2010 I found that for the most part the section to traffic regulations, to the extent that I from Midway to Beaverdell was fine and I wondered what the RCMP in Princeton ever

OSPS Newsletter www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca Spring 2010 • 3 will be built while between Summerland Work Begins on Trail Network and Princeton, parts of the trail will be by Kristi Patton – Western News Staff – July 2009 resurfaced and rock fall cleared.

mprovements to the Kettle Valley Rail the loss of the jobs in the forestry,” said “The list of projects was developed in con- Trail as part of a larger Spirit of 2010 Blair Baldwin, Spirit of 2010 Trail project cert with the local trail stewardship groups, Trail project are underway. manager. “When we made the presenta- so we talked to groups like the Naramata I tion because it covered 800 kilometres Woodwackers earlier this spring to iden- The Regional Districts of Okanagan- of rail trail for the Spirit of 2010 Trail... tify a list of projects that would be best Similkameen, Central and Kootenay and the fact there is a quite extensive list suited. Shelters are being built so cyclists Boundary are working together to restore of communities involved is why it was so and pedestrians to provide shade under the areas of the heritage trail network, known as well received.” hot sun or in-climate weather. It provides a the Spirit of 2010 Trail, which extends 800 respite for users of the Spirit of 2010 Trail kilometres. The project is being funded by The work will be taking place around the as they move along it,” said Baldwin. $600,000 obtained by the Regional District communities of , Princeton, of Central Kootenay from the Community Salmo, Nelson, Castlegar, Grand Forks, Work will also be done on the KVR Trail Development Trust’s Job Opportunities Greenwood, Midway and Rock Creek. As between Princeton and Brodie to rehabili- Program announced in April. It will employ construction work starts, the trails will be tate bank erosion, clear rocks and repair 24 displaced forestry workers, which is the experiencing temporary delays and/or clo- trestles. On the Great Northern Rail Trail crux of the program. sures and crews will be placing signs up to between Nelson and Salmo several of the ensure users are aware of ongoing work. remaining trestles will be decked and railed “This is one of the largest funding applica- this summer. tions awarded because it affects so many On the Kettle Valley Rail Trail between communities that have been hit hard by Naramata and Penticton, shade shelters

Life – Excerpts from an article bring prosperity, jobs and an increased tax Longtime Penticton resident on the Value of the Economics base that will benefit virtually everyone. leaves hundreds of thousands of dollars to more than 25 of Wildlife Watching Certainly we know from experience that many people come to the Okanagan to charitable organizations by Robert Handfield – Nature watch wildlife, primarily birds, and these Wise – Penticton Western News people come not only from BC but from by Penticton Herald Staff – – November 11, 2009 across Canada, the USA and abroad and November 23, 2009 they spend money here on lodging, food, he greatest threat to wildlife across fuel, etc. Of course if we want them to con- he late Harold North America for the past cen- tinue coming, we have to ensure that there Hoey’s support tury has been, and continues to be, is suitable habitat for the birds. of his commu- Tthe loss of habitat. Forests have been clear- Tnity continues through cut, prairies have been ploughed under, So when communities are considering what his generous bequests to grasslands have been over-grazed, wetlands to do with their “empty land” they should a number of charitable have been filled, rivers and creeks diverted consider that wildlife watching is a significant organizations. or channelized and cities and suburbs have contributor to economic activity. Of course, expanded endlessly. the generation of economic benefits is not the Hoey, a Penticton resident for more than only reason (and probably not even the main 60 years, died August 29, 2009. Harold Virtually everywhere in North America reason) for ensuring that we don’t develop Hoey was a long time member of the OSPS from the middle latitudes of Canada to the entire Okanagan Valley. But many times and we were included in the long list of south of the Mexican border, the story it seems the politicians don’t want to hear recipients named in his will. seems to be the same – the only good land about the intrinsic value of open spaces, so is developed land. So often if seems that conservationists have to resort to trying to The $5,000.00 we will be receiving will “raw land” has no apparent value to society. show the economic value of wildlife habitat is help to support OSPS activities for the Developers and their proponents on city under threat in your area, consider raising the future. The Directors are most grateful for councils argue that “development” will issue of the economics of wildlife watching. his last gift to us.

4 • Spring 2010 www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca OSPS Newsletter Conservation Renowned climbing area south of Penticton on its way to Minister Tours Bluffs becoming Provincial Park... by Scott Trudeau – Penticton Herald – December 2009

C Environment Minister Barry a paved parking lot that was completed in the path. Penner toured the Skaha Bluffs late summer. It has space for 187 vehicles, Wednesday and was fortunate to and trails lead to the cliff area a short dis- Within minutes, the four had mad a beeline Bsee some of the wildlife that roams the tance away. for one of the rock faces. Within a couple area. more minutes, they had scaled to the top, Barbara Pryce is program manager for the where they looked down at the provincial Penner said he is familiar with the renowned Okanagan for The nature Conservancy, politicians. climbing area that attracts thousands of which bought an adjoining 304 hectare par- outdoor adventurers to the city, noting cel in 2008 in partnership with The Land Penner said future plans for the Crown por- that before he and his wife were married, conservancy and Mountain Equipment tion include the establishment of a nature she used to scale the bluffs with one of Co-op. In acquiring the land, the Nature walk leading to 10 hike-in campsites that her friends. Conservancy will be able to secure the could be used by tourist or climbers access- biodiversity values on the land and ensure ing the bluffs. He introduced legislation that contains access to the bluffs. plans for one new Class A park, one new “This new area is not only great for climb- ecological reserve and nine new conservan- “It’s widely known that the Skaha Bluffs is ers, but it also makes it accessible for fami- cies around the province. a very desirable climbing destination”, said lies as well,” said the minister. Pryce, pointing out it’s also home to many Once finalized, Skaha bluffs Provincial Park wildlife species, such as bighorn sheep. Once the Crown land is officially desig- will cover 179 hectares of Crown land, nated as a provincial park, consultations offering protection for the climbing area It was during a short hike that Penner and will occur among the landowners and First and wildlife habitat. Penticton MLA Bill Barisoff captured a Nations on the larger parcel in order for the first-hand view of four bighorns (three area to eventually become a park that will The access road off Smythe Drive leads to rams and one ewe) about 25 metres off cover close to 500 hectares.

Okanagan Falls District Supports Plans for Lakefront Walking Trail by John Moorhouse – Penticton Herald – December 2009

lans for a new lakefront walking Bill Schwarz, RDOS director for Area D extend for about half a kilometre from path in Okanagan Falls have gained (Okanagan Falls-Kaleden), said the official Lions Park in the west, through Kenyon support from the regional District community plan has identified a possible Park and Christie Memorial Park to the Pof Okanagan-Similkameen. walking route through the area since the Main Street boat launch. There are also late 1970s, but nothing has been done three privately owned properties along the The regional district will prepare a work until now. proposed trail route. plan to develop the pathway along the Skaha Lake shoreline from the north end A recent shoreline study reiterated that “It will depend on acquiring the private of Main Street to the Okanagan River goal, supported by the OK Falls recreation land at the right price, but, once that’s done, Channel. At Lion’s Park, the path would committee. that would create what we feel is a fabulous connect with the existing KVR walkway. trail network through the community”, The three-metre wide boardwalk would he said.

OSPS Newsletter www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca Spring 2010 • 5 The total cost is close to $1 million, but the “Our government, through Canada’s eco- Trail Receives funding came from a number of sources. nomic Action Plan, is taking steps to reduce the effects of the economic slowdown”, he Upgrades The federal government, through Western said. “This section of the Trans Canada Trail Economic Diversification Canada, pro- is an important part of our community. It by John Arendt vided half the money while the Regional brings us together as families, friends and – Summerland Review District of Okanagan Similkameen sup- neighbours to learn new skills, exchange plied 30 per cent. ideas, get fit and healthy and have fun”. ith some help from a number of partners, the Summerland Another five per cent came from the Dan Ashton, chair of the regional district, Trans Canada Trail Society has Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society, said the work was needed. Wbeen able to provide some upgrade work with the balance from the Summerland this year. Trans Canada Trail Society. “The corridor was extensively degraded and I applaud our local volunteers, Summerland Geoff Solly, a trail society volunteer, said Stockwell Day, Member of Parliament for Trans Canada Trail Society, who have dedi- four bridges across Trout Creek were rebuilt Okanagan-Coquihalla, said the federal cated years of work and energy to ensure and renovated and a five kilometre portion government’s contribution is important the 2010 Trans Canada Trail remains as a of the trail west of Faulder was resurfaced for the area’s economy. world-class legacy for our residents and this year. visitors,” he said. Gateway Not Just Another Road – Witnessing a so-called “Done Deal” from the Fraser River by Ben West – Watershed Sentinel – Jan – Feb 2010

his is not just like any other road- Asia, opening up new coal mines, increas- Citizens from both sides of the Fraser are building project. The Gateway ing raw log exports and supporting further rising up to fight against climate change and Project is a federal plan to expand expansion of the tar sands. the waste of billions in tax dollars repre- Ttrade with the Asia Pacific region. It’s a sented and inherent in the Gateway Project. project of significant interest to every sector It’s a fundamentally irresponsible plan, They are fighting for community health of big business and level of government. both locally and in terms of our role inter- and safety, the protection of endangered The plan is to expand our ‘trade capacity’ nationally. It’s a plan largely about profiting species, invaluable farmland and of course by expanding the port and building new off selling dirty energy sources that cause Burns Bog. Your help is needed no matter freeways and other infrastructure to ser- global warming to some of the world’s worst where you live or how you want to get vice that trade. Gateway infrastructure will polluters. Many activists call this project involved. Please visit www.gatewaysucks. facilitate building a new pipeline to export the “Gateway to Global Warming.” org or contact me at ben@wildnesscom- bitumen extracted from the tar sands to mittee.org

damage to millions of years’ worth of evo- of the century. The geologic record shows The Great lutionary progression. that the ocean ecosystem took five million years to fully adjust to new levels of acidity. Dissolving A shift in the pH balance of seawater is That vast time scale is intimidating and under way, and it threatens shell-building almost paralyzing. Hopefully, the creativ- by Doug George creatures, corals, fisheries such as salmon, ity that led us to this brink will give us an Watershed Sentinel oysters, mussels, and sea urchins, and entire opportunity to change our ways. Jan – Feb 2010 marine ecosystems. Doug George is an oceanographer and cean acidification is changing the Ultimately, cutting CO2 emissions is the freelance science journalist based in the San chemistry of the seas. Enough only way to slow down ocean acidification. Francisco Bay Area. He currently works for CO2 may have already ente’red But the process has already begun, and the the Ocean Protection Council. Othe ocean to cause hundreds of years of oceans may be unrecognizable by the end

6 • Spring 2010 www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca OSPS Newsletter Trail Talk From The Summerland Trans Canada Trail FEBRUARY 2010 he Summerland TCT Society had a productive 2009, thanks in part to the generosity of the OSPS. Here Tare some accomplishments: We finished our fourth and last bridge on the trail east of Osprey Lake. Now there are two more biffies along the trail, and we have six pic- nic tables and two kiosks ready to be set in place as soon as weather permits. Our plan is to place more history, geological, and flora information in these kiosks to make the trail more interesting.

Weed clearing and brushing were done along the trail.

Thanks to the OSPS donation of $5,000 and money from private donors, we were able to leverage a further $80,000 to finish 5 km. of trail over a difficult sandy area west of Faulder. The money from the Parks Society was pivotal! We couldn’t have pro- ceeded without it. There are still two more km. to fix along this sandy stretch toward Crump, where there is now a picnic ground and campsite along the trail.

About 150 tourists and townspeople enjoyed a 5. 5 km. hike along the TCT to Faulder with a return KVR train ride and delicious buffet in October. There’ll be a repeat of this in 2010. money for trails. That was good, and we all-terrain vehicle manufacturers. Please Please help us complete more trail! We received some. But two thirds of the trail write now before the budget comes out do need private donations! For fifty dol- money was given for motorized trails. in March. Here are the addresses you’ll lars, you can add a name to our donors’ This was not fair nor good since we are need: e-mail addresses: [email protected] board. For $200, you can add a plaque supposed to reduce our waistlines and C02 Stockwell Day is president of the Treasury for any occasion, in honour of a wedding, emissions along with increasing our own fit- Board. His constituency office in Penticton birthday, or death. Checks can be sent to ness. Please write Finance Minister James is 202-301 Main St., Penticton, BC, V2A our treasurer: Geoff Solly, 6803 Nixon Flaherty about this and MP Stockwell 5B7. Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty’s Rd., Summerland, BC, V0H-1Z9 Day, too. It’s important to tell them that e-mail is: [email protected] His address is you agree with spending some federal House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A Thanks again, OSPS! money for trails, but that the money should OA6 for both, be for non-motorized trails. Unfortunately, ACTION NEEDED! the motorized lobby is strongly under- Submitted by Marilyn Hansen, pres., Last year the federal government gave pinned by the dirt bike, snowmobile, and Summerland Trans Canada Trail Society

OSPS Newsletter www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca Spring 2010 • 7 The Bighorn Transplant in Okanagan Mountain Park by Keith J. Baric Regional Planner, Environmental Stewardship and Protected Areas Divisions – Ministry of Environment – Okanagan Region

n 1999 the south Okanagan bighorns numbered at least 450. However, during the winter of 1999/2000, a pneumonia Iepidemic killed about 70% of these animals. The Recovery Plan recommended expand- ing the bighorn range in the Okanagan by establishing healthy new sub-popula- tions in suitable but unoccupied habitat. California bighorn sheep were captured we counted 13 lambs so the population Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park was near Kamloops BC and released on the is doing very well. The bighorns seem to one potential area that was made suitable southern boundary of the park. have made themselves quite at home in the for bighorns by the fire of 2003. In January park and have even been in contact with 2007, 34 bighorns were captured by drop Monitoring with helicopters tell us that neighbouring populations at Penticton net near Keremeos, BC and released near there are at least 40 bighorns from the 2007 creek. Based on radio collar information, Wildhorse Canyon in Okanagan Mountain transplant (likely more) and the group of we know that males (rams) move between Provincial Park. An additional transplant 15 released in January 2009 has grown the park and Penticton Creek. occurred on January 17, 2009, when 15 to 18. The most recent monitoring flight

Okanagan Wapiti by Jim Ginns – Nature Wise – Penticton Western News – February 10, 2010

apiti, often called elk, are mem- For most of the year the stags remain apart The herd of wapiti in the south Okanagan bers of the deer family, as are from the hinds and calves but in the autumn Valley summer in the mountains east of moose and caribou. Their all heck break loose and it is called the rut. Penticton and Naramata. Most people Wcloset relatives are European red deer. They The stags begin bugling and try to assemble a aren’t aware of their existence. They winter were named elk several centuries ago by harem of hinds for their use. Stags frantically from Okanagan Mountain Park south to Europeans arriving in North America. run back and forth because some disgruntled Penticton landfill area. The wapiti are infre- hinds try to run off and other stags covet the quently seen because they spend their days This large deer reminded them of the hinds. Stags joust and injuries occur. in the hills where they prefer forests with European elk. Applying common names open areas. At night they troop down to gets confusing because the animal that Wapiti are big animals compared to the lake level, presumably for water, when the Europeans call elk is the same species that “dainty” mule deer. At 750 pounds (340 creeks and ponds are frozen. This creates a North Americans call moose. Wapiti is the kg.), stags are over twice the size of a mule traffic hazard on Naramata Road between Shawnee name for them and roughly trans- deer buck. They have long legs. One win- dusk and dawn. Impacts with vehicles are lates to “White rump”. Since wapiti are a ter’s evening I turned the car into a lane and probably second to hunting when it comes type of deer, one would presume the males surprised 20 or so stags. Though less than to mortality. Several winters ago the herd would be called bucks; not so, they are stags a car’s length away, we were not exactly numbered about 200 but most sightings or bulls. The female wapiti is a hind, not a eye-to-eye because sitting in my little car are of smaller groups. doe, and the young are calves, not fawns. I was level with their bellies.

8 • Spring 2010 www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca OSPS Newsletter Okanagan Mountain Park Increase - A Look Back OSPS Newsletter – Winter 2000

Land Swap and Cash is the total value of the purchase, but it 25-acre property on Westlake Road, south involved a combination of three parcels of the West Estates Firehall ne of the privately owned water- of Crown land on the West side and some front properties surrounded by cash. The third parcel is 4.4 acres on Salloum Okanagan Mountain Provincial Road in Westbank, adjacent to Powers OPark has been bought as parkland. $70,000 back to the Crown. Creek, in a spot that’s been mined for gravel for the past 20 years. The property is rocky and rises quickly from 108 acres known at Goat’s Peak, located the beach, but shore-spawning kokanee between Gorman Brothers Lumber mill However, it’s in the Agricultural Land return each year to that stretch of shore. and the Okanagan Connector interchange, Reserve, so it’ll also have to be held until between Highway 97 and Okanagan an exemption from the ALR is achieved. The complicated deal: the $1.5 million Lake.

Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park he bold profile of Okanagan members. Through the Friends of Okanagan A wide variety of ecosystems and microcli- Mountain Provincial Park is Mountain Provincial Park, this Society mates are the result of the park’s size and formed by an elbow of land jutting continues to actively support acquisition differing elevations. Semi-desert wilder- Tout from the eastern shore of Okanagan of remaining parcels of land still privately ness at lake level offsets lush, green for- Lake, between Kelowna and Penticton. owned within the park boundaries. est in uplands areas. Wild Horse Canyon The park includes 10,462 hectares of and Goode’s Creek Canyon which cut carefully preserved backcountry wilder- The cultural history of the park is fascinat- deeply north and south through Okanagan ness and spectacular marine foreshore. ing. Indian pictographs can be found on Mountain, are home to mule deer, elk and It exemplifies the true Okanagan Basin canyon walls and outcrops, and old home- black bears; even grizzly bears and cougars landscape, and is the only large section of steads scattered over the rugged landscape can be spotted from time to time. Ospreys undeveloped shoreline left on Okanagan remind us of early missionaries, fur traders, build their massive nests in the taller trees Lake. Its designation as a Class A park in cattlemen and miners who attempted to of Norman, Baker and Divide Lakes. 1973 is due in no small way to the efforts settle here in the 1800s. Cattle still graze of Okanagan-Similkameen Parks Society on the eastern boundary of the park.

Highway 97 north of Summerland are a mountain goats of Okanagan Mountain The Highway bit of a mystery. A small number appeared Park would have to swim across Okanagan on the bluff in the early 1980s. They were Lake, which seems equally unlikely. So, Goats of immediate celebrities and have generated we suspect that these goats cam from the Summerland high public interest ever since. The popu- Similkameen even though there is 40km lation is now 17 and they are commonly of generally unsuitable habitat between by Brian Harris seen from the highway in all seasons but Summerland and the mountain goats near – Regional Wildlife Biologist, summer. Where they came from, through, Olalla. Ministry of Environment, is not known. Okanagan Region After living near the highway for several There is a population of mountain goats in generations, these animals are so used to he mountain goats (those wild Penticton Creek, but they would have had traffic that they appear to have been unfazed ungulates white shaggy white to walk through downtown Penticton to get by the construction activity as Highway Tcoats) that live on Goat Bluff along to Goat Bluff, which seems unlikely. The 97 is widened. OSPS Newsletter www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca Spring 2010 • 9 MEMBERSHIP FORM Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society • Box 787, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

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Donation: ______(Income Tax Deductible) I wish to receive the OSPS newsletter by email ! New Rules Enhance BC’s Back Country Penticton Western News – November 2009

ritish Columbia’s majestic wilder- registration with a licence plate for their In fact, Sylvain Gagnon, president of the ness has long proven to be an irre- machines. These rules will allow conser- Penticton ATV Club, called the regulations sistible lure for outdoor enthusiasts vation officers and law enforcement and “long overdue.” He said patrolling the vast Bthe world over and a source of pride for disturbing wildlife. The rules will also offer amount of trails in the Okanagan provides this province’s residents. And last week some protection to the riders themselves, a huge challenge for the small number of the provincial government announced as they will allow police to better track conservation officers responsible for the new measures that will help ensure that stolen vehicles. The regulations also make region. If anything, Gagnon would have wilderness is protected for generations helmets and lights at night mandatory, and liked to see even tougher guidelines, sug- to come. require adult supervision for riders under gesting that riders should have to be 16 16 years of age. years of age before they can operate an Victoria has unveiled new registration ATV on their own. and licensing guidelines for off-road Perhaps the most telling argument in sup- vehicles, offering protection to both back- port of the new regulations is the reaction While the province should consider country enthusiasts and the province’s they have received from off-road vehicle strengthening these regulations even fur- environment. enthusiasts themselves. While a host of new ther, the announcement last week is a good regulations are usually met with resistance, first step in keeping BC’s back country a The new rules, expected to be in place by this latest provincial initiative has been place for everyone to enjoy. November 2011, mean off-road vehicle rid- embraced by the very people who will have ers using Crown land will require one-time to follow the new rules.

Kelowna: Minister says Rules for Off-Road Vehicles Generally Welcomed by J.P. Squire – the Okanagan Sunday – November 2009

ourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Sunday. “There were a few queries from The changes for licensing and registra- Kevin Krueger was surprised by people. Sometimes, people misunderstand tion won’t require legislation, Krueger the reaction to his proposal to what we’re doing.” has learned. Tlicense and register off-road vehicles such as dirt-bikes, ATVs and snowmobiles. Virtually everyone wants the ability to iden- “We can do it within existing legislation. tify those wrecking the environment, and It’s underway already, and we’ll be doing all “It was generally very, very positive,” he chasing wildlife and livestock, he said. of the steps that we announced as quickly said in an interview with the Okanagan as we can.

10 • Spring 2010 www.OkanaganSimilkameenParksSociety.ca OSPS Newsletter