South Okanagan Similkameen National Park
Message from Hon. D. Ross Fitzpatrick:
When I was a very young boy, I remember seeing my first rattlesnake slither between the apple trees and into an open field in Oliver. My mouth went dry as I watched the snake pass by quickly - but not quickly enough and I scanned the grasses eagerly to make sure it had disappeared.
It wasn't as if I had never encountered nature before. I grew up hearing my father talk about the coddling moths and other insects that spoiled the apples. But on this day, my imagination soared after encountering that scary rattlesnake.
Today, I think of the unlimited imaginations of youngsters and I believe there is nothing that fans those imaginations more than witnessing the natural world around us.
It is for those young people that I fight so strenuously for the creation of a national park in the South Okanagan-Similkameen. This place, protected forever, can safeguard those moments of discovery for the young by protecting our rapidly vanishing wild lands and natural resources.
When I was growing up, we had plenty of sage brush, antelope brush and rolling grasslands in the South Okanagan-Similkameen. The beauty of this place was a secret. But over the decades - particularly the last decade - the human population and unchecked development has fragmented our landscape. The South Okanagan-Similkameen is now considered one of the three most endangered ecosystems in Canada. It is also one of the regions in BC with the most rapid urbanization and land conversion. There are countless species at risk, including those fascinating rattlesnakes. Consider the other creatures we may lose: from beautiful singing birds to mighty bighorn sheep and colourful butterflies.
If we don't save some of our lands now, the teeming biodiversity that makes our worlds so rich will be lost forever. This proposed national park, that encompasses the tips of our mountains to our grassland valleys and the remarkable wetlands of Vaseaux Lake, will save these precious lands and spark the imaginations of children for generations to come.
But it is not about just protecting our lands and species at risk - it's also about sustainable, green economic development and there are countless green sustainable economic benefits gained from the establishment of a national park. Across Canada, national parks act as remarkable magnets for domestic and international tourists. They provide reliable income throughout communities with stable job opportunities and multiple spin-off businesses. This destination park will help cement the South Okanagan-Similkameen as a world class attraction, along with its wineries, orchards and fine dining. It's that diversity in the economy that helps assure future sustainable prosperity and continued, enviable lifestyles in the region - lifestyles so beautifully entwined with the love of the land and the creativity of our people.
I think that our imagination is inextricably linked to the knowledge stemming from our childhood experiences of the natural world and in my case, my early experience in the beautiful, dry southern Okanagan-Similkameen put me on a course of sensitivity and understanding of the importance of our precious environment in the Okanagan that has only grown over the years as I witnessed all its wonder.
Benefits of a national park in the South Okanagan-Similkameen
- Longterm environmental protection for nearby communities; improved quality of life for human residents.
- National protection for one of Canada's three most endangered ecosystems.
- Habitat for numerous species at risk; funding for research and restoration. Over a third of B.C.'s known species at risk inhabit the Okanagan region.
- Shrub-grasslands and ponderosa grasslands are found in no other Canadian national park.
- Increased tourism and local business opportunities.
- Nature education for communities; building understanding of fragile ecosystems.
- Infrastructure such as trails, signage and interpretation centres.
- Potential for permanent continuation of U.S. wild lands south of the border, creating a combined, transboundary protected area of consequence.
Challenges:
- Impacts to some trapping, hunting and ranching opportunities.
- Building consensus among the many interest groups.