One down, and a whole bunch more to go.

The Columbia Valley Recreation Planning Initiative (CVRPI, formerly CVRAMP) is asking for submissions of interest for new advisory committee (AC) members as they gear up to create a recreation plan recommendation for the Forster Creek recreation area.

The AC will be created of people with an interest, recreational or otherwise, in the next area under consideration, the Forster Creek Landscape Unit (see map below). AC members will provide detailed local knowledge of current uses and related impacts to the CVRPI planning committee which will assist them in producing a document of recommendations for consideration by government.

The CVRPI was formed as a result of a shared vision among diverse local recreational user groups, stewardship groups, local and provincial government, and local First Nations to recommend resolutions for recreation management issues and support responsible and sustainable recreation on public land in the Columbia Valley.

“CVRPI presents an important opportunity for the community to highlight their thoughts on how the local area recreational use can be balanced to best account for all views of community members,” said Adrian Pery, co-chair of the group.

“This process requires members from all backgrounds to help us understand the best way to enable sustainable recreation and provide recommendations to the Government from a community perspective. The recommendations arising help government in their formal decision-making processes when approving new trails and facilities.”

Former Village of Radium Hot Springs Mayor Clara Reinhardt co-chairs the CVRPI and is glad it has finally started to take tangible form.

“The process has been off and on since 2008, but really took life in 2017 when the Greenways trail alliance pulled the motorized recreationalists into the group, and Rec Sites and Trails BC provided some seed money to begin the process of inventorying the known uses and trails,” she said. “The purpose of the AC is to provide insights into the use and characteristics of specific landscape units in the Columbia Valley which can help inform the recommendations for the future.”

The group has submitted a draft plan for the Steamboat Mountain Recreation Unit to the government (through Rec Sites and Trails BC) and local First Nations for comments before finalizing the document.

The Steamboat unit took the better part of two years, in part because of the size of the area but also because there was a learning curve involved. Working out the kinks and finding the best strategy for working with such diverse groups took some time, noted Reinhardt, and with the process more streamlined it should be more efficient.

“It is also good to note that these will be all be living documents, so if through professional input we find later on that there is an ecological or archeological concern it can be revisited,” said Reinhardt.

If you are interested in being a part of the advisory committee for the Forster area or would like to know more about the process, you can email columbiavalleyrecreation.ca by April 3.

Lead image: Adrian Pery and Clara Reinhardt, co-chairs of the Columbia Valley Recreation Planning Initiative. Photo submitted

Submitted

Article Share