Bold as brass

Bold as brassOriginally uploaded by Calypso Orchid

So, the BC government is going to cut back on an already gutted BC Provincial Parks budget. Well, that tears it -- I was seriously thinking about voting Liberal (because of their carbon tax initiative), but now I am striking them off my list of possibilities! Parks are such an integral component to life here in BC. I don't think we should stand by and see them further reduced.

If every MLA would cut his or her travel budget by less than 1%, I bet we would have more then enough money to keep rangers in the field, campgrounds open, and (be still my beating heart) even put interpretation back into the system! Better still, stop those ridiculous "Best Place on Earth" adds and put the money into the "Best Places in BC"! Those adds must cost a pretty penny.

My post today illustrates very well how desperately important BC Parks are to individuals, the province, and the country. The little fellow pictured here is a Yellow-bellied marmot. Not particularly endangered (he is a pretty adaptive guy) -- but the landscape he is inhabiting is. He is in Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park. This jewel of a park hugs the northern extent of Kalamalka Lake. It is one of the last examples of okanagan grasslands -- an ecosystem that is rapidly disappearing.

This picture is from April 20, 2009, but Mike and I have hiked through this park many times. We always hope to see a rattlesnake. No luck yet. We did get to see a Gopher snake once though. It was very impressive. At first we thought it was a rattler, but the lack of a rattle made us suspicious we were seeing something else.

This park has a great diversity of plant life. In all 432 varieties of vascular plants have been identified here. At 4209 hectares it is rare to find so many species in such a small area.

In 2006 a State of the Park analysis was conducted ( State of the Park Report ). One of the report's findings noted the importance of building public awareness around ecosystem issues. This is going to be very difficult to do if there is no one there to help interpret and explain the importance of this place. Without help all that will be seen and understood by most visitors are some cute rodents, space for a few picnic tables, and lots of land to develop into yet more subdivisions.

Well, perhaps that is a little bleak, but these parks belong to us. I think they deserve better treatment than our BC provincial government is currently doling out. Bit by bit our parks are being dismantled. And, since it is death by a thousand cuts, we don't notice it happening. It is the little things -- less maintenance on trails, closing a few access points, cutting research budgets, no replacement of interpretive signs, canceling one or two programs a year, later seasonal opening, earlier seasonal closing. And so it goes until one day we wake up and realize that "Super Natural BC" has been gutted.

No matter which group ends up running the show here in BC, we the people, especially we the people that put parks and the environment first, will have to be vigilant. Government types have to wake up and smell the coffee -- it's not a choice between the economy OR the environment. A healthy economy is built on a healthy environment, and parks are a key component in building and keeping our environment strong.

Talk to your friends and family about this issue, ask potential MLAs about their opinions on Provincial Parks and the environment. Vote for the ones giving an answer that supports parks and the environment. When these folks get in power, hold them to account. In general, make a nuisance of yourself -- your kids will thank you.



If you get a chance, visit Kalamalka Park. A few more cuts to our BC Parks and it could be "Last Chance to See".
Info on Kalamalka Provincial Park
More photos from Kalamalka .