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Report
from the Executive
The Kimberley Nature Park Society
currently has 167 family and individual memberships representing a total of 350
people. That is the highest number we have ever reported at an AGM.
One of the many significant
accomplishments of the Society this year was the creation and publication of the
second edition of our Trail Guide. It was ready for distribution in June and was
met with much enthusiasm by those who use the Park. This year we sold 657 trail
guides up from 583 the year before. We also saw an increase in interest by local
merchants who volunteer to sell the maps for us and we now have 19 outlets in
and around Kimberley. It would seem
that the increase in cover price for the guide from $2 to $3 has not had any
negative effect on the maps popularity.
Members of our Trails Committee
have been active this year organizing work parties and making individual efforts
to help keep the trails open and safe. A primary focus of our work was ensuring
the main access roads were wide enough for fire trucks and other emergency
vehicles. We were assisted in this work by students from the Selkirk High School
Outdoor Education class and we greatly appreciate their ongoing involvement in
the Park. Some long needed improvements were also made to the Creek Trail and 16
new trail signs were installed in the Romantic Ridge/Upper Army Road area. Our
entrance kiosks also received an upgrade this year, thanks to grant from the
Molson’s Local Hero program. The new version of the trail map has been
installed on all five of our kiosks.
Funding was also secured from Mountain Equipment Coop and the Tembec
Environmental Fund to purchase new tools for the Committee as well as to support
the work of the Planning Committee.
Our
Trails Committee was also active on the administrative front this year and met a
number of times to discuss the Nature Park’s relationship with the Kimberley
Recreational Trails Master Plan. We have developed a set of trail maintenance
standards, discussed wording of new entrance signs and are continuing to work on
an adopt-a-trail program that would meld with one being developed by the City. We have also developed a Liability Waiver form to be signed
by participants in trail work parties as well as guided hikes and walks in the
Park.
Our Events Committee did a great
job this year with both Nature Park Week and our 6 monthly walks in the Park.
Most of the 17 Nature Park Week events were well attended and we really
appreciated the help of local experts who shared their enthusiasm and knowledge.
We also appreciated the support of the Kimberley Quilters Guild and Sew Creative
Chalet who created the beautiful quilt that we raffled as a Nature Park Week
fundraiser. Our day-long outing with the Grade 6 classes from McKim school was a
learning experience for everyone involved and greatly enjoyed by the staff and
students.
The
Nature Park was also the venue for some other events this year including the
Volksmarch Club’s walks, outings by the Freewheelers bike club and at least
one wedding. KNPS members also took part in the Earth Day festivities at
Marysville School in April, at the open house at the Happy Hans Campground and
at the City of Kimberley’s recognition dinner for outgoing Mayor Jim Ogilvie.
The KNPS presented the former mayor with a certificate of appreciation
and recognized the support of retiring councillors Sandra Lowen and Bert Banks
as well as City Staff.
Hosting
and attending events are not the only ways that we promote awarness of and
support for the Park in the community. This year we have again consistently
produced a monthly column for the Daily Bulletin called Nature Park News, we
have continued to maintain and update our webpage and we have widely distributed
our spring newsletter with its list of events and guided walks.
Our relationship with the Kimberley
City Council and their staff remains strong, due to the efforts of our Liaison
Committee. Members of that
committee met with City representatives a number of times in 2003 to discuss a
variety of issues including the possible closure of the Park when fire
conditions were extreme. Early in the year we made a presentation to Council
asking them to request that the Park be excluded from the Province’s new land
use designation of Working Forest. Council subsequently wrote to the Province
and made that request. Several Liaison committee members also participated in
the Community Vision process that City Council sponsored early in the year.
Members
of the Liaison Committee have also been working actively with Provincial
Government ministries and we were delighted this spring when our proposal to
have Horsebarn Valley designated an Interpretive Forest, was accepted by the
Province. We were less delighted when Tembec began logging in the area
and members of the committee are currently monitoring the logging’s progress
and trying to make sure that as much of the trail network as possible can be
maintained or restored.
The
Liaison Committee was also involved last spring in discussions with Teck Cominco
regarding the logging and road building in Forest Crowne and the development of
our new trail guide. Several issues were resolved and ongoing communication will
hopefully result in a strong and cordial relationship.
Teck Cominco has responded quickly to recent concerns about motorized
vehicle access from Forest Crowne into the Park and is donating materials for
two new Nature Park kiosks currently being built by the College of the Rockies
Carpentry program.
Our Natural History Committee was quite active at the beginning of this year. A series of well attended and informative botany study nights were held in the winter and early spring and a number of field trips into the Park were made to inventory species and establish long-term study plots. Funding was secured from the Kimberley and District Community Foundation to purchase a Global Positioning System receiver that will help locate and map features in the Park. Volunteers from the Natural history committee helped out with a number of events during Nature Park week including the Grade 6 field trips. This year the Committee acquired a transcribing tape recorder and has begun to collect the stories and memories of seniors that worked and recreated in the Park in days gone by with the intent of creating a written account of the oral history of the Park.
Another significant accomplishment
for the KNPS this year was the finalization of the Nature Park Management Plan.
After a year and a half of concentrated effort by our Planning
Committee which included widespread consultation and much drafting and
re-drafting of the text we submitted the Plan to City Council and it was
accepted and forwarded to the Province. We
now have a plan in place that will guide our activities over the next several
years and will help the City draft a new zoning definition for the Park that
will become part of the Official Community Plan.
The
Planning Committee is continuing to work on a number of issues which require
more detailed examination. These
include noxious weeds, pine beetle and other tree pests and the buildup of fuels
and risk of forest fires.
Members
of the planning committee have organized field trips into the Park with
Ministry of Forests pine beetle expert Liz Goyette and with forest fire
ecologist Bob Gray. Early in
November we sponsored, with the East Kootenay Environmental Society, a community
presentation by Bob Gray on forest fire risk reduction.
The City of Kimberley is now contacting Provincial agencies to begin
discussions about how the Park and other forested areas around Kimberley can be
managed to reduce risks while maintaining important values. At our last KNPS
meeting we decided to have a special membership meeting next week, on Thursday
Dec. 4, to discuss the issue of fire risk and debate how the Nature Park Society
should be involved.
In a few minutes we are going to
elect a new slate of directors to lead the Society through the next year. One of
the first tasks of that new board will be to sit down with copies of the Nature
Park Management Plan and figure out just how we are going to get everything that
we said we would do, done.
Of
course the answer, to a large extent, will be the same as it has been for the
last few decades. We will get things done by relying on the energy, enthusiasm,
creativity and commitment of dozens of volunteer members and the good will and
support of our community. I thank you all for being a part of the Society in
2003 and look forward to the challenges, opportunities and fun that we will
encounter in 2004.