2007
KNPS AGM
Report from the Executive
This
year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the
Kimberley Nature Park Society. It
has been quite a year.
When
we look back at the last 12 months two big things stand out above all the rest.
The first is the amazing, convoluted struggle we went through to try to
find a way to address interface fire, pine beetle and ecological restoration in
the Park without destroying all its recreational and other social values. The
second big thing is the amazing response we received from the community in
support of the Park. In 2007 we have seen an incredible surge in our membership
and donations and many passionate and articulate letters of support.
We
began 2007 with an intent to see some improvements in the logging plan that
Tembec had worked with us to develop over the previous 2 years.
The impacts of logging the Nordic Trails had become apparent in the fall
of 2006 and the prescription for the Park was worse than that. We
were determined to see some changes that would result in a more selective
approach to harvesting. Unfortunately,
due to falling lumber prices and the rising Canadian dollar Tembec was also
intent on some changes, ones that would result in more trees cut and more ground
disturbed.
It took months of meetings with
Tembec, City Council and the Ministry of Forests, the hiring of our own
ecologist and three multi-stakeholder day-long fire workshops to arrive at a
conclusion. There is a more gentle way to thin parts of the Park and
reduce fire risk while maintaining other values, but only if economics is not
the driving force behind the process. To their credit, Tembec has not resisted
that conclusion, even though they have invested considerable resources in the
original plan. Support from the City
of
Whether funding will be available to do all the work that makes
ecological sense in the Park is an open question.
The Ministry of Environment is currently developing a prescription for
treatments in the 70 hectare Williamson Sapsucker Wildlife Management Area.
Bob Gray, the City’s fire consultant has laid out a 15 hectare
treatment on the hillside above
Addressing the logging issue took up quite a bit of our time and energy
this year but it wasn’t the only big thing that happened.
At our last Annual General Meeting the Kimberley Nature Park Society had
328 members. Today, a year
later, it has 532, an increase of 204 people.
It
may well be that some of the growth in our membership was due to the logging
controversy. We and City Council
certainly received many articulate and heartfelt letters of support for the Park
because of the publicity around that issue.
However I think a larger reason for our growth was the determined effort
of our 20th Anniversary Events Committee which organized a wonderful
slide show at McKim Theatre, a series of walks and barbeque at the Riverside
Campground and a 20th anniversary dance at Centennial Hall.
I
think we should all give a round of applause to Susan Bond, Jim Webster, Ingrid
Musser-Okholm and Chris Ferguson for making this a banner year for membership
growth.
Of course dealing with the logging issue and celebrating our 20th
anniversary didn’t take up all our time.
Our
Trails committee and volunteers were also very active this year, especially last
winter when the heavy snowfall brought down many dozens of trees across roads
and trails throughout the Park.
This spring and fall we organized 4 work parties to help prepare
Sunflower Hill for a prescribed burn, pulling debris away from the big trees and
slashing and scattering ladder fuels.
In
the spring and early summer we held two weed pulling sessions in the south end
of the Park in an effort to control and eliminate the knapweed, houndstongue and
other invasive weeds that threatened the grasslands.
Through
the spring, summer and fall we hosted 10 public guided events in the Park not
counting Pam’s orchid count which was about 10 events on its own. (1463
orchids counted, just in case you missed it)
Our
Natural History Committee was active again this year, helping with some of the
guided walks and developing a series of seasonal natural history posters to go
on our kiosks.
Speaking of kiosks, thanks to the
generosity of Teck Cominco and the efforts of a number of volunteers,
Some months ago we convened a
small committee to work on the design and construction of a few new benches in
the Park. As a result the
We
continue to maintain and update our webpage and to publish 3 newsletters for our
members each year. This year we
added a 4th special edition to cover 20th
anniversary events and the logging issue. We
must thank Susan Bond for all the work she has done over the last several years
to create those newsletters for our members as she is now stepping down from the
position. Susan thank you. And
thanks to Chris Ferguson for volunteering to take over the task.
We should also send out a thank
you to the
We
should also thank the many individuals who this year donated over $4000 to
support the Park and to help us cover some of the extra costs of addressing the
interface fire and logging issue.
Earlier
this year we ran out of trail guides and decided to reprint 600 copies of the
second edition. Our trail guide
sales for the year, at 294, are down dramatically from a few years ago, likely
because of the competition from the City’s free trail map.
One of the challenges for the next year will be to reappraise our trail
guide and see if we can come up with a new product that will meet the needs of
hikers, bikers, skiers and other Park users in a way that makes them want to buy
it.
Back in 2003 the City received a
License from the Province to use the
We
shouldn’t wait any longer. In 2008, we need to review the management plan,
update sections where required and get on with the work that needs to be done.
Later this evening there will be an opportunity for each of you to sign
up for committees and be involved in this process. Whether
it’s clearing trails, building benches, designing a new map for the Park or
planning handicap access, everything we do relies on volunteers.
With your help 2008 should be
another great year for the
Thank
you.
Kent Goodwin
For the KNPS Executive
November 28, 2007