Visitor Use Management in the Sea to Sky Region Since the expansion of the Sea to Sky Highway in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics, recreational use in the region between West Vancouver and Whistler/Pemberton Valley has increased dramatically. The Province of BC,Squamish Nation, Líl̓wat Nation and N'Quatqua have worked together to guide future visitor use management and monitoring. The work addresses the impacts from visitor use on cultural values and opportunities, the environment, wildlife and the experience of visitors. The process also includes collaboration with local governments and engagement with stakeholders and the public. The Fraser Basin Council has been honoured to support the process through facilitation, process design and engagement. Using an ethical space approach to meeting design, FBC facilitated the development of Visitor Use Management Frameworks (VUMFs) for Meager and Keyhole Hot Springs and for Hawint/Tenquille Lake. A Visitor Use Management Strategy is currently under development for the Shannon Basin, applying the same approach that helps to provide a reasonable level of public access while prioritizing long-term ecosystem health and protection of Indigenous culture and traditional use values. To learn more on this and related work, see the Province of BC site on Sea to Sky Visitor Use Management. Nqw’elqw’elústen (Meager Creek) and Múmleqs (Keyhole) Hot SpringsThe Province of BC and Lil’wat Nation worked together in 2020 to address public visitation at Meager Creek Hot Springs and Keyhole Hot Springs, both natural hot springs in the Upper Lillooet River Valley near Pemberton. These areas are important for a number of reasons:
The Fraser Basin Council supported the project partners by serving as an impartial facilitator, conducting outreach and engagement with stakeholders and the public, which included survey input. Phase 1 of the Visitor Use Management Strategy for these hot springs was completed in 2022. To learn more, see the Province of BC background on Sea to Sky Visitor Use Management. Háwint (Tenquille Lake)The Tenquille Lake Visitor Use Management project is a partnership between the Province of BC, Líl̓wat Nation and N’Quatqua to guide the long-term management of the Tenquille Lake area, which is experiencing a high number of visitors. Phase 1 of the Strategy was completed in 2022. It aims to:
The Fraser Basin Council has assisted the project partners by serving as a facilitator and has also supported outreach and engagement with local governments, stakeholders and the public. To learn more, see Phase 1 of the Visitor Use Strategy. Shannon BasinThe Shannon Basin is a popular year-round recreation destination for locals and tourists alike. Given growth in use, it became important to develop a management strategy to allow for sustainable recreation use and also protect the area’s important environmental and cultural values. The area has been home to First Nations peoples for thousands of years and is within the traditional territories of the Squamish Nation (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw) and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. This area, and the resources within it, continue to be culturally, spiritually and economically important to First Nations communities today. In 2019 work began on a Visitor Use Management Strategy for the greater Shannon Basin – an area encompassing the Stawamus Chief & Shannon Falls Provincial Parks and the Shannon Creek Watershed. This project is a partnership between the Province of BC and Squamish Nation. The Fraser Basin Council assisted the project partners by serving as an impartial facilitator and by conducting outreach and engagement with stakeholders. FBC has supported the work, in including a 2019 public survey, to help inform a recreation management strategy for the Shannon Basin. See the What We Heard report on the summary of survey results. To learn more on this and related work, see the Province of BC site on Sea to Sky Visitor Use Management. |