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 of visitors in relation to cultural values and opportunities, the environment, wildlife and the experience of visitors. The process is undertaken in collaboration with local governments and engagement with stakeholders and the public.

Visitor use management supports appropriate public access to valued places and recreation opportunities, while ensuring the long-term viability of the resources and values that are unique to an area. In the Sea to Sky region, the Province is undertaking the work in partnership with First Nations, so that the management direction considers important cultural and spiritual values on the landscape. 

The Fraser Basin Council has supported this work through facilitation, process design and engagement to support development of Visitor Use Management Frameworks for Meager Creek and Keyhole Hot Springs and for Hawint/Tenquille Lake.

A Visitor Use Management Strategy is also currently under development for the Shannon Basin, following a similar approach.

To learn more on this and related work, see the Province of BC webpage Sea to Sky Visitor Use Management.

Nqw̓elqw’elústen (Meager Creek) and Múmleqs (Keyhole) Hot Springs

The Province of BC and Lil’wat Nation worked together in 2020 to address public visitation at Meager Creek and Keyhole Hot Springs in the Upper Lillooet River Valley near Pemberton. The work was important for a number of reasons:

• The hot springs are beautiful, unique and popular destinations
• Meager Creek and Keyhole Hot Springs have high wildlife values, ecological values, cultural and spiritual values, as well as recreational values
• There have been impacts to these values from visitation in the past (e.g., human-wildlife conflicts, lack of proper food storage and garbage)
• The Mount Meager Volcanic Complex is one of the most geologically active areas in North America, and risks to public safety exist from natural hazards (i.e., landslides)
• New and upgraded industry roads in the Upper Lillooet and the Meager Creek drainage area (i.e., permit roads supporting industrial activity such as logging) have improved vehicular access to the hot springs, though there are public motorized access restrictions in place to protect grizzly bears and public safety
• The Meager Creek Hot Springs recreation site required closure after the 2010 Capricorn landslide destroyed access to the area, and the Keyhole Hot Springs and Keyhole-Lil’watátkwa7 trail are closed from April 1 – November 15 annually because of increased wildlife conflicts caused by recreational users.

The Fraser Basin Council has supported the project partners by serving as a facilitator and conducting outreach and engagement with stakeholders and the public, which included survey input. Phase 1 of the Visitor Use Management Strategy for the hot springs was completed in 2022.

To learn more, see the Province of BC site on Sea to Sky Visitor Use Management.

Note: At present, the hot springs are  closed year-round. In light of changing road access and recent increases in public visitation during site closures, the Province and Líl̓wat Nation are working to reassess management of both hot springs.

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 draws a high number of visitors.

Phase 1 of the Strategy was completed in 2022. The strategy aims to:

• protect Líl̓wat Nation and N’Quatqua cultural resources, values and opportunities
• protect wildlife habitat, sensitive species and other important ecological values
• provide recreational experiences and opportunities that align with Líl̓wat Nation and N’Quatqua cultural values and interests and that do not negatively impact these
• provide guidance for recreation authorizations and activities in the project area

The Fraser Basin Council has served as a facilitator for the partners and has also supported outreach and engagement with local governments, stakeholders and the public.

To learn more, see Phase 1 of the Visitor Use Management Strategy.

Shannon Basin (Ntsew̓ásus)

The Shannon Basin is a popular year-round recreation destination for locals and tourists alike. Given growth in visits and recreation, a management strategy became important to allow for sustainable recreation use and to protect the watershed's environmental and cultural values.

The area 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 that includes the Stawamus Chief and Shannon Falls Provincial Parks. 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. Work included 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.