Sea to Sky parks grow by 135 hectaresRay [email protected]
Four provincial parks in the Squamish area will see their boundaries expanded following an announcement by the provincial government on Wednesday (April 18).
Brackendale Eagles Park, Murrin Park, Tantalus Park, and Brandywine Falls Park will be expanded by a total of 135 hectares under new provincial legislation.
"The Sea-to-Sky Corridor is one of the most breath-taking regions of B.C., with an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities for tourists and local residents alike," said West Vancouver-Garibaldi MLA Joan McIntyre, in making the announcement. "Our government has taken this important step of increasing the boundaries of four parks so more of the natural beauty of this region is protected for future generations to enjoy."
The Brackendale Eagles Park will be growing by 43.3 hectares. This expansion was made possible through a private land acquisition. This park, which lies along the banks of the Squamish River, is one of the primary eagle viewing areas in town. The new expansion brings the park's size to a total of 765 hectares.
Murrin Park, located along Highway 99 to the south of Squamish, will be expanded by 10 hectares to a total of 32 hectares. This addition is being made to compensate for park deletions due to highway construction improvements. Due to the shift in boundaries the park will now include a higher number of endangered or protected plant species, increasing the park's conservation capabilities.
Heading further north along the Sea to Sky Highway, Tantalus Park will have a total of 71 hectares added to it. This expansion was also made possible through a private land acquisition. Tantalus is the most remote, and the largest, of the four parks. Tantalus will now measure a total 0f 11,342 hectares. Much of this area covers glacier and alpine terrain. The addition to the park is located in the Upper Squamish Valley, on the west bank of the Squamish River. This particular section of park is primarily endangered wetland habitat.
The final Sea to Sky park being expanded is Brandywine Falls Park, which is having 11 hectares of land added to it. Much of the new area is covered by endangered plant species that will now have further provincial protection. Located right off the highway the park is a popular spot for hiking, picnicking, mountain biking. However, while 11 hectares are being added to, one hectare is being taken away due to highway construction and expansion. The total adjusted area of the park will be 150 hectares.
The local parks are among 16 in the province that will be expanded as part of Bill 24, an amendment to the Parks and Protected Areas Statutes Act. The legislation will also create three new parks and an additional 41 nature conservancies.
The changes to the park system brings the total area of protected land in B.C. to more than 13 million hectares, which is13.8 per cent of the available land in the province. B.C. has the most protected land of any province.
