Over The Edge Page 6

ril 6, 1999

Students examine Northwood’s proposed road through Carp Lake Provincial Park
Submitted by Mike Gray, Sara Robinchaud and Josh Sears

Recently, controversy
over a proposed logging
road through Carp Lake
Provincial Park was
brought to our attention
through the local press.
Northwood Inc has pro-
posed to build a road
through the north east
corner of Carp Lake
Provincial Park in order
to gain access to timber.
This has raised con-
cerns among various
interested parties such
as BC Parks, park users,
public interest policy
watch group and others
having a stake in land
management. Given that
Our group project is com-
posed of two resource
recreation students and
one environmental plan-
ning student, this issue
naturally drew our atten-
tion. The following out-
lines our results:

Our initial reaction

We disagreed with the
proposal since we
strongly feel that park-
land should be used for
recreational use only, not
resource extraction.
Additionally, we lacked
sufficient Knowledge on
the subject to make an
effective analysis of this
complicated issue.

In order to gain a broad-
er understanding of the
issue, we decided to
solicit the opinions of
some of the stakehold-

_ ers. We chose three

sample stakeholders
that we felt represented
key interests in the
issue, then we conduct-
ed personal interviews
with them. They were
Northwood Inc., the
Nechako Environmental
Coalition and BC Parks.
We soon realized the
issue was more complex
that originally anticipat-
ed. We have identified
four possible options:

1) No extraction of tim-
ber and no road. This

option eliminates the ©

potential for stream and
fish degradation, as well
as traffic conflicts
between industry and
the public. In addition,
there would be no reduc-
tion in the total park
area.

2) Road east of the park.
There would no intrusion
on the park boundaries;
however, this option
requires the construction
of a new bridge and the
addition of five kilome-
tres of road. This may
effect fish populations of
trout and grayling, given

“In our opinion,

leaving the park
untouched
remains the best
option.”

that the bridge exists
downstream already (in
the park).

3) Road through the
park. This option would
use an existing bridge,
minimizing additional
fish and stream damage,
and requires one kilome-
tre of road construction
through the north east
corner of the park. The
road would only damage
500 metres of
untouched timber since
an old skid trail, predat-
ing the park, exists and
has already disturbed
the area. Additionally,
there are not important
wildlife habitat noted
here that most extraction
would take place in the
winter, reducing traffic
conflicts

4) Assess rout from the

north. This route would
connect with and exist-
ing road network near
Mackenzie. It is a partic-
ularly damaging option
since the road would dis-
sect a large area of
wildlife habitat. In addi-
tion, it would cross multi-
ple riparian zones and
be extremely costly due
to road and bridge con-
struction.

Our Conclusions:

In our opinion, leaving
the park untouched
remains the best option.
It is consistent with the
purpose and classifica-
tion of parklands as pre-
served land. This option
is also logical given the
large amount of land
available for commercial-
ly extractable develop-
ment in the Prince
George region (59%).
Only 7% percent was
identified for preserva-
tion during LRMP plan-
ning stages. However,
give the participation of
numerous stakeholders
in the area, we acknowl-
edge the “through the
park” option may be a
reasonable alternative.
This choice meets the
demands for timber sup-
ply, while minimizing
environmental damage
to the area. The addition
of 19,000 hectares (for a
total 37,000 hectares)
implemented by the
Prince George Land and
Resource Management
Plan also increases the
park size by more than
100%. Consequently,
the deletion of 3
hectares of parkland is a
minimal loss overall. Our
only misgivings regard-
ing this option is that is
may justify further dele-
tions from parks else-
where. We_ sincerely
hope this will not set a
precedent of other

National Firearms

Awareness Day

parks. Although the
request of any one
stakeholder cannot be
fully satisfied, the LRMP
allows workable compro-
mises for all stakehold-
ers involved. It can be
anticipated these kinds
of issues will continue to
arise in the future. The

agencies/firms we
researched are aware of
the challenges facing
the, and should be able
to co-operate amongst
each other, in order to
maximize benefits. We
fell public participation
and decisions specific to
individual sites are clear-

ly necessary when mak-
ing land resource man-
agement decisions.
Multiple land use is now
a permanent feature in
management planning.

THE UN

GSCOPE

‘ es by. TAMS, ue

Aries aiec 21-April 19)

A freak snow storm occurs and you
almost freeze to death. You realize
why Daisy Duke lives south of the
Mason-Dixon line and decide to buy
pants.

Taurus (April 20-may 20)
Things are looking up. The toenail
fungus is gone and you still smell
spring time fresh. The only downer:
after that antiperspirant binge
everyone at the drug store looks at
you funny. Better find a new phar-
macy.

Vegetarian (Carrot-tofu)

(in the continuing saga of Gemini)
No mad carrots in sight, unfortu-
nately the cabbage in the back of
the fridge has grown a mind of its
own, so stay away from coleslaw.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)

After walking everywhere for the
past couple of weeks your legs are
really buff, unfortunately your upper
body has not followed suite and you
have started to look like a human
pear. Don’t worry too much carrying
your school bag some more should
even things out.

Leo (July 23-Aug 22)

You’ve changed your major and you
really enjoy English, but thoughts of
primates still pop into your head.
No more Not Wanted On_ the
Voyage for you.

Virgo (Aug 23-Sept 22)

You sew up the hole in your pocket
and your luck seems to have
turned. All of the snow on the sides
of the road has melted and thou-
sands of coins appear.

f ~~

| ‘Libra (Sept 23-Oct 22)

Your craving for chocolate has
become an obsession and your
mood swings cause you to attack
small children on their way to
school and bite the ears off of their
chocolate bunnies. Don’t despair
time and a straight jacket will cure
you of this. |
Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21)
They didn’t believe your amnesia
defense. Hide in a dark corner and
lick your wounds until the bruises
heal.

Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec 21)
You have finally woken up, unfortu-
nately you slept through all of your
valuable study time, better hurry,
you’ve got an exam in 5 minutes.
Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 19)
The nasty notes you faxed to
Abudabee seem to have worked.
You are in for a stretch of good
luck. Watch out for that phone bill
on the 10, 11 or 12. Too pay this
you'll have to be creative: try tele-
marketing, or just leaving the coun-
try.

Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18)
Men’s hockey has come to a close.
The guys are sad to see you go, but
at least you have got Rugby and
Lacrosse to look forward to. Try not
go into one of those feminist rants
during the games again.

Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 20)

Your new scissors skill has gotten
you into trouble, especially after
your roommates new hair cuts.
Better find somewhere to hide real-
ly fast, talk to a Scorpio they always
seem to need a handy hiding place,

10am - 4pm Tuesday, April 6, 1999
UNBC Wintergarden

Tables with information from local and national organizations
dealing with firearms and related activities

10am - 3:30 pm Guest Speakers and Discussion