qathet Regional District’s (qRD) board of directors will consider sending a letter to the province to include the aquatic portion of Northeast Bay on Texada Island as part of a reserve for environment, conservation and recreation purposes.
At the Thursday, February 13, qRD committee of the whole meeting, directors reviewed a report from staff which indicated that staff is seeking direction to send a letter of interest to the provincial ministry of forest, lands, natural resource operations and rural development to have crown reserve notation land in Northeast Bay set aside under a reserve on behalf of the regional district.
Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick, who chaired the meeting, said she was very happy to see this.
“It’s a great compliment to our staff that we’ve been able to work with the provincial government,” said McCormick. “It’s my understanding that the existing parks designation on the land around Northeast Bay will now be expanded to include the water portion of the bay.”
Chief administrative officer Al Radke said that was his understanding.
McCormick asked if there was any change in status of that park reserve. She wondered if it would be elevated to a higher level of designation, or if the designation would remain UREP (use, recreation and enjoyment of the public reserve).
Radke said to his understanding, Northeast Bay would still be considered a UREP by the province. He said that would entail greater control and discretion as to what applications can be made on the waters in the future.
According to the staff report, as a local government, qRD cannot hold a crown reserve notation, so the land must be maintained by the province.
The committee recommended the board direct staff to send the letter of interest.
According to the staff report, on September 26, 2019, regional directors and Radke met with the deputy minister of forests, lands, natural resource operations and rural development to discuss the possibility of transferring Northeast Bay land designated for UREP to the regional district to be used as a park. Discussion at the meeting included the idea of expanding the boundaries of the protected area to include the waters of Northeast Bay, according to the report.
On January 27, 2020, staff from the ministry confirmed an approach for accommodating qRD’s interest in expanding and protecting recreation values in Northeast Bay. The existing crown reserve notation could be expanded to include the aquatic portion of Northeast Bay, according to the report. This would restrict the type of crown land and water applications that would be accepted by the province, the report states.
