Gondola on the Chief?

[Capt_Sensible]

I Just listened to a report on CBC radio that our illustrious BC provincial government is considering a proposal to build a gondola to the top of the Squamish Chief. Details have not yet been made public (a public hearing has apparently been scheduled for the fall), but the rumour is that it will consist of twenty two towers and follow the hiking route up to the second summit. There will be a platform with a fence built on top to allow the bumbly tourists to enjoy the view without falling off (personally I'm pretty confident that if this development does go ahead it will be featuring in future editions of the darwin awards).

 

Although the chief lies wholly within a provincial park, the BC government amended the provincial parks legislation last year to allow commercial development "which is in line with recreational values" (syphoning off some of the tourist dollars heading to Whistler seems to fall into this category). Apparently the CASBC have already indicated their objections to the BC gov and been told to show up at the hearings in the fall. The report said that this proposal has originated from "a ski resort developer based in Whistler" (whoever that may be, but possibly one that's flush from their recent success in carving another chunk out of Garibaldi park to add to the in-bounds area of Whistler mountain).

 

Anyone know any more on this one?

[pope]

Captain Sensible, you've got to be joking! Now that the climbing community embraces sport climbing, I really don't see how we can object to this. This is the future we have chosen.

[rbw1966]

Are you going to filet and pan sear or will you BBQ the pope?

[peas]

Although the laws re: provincial parks have been changed, the plan for the Chief provincial park do not involve commercial development. The consultation process in the fall will be to determine whether there is public support for changing the Chief provincial park plan and continue with the developers proposal.

 

The rumours that I've heard say that it will go up over the Bulletheads to the South Summit, rather than up the trail, and that there will be fewer towers involved. Whatever the plan, the idea is practically the same.

 

Valhalla Pure in Squamish has a petition against the gondola project, so if you feel strongly about it, sign the petition.

[Bill_Simpkins]

The view isn't even that great up there. Who's bright idea was this?

Is this so fat rich people can enjoy the Chief too. Or is is for the next James Bond movie?

[Dru]

http://www.thetyee.ca/News/current/ChiefGondolas.htm

[Stefan]

Does Canada have the equivalent day of April Fools?

 

This seems like a joke by the media....

[Szyjakowski]

this reminds me of when some people in leavenworth wanted to put a gondola to the top of icicle ridge...pre 1994 fire.

hopefully, it will never happen.

gondola's are so euro-canadian!

[snoboy]

Stefan - yes we do, no it isn't.

 

I am very opposed to the idea, because I am pretty categorically opposed to any development in parks, especially of a commercial nature.

 

Some people here would like to see the gondola, but not in the Chief park. If they could be convinced to move the whole proj over to cross the mouth of the Squamish River, now that might be cool. Better veiws, and open up access to a new area.

[foraker]

Reminds me of the idea (a bad one) put forward at one time to place a rotating restaurant on the top of El Cap....

[virtual]

The gondola proposal is picking up steam, but so is opposition to it. Around Squamish, it's hard to find anyone who supports the plan. A local resident and climber, Megan Olesky, has decided to mobilize the opposition to help kill the proposal, and has formed a group called 'Friends of the Chief'. Although the group is in its infancy, it has begun to tap the increasing anger about the proposal and is growing fast.

 

Megan has penned an open letter to opponents of the gondola plan. The letter can be found at http://www.virtualdave.ca/FriendsoftheChief.doc. It reads in part:

 

The Park Management Plan of the Chief was completed in 1997 after two years of community consultation. It was an important and time-consuming process that determined the Chief as a natural and unique landmark of cultural importance for British Columbians. Mechanical lift access is not permitted under the management plan.

There has been a proposal put forward to the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection by a group of Whistler developers to construct a gondola up to the second summit of the Chief. This proposal includes 14-16 tram towers, and the capacity to carry 880 people per hour to the summit. Two acres of usable land at the second summit will be fenced off to accommodate an observation deck and visitor facilities.

The current hiking trails on the Chief are some of the most popular and heavily used trails in the province, and the climbing at the Chief is some of the best in the world. To the recreational community, this proposal is akin to suggesting a gondola to the top of El Capitan in Yosemite. It will introduce Industrial Tourism on a large scale to one of the crown jewels of recreation in Squamish and British Columbia.

Thank you for your support in our attempt to maintain and protect the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. If you would like to be involved in our fight to make sure this gondola does not happen, please write a letter to the following:

 

Honourable Bill Barisoff, Minister of Water Land and Air Protection

Box 9047 Stn Prov Gov’t,

Victoria, BC V8W 9E2

Phone: (250) 387-1187 email: WLAP.Minister@gems9.gov.bc.ca

 

Honourable Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia

Box 9041 Stn Prov Gov’t,

Victoria, BC V8W 9E1

Phone: (250) 387-1715 email: premier@gov.bc.ca

 

Mayor Ian Sutherland, District of Squamish

Box 310, Squamish, BC V0N 3G0

Phone: 1-877-892-5217 email: isutherland@squamish.ca

 

 

Thank you for all of your efforts and support!

Sincerely,

 

Megan Olesky

Friends of the Chief

 

If you wish to contact Megan directly, you can do so at friendsofthechief@yahoo.ca.

 

Megan will be appearing on the Rafe Mair show on Monday, August 23rd at 9:15 on Vancouver radio AM 600. If you wish to call to express your support, the studio number is (604) 280-0600.

 

Please pass the word.

[virtual]

I'd like to add a few thoughts to Megan's:

 

Is anyone suggesting that people will drive an hour up the Sea to Sky just to ride a tram to the top of the Chief? They can get better views by taking trams in Vancouver or Whistler. The only people that will ride the gondola are people who are driving by here anyway. They are likely to stop, ride the tram, perhaps eat dinner at the top, then carry on to Whistler. There are many other ways we can encourage tourists to stop, and stay, in Squamish, ways that don't involve throwing huge metal contrapions all over the skyline of our primary landmark.

 

The benefit to Squamish will be limited to a few, mostly low-paying jobs. Squamish residents have, with the chip mill fight, already flatly refused to be bribed by the promise of 'jobs'. Just as with the chip mill, the majority of the work will be low-paying and will be more than offset by the job loss that ruining the appearance of our town's centrepiece will cause.

 

It has been suggested that the tram will open up the summit of the Chief to those who are unable to climb it unaided. True as far as it goes; but is anyone suggesting that the real reason for the gondola is concern for disabled people? Of course not. The reason is profit, whatever the cost to the town of Squamish. It is unfortunate that there are people who are prevented from enjoying the experience of climbing the Chief. Is the only way we can help them to ruin it for everyone else?

 

The issue of economic development is a red herring. The Olympics are coming to the Sea to Sky corridor. A university is being built in Squamish. We are in the middle of our biggest ever real estate boom. Anyone who drives the highway to Whistler can see all the new businesses springing up. Economic development is coming to Squamish, and will continue to come. We don't need the gondola.

 

There is also the objection that there are tons of gondolas in mountain resorts like Chamonix, yet people still climb there. Again, I think this is a red herring. In most cases the trams were there long before the climbing. And those places are quite different. They don't have one central, beautiful, focal point that draws tourists, they have a valley full of ski runs. Does anyone want to put a gondola up Ayers Rock? How about a roller coaster around the Taj Mahal?

 

We welcome your comments.

[snoboy]

Long post... deserving subject.

 

Email from a friend, quoted with permission. The pdf files referred to will be attached to this and two posts following.

 

Hi all, I apologize for the mass emailing, but there are a lot of people I know who I think might be interested in the current events happening in the Squamish area. This email regards a proposal to put a gondola up the Stawamus Chief. I don't need to go into a lot of detail here, as you will find out more information if you read the emails that follow.

 

I think the issue of a gondola going up the Stawamus Chief affects all the people I am emailing this to. I am forwarding all of the emails I have received about it in the past few days. I apologize if you have already received any of them. I figure the more information we have the better. I have also included the original attachments.

 

Even for those of you who have only been to Squamish once or twice, just imagine the impact of a gondola going up the Chief above some of the climbing and hiking routes, with shops/restaurants on the second summit of the Chief. This is an impact that can never be reversed. In addition, putting this into a Class A Provincial Park opens up other Class A parks to similar development in the future. I am going to write letters from both myself personally and my business with my opinion on the subject, and encourage you to do the same. If you aren't sure what to write, I would be more than willing to send you a copy of my letters (when I finish them) to give you some assistance. Also, you'll see that one of the attachments that came with the email from Kevin included a letter writing guide from the Sierra Club. Addresses that are appropriate for such letters are in the emails that follow.

 

Imagine climbing up Angel's Crest only to be confronted with a tall fence, and you can only come into the fenced compound on the summit if you pay! Imagine hiking a backside trail that has been diverted around gondola towers which you have to walk under to get to the top of the Chief. Imagine sitting at the top of the first summit after hiking an hour up a strenuous trail, having hundreds of people stare over at you from the second summit after riding the gondola to the top. Talk about serenity. Think about this before you let it happen without putting in your own two cents.

Jen

 

This one was forwarded to me by Murray Sovereign at the Valhalla in Squamish on August 19th:

 

Attached is information in which you may be interested regarding the proposal to build a gondola on the Stawamus Chief. I received this information from Megan Olesky who has started a group called Friends of the Chief (contact information is on the attachment). Megan is asking for support from those opposed to this proposal and is requesting that letters be written to the government representatives listed in the attachment. As well, Megan will be on the Rafe Mair show on Monday, August 23 at 9:15; you may wish to call in and voice your support. The studio number is (604) 280-0600. Ron. This was sent by Sean Easton on August 23rd.This is very serious folks, and if nobody does anything the Chief will be changed forever! There has been a proposal put forward to the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection to construct a gondola up to the second summit of the Chief. This proposal includes 15 tram towers, and the capacity to carry 880 people per hour to the summit. Two acres of usable land at the second summit will be fenced off to accommodate an observation deck and restaurant facilities!

 

Please take the time to read the attached document and write letters.

 

Ivan

 

Below are a couple of sites where you can read more about the proposal, public hearings are due this fall.

 

http://findwhistler.com/page.cfm/5157

 

http://www.thetyee.ca/News/current/ChiefGondolas.htm

 

This is the CASBC Access Alert from August 22nd.

 

CLIMBERS' ACCESS SOCIETY OF B.C. ACCESS ALERT - AUGUST 2004 Greetings! This message is from the Access Society, with current information and updates about climbing access and related issues in B.C. We hope the news is useful, and encourage readers to share, post and forward it. Our apologies if this broadcast is overly lengthy, or unwanted!

 

Highlights:

 

1. Information on a proposal to build a gondola to the top of the Stawamus Chief, and how you can get involved. Please read this asap!

2. Adopt-a-Crag at Squamish's Smoke Bluffs, on Saturday September 11th.

3. Other news from the Squamish and Sea-to-Sky region.

4. Miscellaneous - website update, the annual general meeting, etc. A.

 

Stawamus Chief Gondola Proposal

 

The Stawamus Chief, and surrounding cliffs, are an outstanding landmark and natural feature, only 50 km north of Vancouver. They offer world-class rock climbing, some of the most heavily-used trails in B.C., excellent camping, and superb vantage points. There are tens of thousands of annual climber-days at the Chief. It is B.C.'s home crag, and a 2004 estimate is that recreation at the Chief contributes $20 million annually to the area. Many climbers have moved to Squamish because of the Chief, and it has an important role in the culture and economy of the area. The Chief is largely old-growth forest, apart from the highway/powerline swath in front.

 

A proposal has been made to the B.C. government, to build a gondola to the second summit of the Chief. It would be based at the gravel pit between Stawamus Chief and Shannon Falls provincial parks, and would ascend via numerous towers to the Bulletheads, the top of Tantalus Wall, the upper backside of the first summit, to a terminal on the second summit. About a hectare on the second summit would be enclosed, with an observation deck and various facilities. Gondola capacity would be 880 passengers/hour. The proposal appears well-financed and serious, and is consistent with government plans for economic development and tourism in the area.

 

The Stawamus Chief became a Class A provincial park in 1995. For the gondola proposal to proceed, the government would have to overrule the 1997 park master plan, which after two years of community consultation affirmed that the Chief is a natural and unique landmark of cultural importance to British Columbians. The master plan prohibited mechanical lift access, but the government made changes to the Park Act in 2003 which allow it to override the plan if it wishes.

 

Representatives of the Squamish Access Society, an informal, organized group of Squamish climbers affiliated with the Access Society, met with the gondola proponents several months ago, received a great deal of information about the project, discussed it, and then wrote to the government to express concerns. It was then hoped that, having been giving a fair hearing, the proposal would quietly die. However, the eventual reply from the Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection was as follows:

 

"The management plan for Stawamus Chief Provincial Park was completed in 1997 following extensive public input. Mechanized access to the Chief is not consistent with the plan, and therefore, under the current management plan, a gondola could not be permitted. The ministry has informed the proponents that they may choose to seek community support for an amendment to the management plan. In order to do so, the proponent will be required to consult in an open and transparent manner with the local community, First Nations, interested or affected public agencies, users and stakeholder groups. The proponent has indicated that they are interested in pursuing this option. It is expected that public consultations may occur in the fall of this year, in which case I encourage you to participate in the process to ensure your perspectives are brought forward. Should those consultations demonstrate broad community support for a continuation of the park's management plan to restrict mechanized access on the Chief, then we would reflect those wishes."

 

The nature of the consultative process is not yet known, and the Access Society believes that the government should manage the process and ensure it is impartial. The gondola proposal is being given serious consideration, and community opinion will be an important factor in the government decision. The Access Society will work, particularly with the Squamish Access Society and the Friends of the Chief (friendsofthechief@yahoo.ca), to ensure climbers' interests and views are represented. We will also publicize developments through our website, broadcast e-mails, and the autumn edition of Access News. It seems likely that information about the proposal will be published, and there will be public meetings, but more is not yet known.

 

The proposal was discussed on CBC Radio's Early Edition in mid-August, and Megan Olesky, of Friends of the Chief, will be interviewed on AM600 Radio's Rafe Mair show about it at 9:15 AM on Monday August 23rd. 600 kHz in Vancouver, rebroadcast on other stations around B.C., or www.600am.com. Listeners can call (604) 280-0600 and comment.

 

For now, you can write, phone or e-mail and express your views on the project.

 

The concerned officials:

 

Bill Barisoff, Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection,

P.O. Box 9047

St'n. Prov. Gov't.

Victoria, BC, Canada

V8W 9E2

(250) 387-1187

WLAP.Minister@gems9.gov.bc.ca

 

Gordon Campbell, Premier,

P.O. Box 9041

St'n. Prov. Gov't.

Victoria, BC, Canada

V8W 9E1

(250) 387-1715

premier@gov.bc.ca

 

Ian Sutherland, Mayor - District of Squamish,

P.O. Box 310

Squamish, BC, Canada

V0N 3G0

1-877-892-5217

isutherland@squamish.ca

 

Please write or call! A written letter counts for significantly more than an e-mail, and an e-mail for significantly more than a phone call - very simply, the more effort you put into whatever you send/say, the more impact it has. Please:

 

a) cc the Access Society (see 'contact us' on the website) with anything you send

 

b) be polite, and brief

 

c) identify who you are, where you live, who you represent (if anyone besides yourself), your interest in the area and issue, your views on the gondola proposal, and the reasons for them

 

d) be as reasonable and constructive as you can - there are many aspects to this issue

 

e) be clear about what you support, or oppose.

 

The Access Society particularly encourages climbers, and climbers' organizations, from outside B.C. to write and express their concerns.

 

There are also petitions in Squamish-area climbing stores, and petitions may appear elsewhere. Other actions - website information, meetings, broadcast e-mails, attending public meetings - will occur as the occasion demands.

 

The Access Society's position with respect to the Stawamus Chief gondola proposal is that a gondola of this kind would be appropriate somewhere in the Squamish area, if well planned and designed, and if supported by First Peoples, governments, affected interest groups, and the public. A gondola within Stawamus Chief provincial park is not appropriate. It would:

 

a) be contrary to the master plan

 

b) significantly conflict with existing low-impact users (climbers, hikers, campers, viewers)

 

c) mar a geological, visual and cultural landmark, and

 

d) negatively affect the Chief's standing as a national and international landmark and recreational resource.

 

The proposal also seems likely to generate substantial public comment, and may affect the peregrine falcons which nest on the Chief. There are alternative sites in the Squamish area that would not conflict with existing uses, or have such high environmental, community and visual impacts.

 

This repeats some of the info from the CASBC Access Alert and is from Kevin McLane and the Squamish Access Society on August 23rd.

 

Gondola on the Chief. Now the fight is for real.

 

The BC Provincial government has recently announced it intends to allow a group of Whistler-based ski developers to formally solicit public support for their proposal to build a sight-seeing gondola to the Centre (Second) summit of the Chief. This proposition has been mooted for much of the last year, but of late had appeared to be dormant. Now is it coming forward with the encouragement of the BC Government.

 

The gondola would have its base at the large gravel pit beside the Highway, south of the Chief campground, and would employ 15 or so towers to reach the Centre Peak where the summit area would be fenced off for tourists to shop and unload their money. The lift would hold 22 gondola cabins, look rather like the Excalibur lift on Blackcomb, and carry 880 tourists per hour to the top. It would cross over the Backside trail several times, and skim close by the South summit on its way to the top of the Centre Chief. Ironically, the place chosen for the top station, shopping and restaurant is precisely where, over the years, the ashes of many people have been spread, including Ben De Menche. Climbers descending off Bellygood Ledge would be greeted as they exit the trees by gondolas skimming close overhead with gawking tourists, and people on the South Summit would actually become a tourist attraction for those passing by on the gondola. It is quite reasonable to speculate that over time, the Chief would become branded as a defacto private enterprise, marketed and sold, and what is presently a public space would slowly become a private domain.

 

An extract from the Minister of Land, Water and Air Protection's August 6th letter to the SAS (in response to our letter of May 28th) is: "...The ministry has informed the proponents that they may choose to seek> community

 

support for an amendment to the management plan. In order to do so, the proponent will be required to consult in an open and transparent manner with the local community, First Nations, interested

 

> or affected public agencies, users and stakeholder groups. The proponent has indicated that they are interested in pursuing this option. It is expected that public consultations may occur in the fall of this year, in which case I encourage you to participate in the process to ensure your perspectives are brought forward. Should those consultations demonstrate broad community support for a continuation of the park's management plan to restrict mechanized access on the Chief, then we would reflect those wishes..."

 

Although the words are somewhat innocuous the curious way this is coming forward, after much delay and in the teeth of what they must surely know will be major opposition, holds inference of other motives (why stick their necks out so far for such a small project?). One possibility being mooted by some close to the government is that they may be using this as a test opportunity--on the back of the 2010 Olympics--to try and pry open the Park Act to make it politically easier for much larger commercial and industrial exploitation of the province's park system. If that is so, this is an issue of province-wide concern and it could be a long fight. The government may be quietly intending to proceed unless opposition is overwhelming and politically damaging to them. They will be judge and jury of what constitutes "broad community support", with no requirement to measure it in democratic terms, or publish public response results.

 

A new Squamish community group headed by Megan Olesky; The Friends of the Chief, is developing a campaign to try and derail the gondola, but very considerable support from a coalition of interests will be needed. If you wish to be placed onto their email broadcast list, please write to Megan at: friendsofthechief@yahoo.ca.

 

Megan and Squamish Acting Mayor Sonja Lebans are guests on the CKNW's Rafe Mair radio show at 9:15am on Monday August 23rd (tomorrow!) Listeners can call in on (604) 280-0600. We will also send out periodic emails to climbers. There are two attachments with this email for your interest and information: one is the letter written by the Squamish Access Society to Minister Barisoff on May 28th; the other is the excellent "Good Letter Writing Guide" from the Sierra Club. An excellent article on the situation by Lisa Richardson was posted on August 12th on The Tyee, an online news website: http://www.thetyee.ca/News/current/ChiefGondolas.htm

 

Please forward this email to those you consider appropriate, read the attachments, and write to express your opposition to the gondola and mechanized access into Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. The two organizations that may carry the greatest influence on the provincial government are The District of Squamish (which stands to lose its title of Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada if the gondola is built), and Squamish Nation.

 

For now, we suggest emails be sent to the following: Hon. Bill Barisoff, Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection(250)387-1187 WLAP.Minister@gems9.gov.bc.ca Mayor Ian Sutherland 877-892-5217 isutherland@squamish.ca Hon. Gordon Campbell, Premier (250)387-1715 premier@gov.bc.ca

 

Sincerely,

Kevin McLane

Chair, Squamish Access Society

 

The SAS represents the interests of climbers in the Squamish region, and is directly affiliated with the Climbers Access Society of BC.

386455-chiefgondola-lettertotheminister.pdf

[snoboy]

2nd .pdf attachment.

386458-FriendsoftheChief.pdf

[billcoe]

You guys sound like you're gonna start whining about the 2 bars, snackbars, grocery store, 2 hotels, laundramats, restaurants and several gift shops that will go in next?

 

Wait, that's Yosemite I'm thinking about.

 

nevermind

[layton]

Marc Twight can get all bloody and ride it up and down

[Stemalot]

More on the proposed Chief gondola:

http://www.thetyee.ca/News/current/CheifBattleSparksFears.htm

 

Original story:

The Squamish Chief is no stranger to controversy. More than a decade ago, a proposal to turn the base of the spectacular granite monolith into a quarry was almost approved. The ensuing protests thwarted the proposal, and paved the way for the area to become a provincial park in 1995. The 600-hectare Stawamus Chief Provincial Park and the adjoining Shannon Falls Provincial Park now see approximately half a million visitors a year.

 

At the official ceremony celebrating its designation as a Class A Park in October 1995, disgruntled loggers from the resource-dependent community hijacked the stage to protest forestry cuts. News cameras rolled as then-mayor Corinne Lonsdale used the platform to berate the government on the part of forestry workers. Logging trucks circled the ceremony like sharks. Bloody fistfights ensued.

 

Cut to 2004. Squamish forestry workers have lost the war to save local jobs and the region wants tourism to drive the economy into the future. A bigger battle is playing out over the Chief ? and it has implications for all provincial parks.

 

In August, two Whistler-based developers, Peter Alder of Peter Alder Enterprises and Paul Mathews of Ecosign Mountain Resort Planners, were revealed as the proponents behind a hush-hush plan to construct an aerial sightseeing gondola on the Stawamus Chief [read about it in the Tyee story: Gondolas Up the Chief? ].

 

The outcry was immediate.

 

Squamish?s Megan Olesky, spokesperson for newly formed Friends of the Chief, hikes the Chief at least once a week. She contends that a gondola up the Chief is anathema to the town?s growing reputation as an outdoor recreation centre. ?A quick gondola ride to a viewpoint symbolizes everything that outdoor recreation is not,? she says. ?And the fact that this is in a provincial park makes it even worse. To me it sends the message that our protected areas are for sale to private companies. This is a terrifying precedent to set.?

 

Parks ?open for business??

 

Gwen Barlee, of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, is also concerned that the province might set a precedent if it approves the $12 million private development. She worries that it might be the first domino to fall in parks across the province, thanks to new legislation that relaxes restrictions in parks and allows the province to ignore local rules. ?What we?re seeing with this proposal, with the introduction of parking meters, with the reduction of the boundaries of the South Chilcotin [Mountains Provincial Park], is an all-out war on our parks. These are public parks, and they aren?t the Liberals? to give away.?

 

The Significant Projects Streamlining Act allows the government fast-track approval and override its own and local laws and regulations for ?provincially significant? projects. The subsequent Parks and Protected Areas Statute Amendment Act permits recreational and tourism development in parks that is ?consistent with or complementary to? recreational values. No definition of ?recreational values? is provided.

 

Bill Barisoff, Minister of Water Land and Air Protection, which oversees BC Parks, set the future?s tone when he introduced his 2004-2005 budget estimates. ?The Premier has talked about building a park system that is open to everyone. We need a range of use options beyond traditional camping that keep pace as our population ages. Our goal is to attract more people to our parks.?

 

The government?s Recreation Stewardship Panel, which delivered its report in November 2002, also troubled preservationists and recreation advocates, who objected to its ?invitation only? public consultations, which took place over a mere four days. The panel, chaired by former Social Credit environment minister Bruce Strachan, recommended more user fees, more private service delivery, and more commercial, revenue-focused facilities. Strachan told CBC Radio?s Almanac that the Panel wanted to see five to seven parks designated as ?intensive, revenue-focused recreation locations.?

 

New or expanded commercial operations would have to be ?endorsed in an approved park management plan that included opportunities for public input.? Development proponents must obtain a park use permit under the Park Act, and applications are reviewed to ensure they are consistent with the act and the management plan.

 

Chief plan excludes gondolas

 

The Stawamus Chief management plan was completed in 1997, after two years of extensive consultations. The plan states its aims to ?provide non-mechanised recreation opportunities for different users to experience the park in ways compatible with the special features and natural values?. The plan also marketing and promotion of the Chief, given its already high usage, estimated at the time at 25,000 rock-climbers and 50,000 hikers a year.

 

Contrast this with gondola proponent Peter Alder?s vision: ?Sulphur Mountain [at Banff] is probably the closest similar installation to the one we?ve proposed. We?re planning to build a viewing platform over about two and a half acres, a warming shelter and chemical toilets at the top. At Sulphur Mountain, they?ve found that the maximum stay on the summit is about 15 minutes.? Five million people are currently driving past the Chief every year, and Alder believes he can get at least 80 percent of them to go up the Chief gondola at least once.

 

The Wilderness Committee?s Barlee wonders what the point of a management plan is if it can be overridden. ?The public are so against this. I don?t think the government, with an election just seven months away, would want to shine the media spotlight on this issue.?

 

Ministry having a ?hemorrhage?

 

Alder is aware of the project?s political sensitivity, and says the ministry is ?very insecure? about it. ?A lot of it probably has to do with the political nature of the comments we?re getting back,? he told The Tyee. ?The Campbell government has buggered up three major things they?ve tried to do,? citing the privatization of liquor stores, the sale of BC Rail and the contracting out of the Coquihalla Highway?s operation. ?So they want to have a very transparent process, which is fine.?

 

Barisoff insists that the management plan won?t be amended unless it represents ?the desire of the community.? He told The Tyee that he has instructed the gondola?s proponents to take the proposal before the community and convince the citizens and council of Squamish that it?s worth amending the management plan for the gondola project.

 

The proponents have since revealed that their delay in announcing the project to the public was at the behest of the ministry. ?They?re having a shit hemorrhage on this one,? says Alder. ?They asked us not to release any information to the public until we?d gone through the process they outlined, going to the District of Squamish, the Squamish First Nations, the Ministry of Highways and [the 2010 Olympics organizing committee], and giving them each 60 days to give us feedback. Then the minister would tell us when we could release it to the public.?

 

The ministry now refers questions about the proposal to the proponents, ?as nothing new has happened, and the minister can?t spend all his time dealing with the media.?

 

Process lacks ?fairness?

 

Opponents of the gondola are concerned that public consultation has been handed off to the project proponent. Barlee wonders how equity and fairness, or the appearance of equity and fairness, can be achieved in such a situation. ?I don?t think you can have an industrial developer run the public consultation and achieve that,? she says, adding that she?s troubled by the way the government directed the proposal.

 

Spencer Fitschen, co-chair of the Squamish chapter of the Sierra Club, and a representative on both the Squamish Select Committee for the Environment and Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plan, told The Tyee that ?this whole proposal didn?t come from ground up, but from top down. It started in the Premier?s Office and came down and that raised a lot of alarm bells right off.?

 

Fitschen said he hasn?t encountered any support for the gondola proposal from local residents or the local government in Squamish. Although the District of Squamish hasn?t made its position public, staff were asked by the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection months ago to provide a recommendation on the project. ?I?ve been told that an opinion was sent to Victoria, recommending against it,? said Fitschen.

 

Acting mayor of Squamish, Sonya Lebans, was not available for comment on the allegation.

 

Park land swap lacked input

 

Fitschen said that although he believes the province would like to set a precedent with commercial development in a provincial park, the Chief gondola proposal is too controversial too close to an election to get the go-ahead. ?I don?t think the Chief would be their first choice of a test case.? Fitschen does agree, however, that if the Chief gondola gets a park-use permit the floodgates will open.

 

A ministry official told The Tyee that although they routinely receive enquiries about commercial development in parks, ?at this time we have no other third party proposals for infrastructure developments.?

 

Still, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee has other areas of concern. A road was built through Monck Provincial Park to provide access to a private housing development. At Cathedral Grove, the government is planning to use two hectares of old-growth forest in the 20-hectare park for expanded parking, despite fears that the disruption to the forest canopy could increase the number of blowdowns in the park.

 

Park watchers are also concerned about deals being concluded behind closed doors.

 

In 2002, Intrawest?s Whistler Blackcomb swapped land in the Fitzsimmons Creek drainage for 87 hectares of Garibalid Park surrounding Flute peak. No public consultation occurred. The company announced the expansion of its skiable area with great fanfare this summer. There is also concern that independent power projects may locate some infrastructure within provincial parks.

 

?It?s all happening under the public radar,? said Barlee. ?These are public lands, the public commons.? She said people have worked for decades to preserve them ? in the case of the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park. it was 50 years ? yet the current government is cutting protections away at the behest of private commercial and industrial interests. ?And the public doesn?t even know what?s going in. That is wrong. It?s really wrong.?

 

Lisa Richardson is a journalist based in Squamish.

[Self_propelled]

Not that I want to see any development anywhere up there but, Who's land is on the opposite side of town from the Chief? The hillside that already has powerline scars running across it? Seems that would be a better place to put a gondola and view point. It would get tourist into/through Squamish town, allow a view of the Chief, a view back out the Sound, up the valley towards the Tusk, and most importantly keep development away from the park. Curious tourist could drop a loony in one of those pay telescopes and look for climbers on the walls.

The Chief Gondola plans sounds flawed and completely opposed. If it did go through I'd bet that any number of opponents would figure out ways to sabatoge the construction.

Sad and stupid (Believe me I know sad and stupid, I'm living in Nepal where apathy, corruption, and mismanagment rule)

[ronin]

The gondola proponents will present their plans to Squamish Council on Tuesday, September 28, 7 p.m. at Brennan Park Leisure Centre in Squamish. The meeting is open to the public. Please attend to show your support to keep the Chief gondola-free. (Please car pool, and be on time - it is a business meeting.) It is possible that Squamish Council will simply vote against the gondola proposal on the 28th, but that wouldn’t necessarily mean the end of it.

 

Please write to:

 

Bill Barisoff, Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection

P.O. Box 9047, St'n. Prov. Gov't.

Victoria, B.C.

Canada V8W 9E2

(250) 387-1187, or WLAP.Minister@gems9.gov.bc.ca

 

Gordon Campbell, Premier

P.O. Box 9041, St'n. Prov. Gov't.

Victoria, B.C.

Canada V8W 9E1

Phone (250) 387-1715, or premier@gov.bc.ca

 

Ian Sutherland, Mayor

District of Squamish

P.O. Box 310

Squamish, B.C.

Canada V0N 3G0

Phone 1-877-892-5217, or isutherland@squamish.ca

 

Letters should be to Mr. Barisoff, with copies to the premier, the mayor of Squamish, and the Access Society (squamish(at)access-society.ca). A written letter counts for much more than an e-mail, and an e-mail for much more than a phone call. Be polite, constructive, and clear. You can also write letters to the editor:

 

Vancouver Sun sunletters@png.canwest.com

Squamish Chief sqchief@uniserve.com

Vancouver Province provletters@png.canwest.com

[murraysovereign]

Squamish Council last night voted to not support a gondola on the Chief, but that they would be willing to consider plans for an alternate location. In all likelihood, the proponents will be back soon with a proposal to align the lift so it runs up into the Shannon Creek drainage somewhere. So it will still be based in the gravel pit, but will run to a terminus somewhere south of the Chief, and probably higher. More details will emerge once they draw up their new plans, so stay tuned.

[snoboy]

The proponents of this proposal have decided to let it die a natural death. They are blaming it on "native opposition," and "a flawed approval process."

 

 

article here

[Stefan]

Good news.

[Stefan]

Good news.

[Lepton]

Sounds like a perfect day to me. Free climb the wall, romp up to the top for steak and beer, ride the gondola down to the parking lot with a bevy of beautiful admirers. No painful slogging through the woods.

 

Will they have drink trays for summiting climbers?

[glacier]

Don't know if it was posted before, but here is a use survey for the Squamish area.

 

Survey