B.C. Parks needs more money to meet public demand: experts
VANCOUVER With crowds set to flock to B.C.’s many provincial parks this summer, the provincial government is facing renewed calls for more funding for B.C. Parks.
One University of B.C. professor is calling on the province to look at measures to raise much-needed cash, such as re-introducing dayuse parking fees — something then-premier Christy Clark eliminated in 2011, contributing to a $826,000 decline in revenue.
It may be an unpopular move, and one difficult for a government which campaigned on affordability to pitch, but it is better than doing nothing to address overcrowding and park degradation, said Harry Nelson, an associate professor in the UBC faculty of forestry.
“In some ways, it’s a wonderful problem to have,” said Nelson. “People want to go and enjoy the outdoors. The problem is: we haven’t really thought about how to keep up with demand.”
He said creating a pass system similar to the Vancouver Inspiration Pass, which offers free access to cultural and recreational sites through the Vancouver Public Library, would help make sure families aren’t discouraged from visiting.
The increasing popularity of some of B.C.’s provincial parks, along with a decade of underfunding, has resulted in degraded parks, poorly maintained trails and facilities, insufficient campsites and congested parking.
Limiting access by dog owners at popular Joffre Lake, which draws 170,000 visits a year, or capping the number of hikers on a trail, such as what North Vancouver councillors are doing at Quarry Rock in Deep Cove, are short-sighted moves, said Nelson, who wrote an op-ed on the issue with PhD candidate Ngaio Hotte. “That’s not managing it. You’re just going to frustrate people and push them elsewhere.”
Instead, Nelson believes government should leverage some of the value of visitations and come up with a sustainable mechanism to fund parks, “something that’s not subject to the whims of appropriations year to year.”
Aside from the return of a dayuse parking fee, he also suggested government allocate a portion of taxes such as the municipal and regional district taxes to parks.
A spokesman for the ministry of environment said there has been no discussions about reinstating the fee.
Tori Ball, a campaigner with the B.C. chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, doesn’t want to see day-use parking fees make a comeback, concerned it would pose financial barriers for some people.
“That fee does not replace what we are calling for, which is stable government funding that parks can count on year after year,” said Ball.
She said that after remaining stagnant for more than a decade, the budget for B.C. Parks was raised in 2016 when Clark’s government provided $35 million toward hiring park rangers, new programs and an endowment to a new B.C. Parks Foundation. It also promised $22.9 million to create more than 1,900 new camping spaces.
The NDP’s 2018 budget added another $5 million over three years toward the new spaces.
B.C. Parks’ operating budget for 2018/19 is $40.5 million, with an additional $9.8 million from the park enhancement fund financed by special licence plates.
But those recent increases aren’t enough to combat the underfunding problem, said Ball, who is calling on the government to raise the budget to $60 million.
“We’re happy to see it has gone up, but it isn’t where it needs to be to get our park system up to the level of Alberta Parks or Parks Canada.”
According to CPAWs, B.C. Parks receives $2.8 per hectare in funding compared to $30 per hectare for Alberta Parks and $33 per hectare for Parks Canada.