JUMBO RESORT PROTESTS GROW
Celebrities join interest groups to oppose ski development near Invermere, B.C.
Environmentalists, First Nations people, politicians, and local celebrities are combining efforts to continue the passionate battle against approval of Jumbo Glacier Ski Resort near Invermere, B.C.
Last month, B.C.’S Liberal government approved the controversial $1-billion ski resort development that has divided the community between those who want a boon to local business and others who fear destruction of the pristine wilderness and grizzly bear habitat.
Environmentalists with Wildsight are voicing their continued opposition by lobbying developers now visiting the site. Wildsight is an advocacy group based in Kimberley dedicated to protecting local mountain environments.
Two engineering teams with French development groups Companie des Arcs and France Neige International recently toured the site just past Panorama ski resort, but were met with a group of some 100 area residents with signs and placards protesting the resort’s approval.
“We are doing all we can to educate any and all potential investors that come here,” said Robyn Duncan, Wildsight program manager for the Purcell Mountain Region where Panorama and Jumbo are located.
“They need to know how much opposition there still is to this project, from surrounding residents, from the Ktunaxa Nation and what kind of an impact it will have on the grizzly habitat.”
There were also seven large “Jumbo Wild” or “Grizzlies Not Greed” messages left in the snow throughout the valley for investors to see as they helicopter-toured the area.
Still in its infancy, the $1-billion resort project is expected to build 1,400 condos and 23 lifts offering year-round glacier skiing at elevations as high as 3,400 metres.
Invermere’s Chamber of Commerce and some business owners are in favour of the project, hoping it will kick start the local economy during the off-season.
Bill Bennett, Liberal MLA for Kootenay East, supports the project, arguing it will be a tremendous boon for the Columbia Valley.
“There’s small businesses in Invermere, Fairmont and Radium closing their doors on a regular basis,” he said. “This is something that might allow young families to a stay in this area.”
Grant Costello, senior vice-president for Glacier Resorts Ltd., has said the project could create 750 fulltime permanent jobs, in addition to the 150 temporary construction jobs during the building process.
The location, once the site of a sawmill, has been accessed for years by heli-skiers and has been a summer training ground for the Canadian alpine ski team.
But opponents are also hoping a number of legal hurdles may postpone the resort’s construction.
Officials with the Ktunaxa First Nation, which represents some 2,000 members across the Kootenays, are still considering their legal options over the Crown land they say is within their traditional territory.
They argue the Jumbo region is sacred land, critical to preserving their history and saving the grizzlybear habitat.
“This region is a barometer for wildlife for the entire area. If you have a healthy grizzly-bear population, you can infer the rest of the area is in good shape, too,” said Kathryn Teneese, chair of the Ktunaxa Nation Council.
“This area is so important to the Ktunaxa people from a cultural and ecological perspective,” she said. “We’ve been in opposition to this project since the outset. We are dismayed. There is anger. But we will proceed.”
Officials with Ktunaxa Nation will meet with lawyers in the next week to examine legal options.
NDP MLA Norm Macdonald, who represents the Columbia River-Revelstoke riding in which Jumbo is located, says many B.C. native groups are still battling over land rights through treaty negotiations in different parts of the province.
“There is still a really long way to go before anything can happen in this area,” he told the Herald.
Meanwhile, Duncan explains that the Jumbo lands are still unzoned and that no development can begin until the Invermere town council agrees to rezone it.
But because Invermere’s council has expressed its opposition to the project for years, particularly town Mayor Gerry Taft, Duncan fears the B.C. government may designate the area a resort municipality, appoint its own council and push the zoning through.
“It would be unprecedented, to create a resort municipality for a place that has no permanent population,” Duncan said.
“It’s a scary reality that they could do actually do this.”
Last week, some 250 area residents held a rally in the Town of Invermere, marching and giving public speeches in opposition to the development.
And on the weekend, former NHL great Scott Niedermayer, who grew up in Cranbrook and has publicly voiced his opposition to the resort, participated in demonstrations Saturday as part of Earth Day in his hometown.
Niedermayer issued a public statement through Wildsight after the B.C. government approved the Jumbo development.
“I am disappointed with the B.C. government’s decision on the Jumbo Glacier resort,” Niedermayer said. “I will continue my efforts to protect the unique, wild areas of the Kootenays for future generations to enjoy. The majestic wildlife, like the grizzly bear, need these large wilderness areas to support healthy populations.”
John Bergenske, Wildsight’s executive director, said opposition to the project remains strong.
“It’s extremely unfortunate that the provincial government has ignored the overwhelming opposition to this project from the people of the Kootenays, the Ktunaxa Nation’s spiritual values, and ignored the clear scientific consensus against the development by North America’s leading grizzly bear experts.
“It’s a bad decision. But it’s not the end.”