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RDEK to take part in Koocanusa scoping exercise
Ongoing concerns about a variety of Crown land use issues around Lake Koocanusa are the basis to the creation of a scoping exercise that the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) has agreed to take part in.
The regional board Feb. 14 unanimously authorized RDEK staff participation in a scoping exercise for Lake Koocanusa area Crown land.
Electoral Area B Director Heath Slee has been trying to find a way to have trespass, squatting and other land abuse matters dealt with for about a decade.
On Jan. 20, Slee, RDEK board chair Rob Gay (Electoral Area C director), Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett and Steve Thompson, Minister of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO), along with Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) and provincial ministry staff met to discuss proceeding with a scoping exercise that will create a situational analysis on Crown land issues such as off-road vehicle use, camping, compliance and enforcement.
RDEK acting manager of Planning and Development Services Karen MacLeod reported to the regional board Jan. 30 that CBT, which is funding the exercise, asked the regional government, in light of the recently adopted Lake Koocanusa Official Community Plan, to be involved in the scoping exercise.
“The Lake Koocanusa OCP was developed in partnership with the Ktunaxa Nation Council and the province, represented by the MFLNRO. Crown land issues under the jurisdiction of the province were identified during the OCP consultation process. The issues were identified to be land use management and enforcement issues outside of the scope of the OCP process. The proposed exercise is consistent with the policies of the OCP that provide direction to requests by the RDEK for the province to actively engage in recreation management and enforcement in the Koocanusa area,” MacLeod reported.
The exercise will tap into regional administrative staff time, she added, that wasn’t originally anticipated and the work could infringe on Elk Valley Official Community Plan endeavours.
The working group is also proposed to include a coordinator appointed by CBT, representatives from various provincial ministries and the Ktunaxa Nation.
Ian Cobb/e-KNOW
