Skaha Access Update
The Land Conservancy (TLC), who are leading the effort to secure the 750-acre Sublot 18 to enable access to Skaha Bluffs, must put together the purchase price. This is currently undisclosed but thought to be well in excess of $5M. Much of the money will come from Government funds but around $1M must be found from private sources.
A recent meeting between TLC and the owner produced a two-month extension of the deadline for producing the money. The deadline had been the end of April but has been put back to the end of June – a much needed breathing space.
Just before Easter, the Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) announced that they would match member donations for the purchase of Sublot 18 up to a maximum of $100,000. Following that announcement, Peter Robinson, CEO of Mountain Equipment Coop, was in Penticton on April 10th to announce that MEC are adding a further $250,000 grant.
This is clearly a major boost in the effort to raise the $1M. It has provided initial encouragement to individual and corporate donors. If MEC members play their part and donate $100,000, the contribution of MEC and its members will amount to about half of the required private funding.
Bill Turner, the main negotiator for TLC, reports there is still more than $1M to find from Government sources but seems confident that this can be done. Climbers should bear in mind, however, that while all levels of Government are keen to see the access issue solved, their main interest in Sublot 18 is because of its high value as habitat for wildlife.
Besides raising money, there are still a couple of issues to be resolved before climbers can be certain of continued access to Skaha Bluffs.
1) The road into Sublot 18 is along an easement. This must be renegotiated to reflect the change in ownership and use.
2) Once the lot is purchased, the road will have to be upgraded before it can be opened for use by the public. The road passes through a reparian area and stringent rules apply to work in these delicate, and disappearing habitats.
3) Although there is no official pronouncement, all indications are that a small part of Sublot 18 and the crown land on which most of the Bluffs are located will become a Park. Much of the reset of Sublot 18 will become part of a larger Wildlife Management Area. There will be much discussion and negotiation between the various interested parties before a user-plan will be finalised for this area.
Howie Richardson
OK Falls
