Camping? It’s complicated

I’ve been pondering the Metro Vancouver Parks proposal for Cape Roger Curtis. When the plan first went public, social media erupted in a flurry. It’s been quiet since but “public consultation” will begin soon and I confess that my inner voice is protesting “But consultation doesn’t equal ownership or consent”

Is the plan entirely in Metro Vancouver’s domain? Or is there space for us to invent parks that are tailored to our unique status as an island municipality?

In my heart, the strongest argument against tens of thousands of annual visitors camping at the Cape is ecology. Dry forest habitats are fragile The lichens and mosses that cover the Cape’s coastal bluffs are essential to the forest nutrient cycle and take decades to centuries to establish but are easily extinguished by human impact

Roads and trails that were part of Cape residential development have noticeably changed the landscape The designated walking trail is intentionally well used but the light footprint of deer trails has been replaced by ever deepening and widening human forged paths to scenic bluffs and mini beaches

Off-road motorized vehicle tracks cut across protected land acquired by the Conservancy to protect rare plants and creatures And the urban hordes haven’t even arrived yet!

Skwxwú7mesh, locals, and visitors have wild camped at the Cape for generations But I think about the logistics of increased vehicle traffic on ferries and cross-island roads or the alternative of young families setting out across the Island to camp without a vehicle and I can’t quite make the picture work in my imagination.

A park at the Cape needs to encompass the Islands Trust mandate to “Preserve and Protect” And we can add “restore“ to that promise It is worth looking up a recent UBC