RESOURCES:
ENHANCING PUBLIC ACCESS to PRIVATELY OWNED WILD LANDS
(link: EPAPOWL.pdf 37 pages)
Published in 2016 by UVIC Environmental Law Clinic, and commissioned by the Outdoor Recreation Council, this is a study of the privately owned BC wild lands access problem. It outlines the problem, then looks at what other jurisdictons in North America and globally have done to resolve the problem. It then offers suggestions for resolving the access problem.
But since it’s publication the land owners have been making access more difficult, with more gates going up and convoluted access agreements with special interest groups.
WILD PLACES and GREEN SPACES – a guide to proving right to access
(link: WPGS.pdf 58 pages)
Published in 2022, this is the sequel to the EPAPOWL. In light of the worsening access problem, this document was written as a guide to help the citizens / public gain access to these important wild lands.
Written in 2 parts: part 1 describes how to do the research, and part 2 discusses the legal principles.
It points out 2 ways to prove right to access (both of which are true):
1) that public money was spent on the lands e.g. road building and/or maintenance
2) the land owners intended public access for a period of decades previously
However, recently our focus has changed. We have learned that the ownership has changed to investment corporations, which are owned by the governments and therefore we should have a right to access.
I must also point out that it is this guide (WPGS) that instigated the forming of our group (OTG). And we are ever grateful to UVIC Environmental Law Centre for this.
The E & N LAND GRAB – A Brief History
(link: A-BRIEF-HISTORY-E-and-N-LAND-GRAB.pdf 2 pages)
This is a brief 2 page version of how the E & N Land Grab came to be. (it is copied onto the “History” page on this website)
CROWN LAND GRANTS – A HISTORY of the E & N LAND GRANTS
(link: CROWN LAND GRANTS.pdf 44 pages)
Published in 1975 by the BC government, it outlines the story of the E & N land grants.
synopsis – CROWN LAND GRANTS – a HISTORY of the E & N LAND GRANTS
(link: synopsis CROWN LAND GRANTS.pdf 4 pages)
This is a condensed version of the original document published in 1975.
BRITISH COLONIST RESEARCH (spreadsheet)
(link: British-Colonist-research-24.5.27.pdf 6 pages)
The British Colonist newspaper of Victoria was the original newspaper of the colony of British Columbia and later became the Daily Colonist, and after that the Times-Colonist.
An extensive search of “public access” from 1954-1980 was done using the online archive BritishColonist.ca. This document is a list of these articles, with a note about each article.
Alec Merriman was the main Daily Colonist reporter keeping the public up to date on this public access problem from approximately 1956 to 1980. Many of the articles are from his Outdoors column.
Although “OPEN THE GATES” is only concerned with free public access to the PRIVATE wildlands on Vancouver Island, this document contains information on access to both private and government wildlands and so, is an interesting history of the struggles the citizens have faced with accessing their right to enjoy nature on Vancouver Island.
This document is meant to be a reference. Each newspaper article has a note as to it’s content. If you are interested in a certain article, refer to the date and page number on the left, and go to BritishColonist.ca to read the full article. This will give you the accurate information and context of each article.
STOCKED LAKES on VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC gov 1978
(link: BC-gov-stocked-lakes-VI-1978.pdf 47 pages)
This is proof that all lakes on Vancouver Island should be open to public access!
1962.3.22 PUBLIC ACCESS committee’s REPORT to legislature
(link: ACCESS-Committee-REPORT-62.3.22-in-full-4p.pdf 4 pages)
This is the report that the logging companies feared! This report contained wording and intent that would be in the Access Act.
1963.3.21 PUBLIC ACCESS ACT – draft
(link: Access-63.3.21-ACCESS Act-DRAFT.pdf 15 pages)
And here is the draft of the PUBLIC ACCESS ACT, published one year after the Public Access Committee’s report to legislature.
CALVIN SANDBORN’S LETTER to VANCOUVER SUN
(link: opinion-CALVIN-SANDBORN.pdf 2 pages)
His letter outlines a clear solution. The BC government made the problem and they can fix it!
TIMBERWEST ANNUAL REPORT 2010
(link: TimberWest-last-annual-report-2010.pdf 34 pages)
The last annual report (2010) from TimberWest as a publicly traded company prior to it being acquired by the pension funds (BCiMC and the Canadian Public Sector Pension Investment Board) later in 2011. The report contains descriptions of the property holdings (“TimberWest owns in fee simple approximately 319,000 hectares or 787,000 acres of Private Timberland. These timberlands are substantially all located on Vancouver Island…”). In addition the report outlines the advantages of operating under the Privately Managed Forest Land Act 1) “Stumpage fees, under normal market conditions, are a considerable cost component for logs harvested from Crown lands, whereas timber harvested from Private Timberlands is stumpage free“. 2) “TimberWest has greater flexibility to export logs from its Private Timberlands to the higher-value international log market” 3) “Private Timberlands afford full flexibility with regard to volumes harvested and selection of harvest areas“.
FINANCIERS in the FORESTS on VANCOUVER ISLAND
(link: Financiers-in-the-forests-on-VI.pdf 26 pages)
This article was published in the Journal of Agrarian Change. It provides an excellent historical timeline of how ownership of the Timberlands on Vancouver Island has developed over time.
THE NEED TO REFORM BC’s Private Managed Forest Land Act
(link: Need to Reform PMFLA.pdf 111 pages)
Published by the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria, it describes how First Nations peoples have been excluded from consideration in the management of privately managed forests.
BC FORESTRY OPERATIONS MAP
(link webpage: Forest Operations Map portal)
Information about forestry development is now more easily available online for public review and comment.
Previously, the public primarily learned about proposed cutblocks and roads in the local newspaper or in-person at district forestry offices, and then submitted comments by email or regular mail.