February, 2004 Vol. 8, Issue 1
Newsletter of the
Friends of West Kootenay Parks
From the Editor
Another Busy Year
Since our last communication with our members in the spring of 2003, the Friends have renewed their committment to area parks. In this edition of The Outlook, there are articles on the restoration of the Slocan Chief, the upcoming 100th Birthday of the Pilot Bay Lighthouse and the Visitor Centre at Kokanee Creek Park.
The Society's work in area parks continues in the face of mounting pressure on funding for BC Parks. As a cooperating society working with BC Parks, we have been very disturbed by the lack of a vision for the parks system, outside of the obvious, that governments present and past have continually eroded the resources needed to manage and protect these public assets. Because they are a public asset, something that each of us has a stake in. The provincial parks system is a net generator of income to the province as users from down the street and across the world come to experience the recreational opportunities provided in our parks. If we don't maintain and protect the values that our visitors seek, we risk a long-term degradation of the parks system that will make it less attractive to us all and less viable as a reservoir of protected ecosystems .
The Friends of West Kootenay Parks are seeking input from our members and supporters on ways to inform our policy makers and park users of the inherent values of our public resource and make the case for increased funding for BC Parks. Please write to us at Box 212, Nelson BC, V1L 5P9 or send an email to fwkp@kics.bc.ca. We look forward to hearing from you.
Visitor Centre - 2003
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Visitor Centre opened it's doors to the public on Sunday May 18, following a long-standing tradition of being open on Sundays from the May long weekend until the summer. Just prior to opening, we received word that our application for funding through HRDC's Student Summer Works Program was approved - Steve Woods was hired as coordinator. Steve worked for the Friends until the end of August, making sure that volunteers were available to keep the Visitor Centre open from 10AM to 4PM during the day and 7-9PM in the evening, 7 days a week in July and August. This nearly doubled the hours of operation from the previous year, setting us well on the road to providing hours of operation similar to those before the cutbacks.
In addition, we were able to secure a 6 week placement of an exchange student from Quebec through the Summer Works, Student Exchange program funded by the federal government. Our student, Andreanne Choiniere was a valuable asset to the Visitor Centre, greatly reducing our dependence on volunteers. Volunteers were the backbone of the operation. They contributed 700 hours of time to run the facility from May to September. Many were able to commit to regular weekly hours, a big bonus for the coordinator. The society is very grateful for the volunteer support provided during the summer.
The summer of 2003 was not particularly good for Kokanee Creek Park. Due to a number of factors, attendance at the park was down over previous years. For the Visitor Centre, the reduction in the number of campers as well as the unremittingly sunny, hot weather meant that park visitors made less use of the facility than usual. For us, this proved to be a mixed blessing; on the plus side, it meant that we were not forced to learn the management ropes at full speed but on the down side, the reduction in visits to the centre reduced our business income. In spite of this, we ended the season with sufficient surplus to carry us through until the summer of 2004.
Just prior to opening full-time at the beginning of July, we learned that the Park Facility Operator, 441 Holdings Ltd had committed $5,000 for each summer to be directed to interpretation. This allowed us to offer Nancie Dohan of Ecosense Interpretation Services a contract guaranteeing a flat rate per program offered. In addition, the fees for programs were lowered to $2 per person, with Ecosense and the Friends splitting the fee. On this basis, Ecosense was able to provide 2 programs per day, 5 days per week. We are grateful to Mike Shoniker and Ross Burrell of 441 Holdings for this support - it puts us years ahead towards our goal of restoring full-time interpretation at Kokanee Creek Park.
Through a grant provided by Columbia Basin Trust's Environmental Awareness Program, partners with the Columbia-Kootenay Fisheries Renewal Partnership, Ecosense offered local schools a program centred on the Kokanee spawning run. Ecosense employed 2 interpreters in addition to Nancie Dohan to provide this program, which was run from the Visitor Centre during September and early October.
Overall, we were very pleased with the progress made this summer. The Visitor Centre was open regular hours and offered regularly scheduled programs. In future years, we hope to establish contacts with other organizations and government ministries who can help us extend our ability to offer interpretation in areas of local interest.
Slocan Chief Restoration - 2004
Fourteen years after the Slocan Chief Cabin was earmarked for restoration in the Kokanee Glacier Park Master Plan, preparations are underway to undertake the necessary work on the historic structure. The Friends of West Kootenay Parks Society ("Friends") has been contracted by BC Parks to restore the building and install interpretive materials that explain the history of the cabin.
The Friends have hired The Traditional Timber Framing Company of Harrop/Proctor to do the work. "We were very happy with the job that Joern Wingender's company did on the Pilot Bay Lighthouse" explained Friends' president Bill Bryce. Bryce, Wingender and BC Parks ranger Dave Heagy have been meeting to plan the transport of tons of material and tools to the site in late June and early July of 2004. "We've been very lucky to have Dave's input on the helicopter logistics and site constraints" said Bryce.
Fundraising for the restoration and interpretation are still ongoing. Bryce commented that the Friends were concerned that the Kokanee Glacier Alpine Campaign might not come up with sufficient funding to cover both projects. "As it turned out, with the exception of a donation from Parks Canada that covers about three-quarters of the cost of installing interpretation materials, there was no money left over for the Slocan Chief" said Bryce. Over the years, the Friends have been accumulating funds from donations and the sale of t-shirts (currently on sale at Valhalla Pure and Cottons in Nelson) but there is still a shortfall of up to $15,000.
Les Weisbrich, an internationally recognized artist who lives in New Denver, donated the rights to his painting "Slocan Chief Cabin" to the Friends of West Kootenay Parks. Over the past three years, limited edition prints of the painting have been sold through the Glass House Gallery in Nelson. In November of 2003, Weisbrich spent the day at the Chahko Mika Mall with the Friends and painted a watercolour that was raffled off. "Les has been completely supportive of our efforts to restore the cabin" said Bryce. "It's been a real honour to have him working with us." The Slocan Chief Cabin print can be seen at the Glass House Gallery in the mall.
The cost of restoring the building and installing displays is currently estimated at $110,000 to $125,000. "Last year, we were very lucky and extremely grateful to receive a bequest from the estate of Lindsay and Jules Holt" said Bryce. "Without their generous gift, it would have been next to impossible to raise the funds in time". The Holts were long time supporters of BC Parks in the West Kootenays and have made significant donations in the past.
To support the restoration of the Slocan Chief Cabin, purchase a limited edition print at the Glass House Gallery in the Chahko Mika Mall or make a tax-deductible donation to the Friends of West Kootenay Parks Society at Box 212, Nelson BC V1L 5P9 or online at www.slocanchief.ca.
[ed note: text from Feb 2004 press release]
Pilot Bay Lighthouse - Getting Ready for 2005
Pilot Bay Lighthouse now has what some people might think is a 'new look'. But the two tall dormered windows that have recently been put in the south side of the building aren't new at all, but a return to the way the structure looked when it was first opened in 1905.
Restoration of the building's 'original look' is part of an on-going program to upgrade the heritage structure situated inside Pilot Bay Provincial Park just south of Kootenay Bay.
The contractor on the restoration project at Pilot Bay Lighthouse is master carpenter Joern Wingender [of The Traditional Timber Framing Company] from Sunshine Bay. He has done such work on heritage buildings inside other local parks and next year, he will be in charge of restoring the Slocan Chief Cabin in Kokanee Glacier Park.
When I asked him, Wingender agreed that working as a carpenter in remote sites with no electricity and limited access was challenging. I asked him his secrets. They include planning well, traveling light and knowing how to use hand tools. "You have to able to cut wood with a hand saw to do this kind of work," he said wryly.
From the writer's point of view I could see that what Wingender and his crew were doing also required serious physical fitness and the ability to work in the great outdoors. The day I visited the lighthouse, one of the men was meticulously sliding together sheets of overlapping flashing and pre-cut shingles alongside a window opening, apparently with no concern, while standing on two ladders, twenty feet up in the air, buffeted by the wind and rain!
Pilot Bay Lighthouse has had other work done on it's foundation, vents and staircases since the building was transferred from the federal government to BC Parks. BC Parks did all these projects in cooperation with the volunteer members of a regional group called the Friends of West Kootenay Parks, which raises funds specifically for work on the lighthouse
More work, including interpretive signs and a paint job is planned for the building in 2004 so Pilot Bay Lighthouse can look it's best for centennial celebrations in 2005. Until then, readers are encouraged to get out and visit the lighthouse for some hands-on history. Try looking out the window in the second story room and imagine what the light keeper saw....
[ed note: extract from an article by Friends member Susan Hulland that appeared in the November 2003 issue of The East Shore Mainstreet]
Slocan Chief Cabin – Telling the Story
by Tim Thurston
A contract will be tendered this summer to develop long-term interpretive signage and displays at the historic Slocan Chief Cabin. We want to share the story of how the cabin came to be, how it has stood the test of time and how it should continue to stand strong (as a day-use interpretive shelter) for the benefit of future visitors to the core of Kokanee Glacier Park. This story will connect the role of the glacier, mining, and backcountry recreation to the cabin and will include an avalanche safety component.
These interpretive messages will be installed in the cabin in the summer of 2005.
If you have any questions or want to contribute ideas, information, photos, or finances, please contact one of the Friends who are working on this project, Tim Thurston (259-2951), Molly Smith (352-7472) or Ursula Lowrey (825-4338).
