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Park upkeep is important

These parks are a great opportunity for people to get out and experience the beauty of nature, and what this province has to offer.

This past week the Lakes Outdoor Recreation Society voted to sign a contract with the Ministry of Recreation Sites and Trails B.C. that will help the outdoor society to continue maintaining and upholding 28 recreation sites and two provincial parks in the area.

However, due to the lack of funding this year, there are seven additional trails that are normally maintained by the Lakes Outdoor Society that will not be maintained this year.

The outdoor society received a $30,000 from Comfor Management Services Limited two weeks ago, yet that funding was only enough to help with the maintenance of the 28 sites and two parks, not the seven trails.

The two provincial parks that are being maintained are Pendleton Bay and Ethel M. Wilson parks.

Both of those provincial parks are classified by B.C. Parks as Class A parks, which means that B.C. Parks is dedicated to the preservation of their natural environments for the inspiration and enjoyment of the public.

And that is why the lack of funding for the outdoor society maintenance is disturbing.

These parks are a great opportunity for people to get out and experience the beauty of nature, and what this province has to offer.

This situation is similar to that of Burns Bog in Delta.

Speaking from experience, Burns Bog is a great place to go for a bike ride, to go for a run, to take your dog for a walk or to just experience nature.

At approximately 3000 hectares it is that largest, undeveloped urban landmass in North America.

The bog which is a stretch of the Fraser River delta between the South arm of the Fraser River and Boundary Bay is home to over 175 species of bird, including the Greater Sandhill Crane, 41 species of mammals, six species of reptiles and approximately 4000 invertebrate species.

It is also home to 14 different plant communities.

And all of that was almost destroyed.

It wasn’t until 2004, when the Canadian government, the provincial government, the City of Delta and the Greater Vancouver Regional District partnered to purchase 2042 hectares of Burns Bog to be preserved in perpetuity as an ecological conservancy area.

That number has now risen to 2 477 hectares or approximately 87 per cent of Burns Bog.

The total cost to purchase this land was approximately $73 million.

What this all means is that preserving the natural surroundings of the area, so that they can be enjoyed is essential.

It shouldn’t be expected that the Village of Burns Lake pay $73 million in order to maintain the parks and recreation sites, but rather it should be important to support the Lakes Outdoor Recreation Society and their efforts to helping to maintain the parks and trails in and around Burns Lake.

And it’s not just the outdoor society.

The Burns Lake Mountain Bike Association spends time and resources maintaining the mountain bike trails and creating new trails that bring in riders from throughout the province.

It is essential that the efforts of those two associations and others within Burns Lake are supported, so that we can continue to enjoy the great natural surroundings that are provided to us.