B.C. Park Quality Suffers, Budget Stays the Same
Infrastructure and service within the province’s parks is in poor condition, according to citizens and CPAWS
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) believes that the underfunding of parks in British Columbia is unacceptable. The province’s Minister of Environment, Mary Polak, says there is no underfunding to speak of.
“Have we seen some sort of underfunding? I don’t know if I would necessarily accept that. I think we would always want to spend more,” says Polak.
The executive director of CPAWS’ chapter in British Columbia, Bruce Passmore, says that he “would probably ask [Polak] if she’s been into many of the parks recently, if she feels that maintenance is not an issue.”
“There are so many bridges down, signs missing, broken ladders and steps, and all sorts of things,” says Passmore. “What also happens is there are a lot of trails that, because they’re being really heavily used, they become really muddy, and there’s not proper drainage being built, so people go around them and walk into sensitive ecosystems and make the trails wider.”
CPAWS has recently been encouraging park visitors to send them photos of unsatisfactory infrastructure in the parks and have been receiving supportive submissions. Even outside of CPAWS, there have been several complaints made about dilapidated or even absent infrastructure, as well as common infractions on the grounds.
A fact sheet from the Ministry of Environment states that their total budget for 2016 is over $68 million, with most of it going to operations, camping fees, and regular capital funding, with $2.2 million attributed to park enhancement. An estimated $21 million from returned camping fees goes back into parks operations, which is not captured in the B.C. Parks budget.
If given more funding, Polak says she would like to give more attention in particular to general maintenance at the parks, as well as increasing accessibility for the elderly and disabled.
Visits to parks in B.C. have been increasing over the years, but per-hectare funding has stayed relatively the same, even after inflation. Passmore says that that budget should be significantly increased in order to address that.
“I would say the biggest issue is that we have this systemic degrading of the services in the parks, and then we’ve also got another layer that’s happening. We have approximately one ranger for every 12 parks in B.C.,” says Passmore. “There is no way that the rangers can adequately enforce the regulations.”
Comparatively, Polak says that comparing the amount of park land to the number of rangers on it is “not really the best way to examine it.”
“It’s quite expensive and it’s different. Very many of our parks in B.C. are wilderness parks, where you don’t have people,” she says, adding that the Ministry has been focusing their money into camping facilities in parks rather than staff.
Because Polak believes that “it’s not fair that it all be on the taxpayer’s pocket,” the Ministry plans to look at how to generate revenue through park activities, donations, sponsorships, and partnerships rather than pushing for more funding.
