First Nations had announced closing it until Sept. 30 for traditional harvesting and spiritual ceremonies.
A popular provincial park is to reopen this Labour Day weekend while talks continue with First Nations over their demands for periodic, exclusive use for traditional purposes, the B.C. Environment Ministry said Wednesday evening.
“As we continue conversations with the First Nations, the park will be open to visitors Friday through the end of the long weekend. By mutual agreement, there will be a reduction in day use passes made available,” he said.The province said day passes will be available on a rolling basis for Friday to Monday as of 7 a.m. on August 31. All 29 backcountry spaces will be open from Friday, Sept. 1, with departures on Monday, Sept. 4.
The province implemented a mandatory free day-pass program in 2021 to deal with overcrowding in the park. In 2019, there were 196,322 visitors to the park, a more than 200 per cent increase since 2010. The pass system is meant to cap annual visits to the park at 200,000. Starting last week, park rangers have been on site telling the public the park was closed, to ensure the province was respecting the Nations’ wishes and to ensure there is no conflict, the province said at the time.
Dean Nelson, the Lílwat chief, had said Friday that there has been a long conversation with the province over their desire to have an “equal voice” on closures of the park when they want and when they need them.
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