1,400 speak out against proposed new ski resort
A new ski resort planned for the Purcell Mountains outside of Invermere is drawing heat from community members who are concerned with the impact it might have on grizzly and mountain goat populations and the 13 other Kootenay ski resorts in the region.
The team behind the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort recently took their proposal on the road to invite public input at open houses in Invermere and Nelson. Although there is some support in nearby communities for the project, which is projected to generate 3,700 person years of construction and another 800 full times jobs, the opposition is well-organized and gathering momentum.
The provincial Environmental Assessment Office, which is currently reviewing the project, has already received more than 1,400 comments in opposition to the project on its Web site and two comments for it in the first two weeks. The call for public comments closes on April 13. The EAO is expected to release its recommendations in September.
In addition to negative comments on the EAO Web site, between 700 and 1,500 residents of Nelson – depending on which report you read – took to the streets on March 12 to protest plans for the ski resort.
The most vocal group in opposition to the project is the Jumbo Creek Conservation Society, which is urging more people to voice their opposition to the project.
"There is a huge coalition of people opposed to it, it’s not a popular issue here," said Kat Hartwig, a representative of the JCCS and the East Kootenays Environmental Society.
"The proponents are quick to point out that Jumbo will offer the best skiing in Western Canada, when studies show that the glaciers will be all but gone in 30 years. Our position is that it’s not about skiing, it’s not about tourism, it’s about real estate development."
The size of the resort is out of scale for the area, says Hartwig, and the plan does little to mitigate the issues that will impact wildlife. "For the government this is the pie in the sky, a new cash cow, but people in the community don’t want it.
"I live in Invermere and there are 12 resorts within a three hour drive of where I live, and none of them are operating at capacity right now. The communities are making the switch to tourism from resource industries, but we don’t have the infrastructure for that. The local hospital has had cutbacks and can barely handle the injuries that are coming from Panorama (Mountain Resort). We don’t have the policing, we don’t have the services for this."
Colleen McCrory, the local Green Party representative, is also opposed to the development, and the way it’s being portrayed in the media. While most Lower Mainland news agencies reported that there were between 700 and 800 protesters in the streets of Nelson, her own count put the number at closer to 1,500.
"The opposition to this project is at many levels. There are people concerned with the environment and the impact on the alpine and grizzly bears. There’s a dramatic change from what we already have and that’s small-scale tourism and ski areas like Red Mountain and Whitewater that are locally supported.," said McCrory. "There are guiding outfits and businesses that are going to be pushed out of using the area, it’s a well-used valley for that kind of thing."
One local MLA, Blair Suffredine of Nelson-Creston, came out in favour of the project, which worries McCrory. "What that says to me is that in spite of the widespread opposition the government takes little stock of the community concerns, and I worry that they are going to rubber stamp the project," she said.
Oberti Oberti Architecture and Urban Design Inc., the company behind the resort proposal, is using the open houses and a brochure to counter the views expressed by the resort’s opponents and to answer the specific charges that have been levelled against the development.
"The people who have been opposing the project have tried to create the impression that everybody is against it, but I don’t think that’s true at all," said Oberto Oberti, who has been working on this project for 13 years.
"Originally it was the question of wildlife and grizzly bears. More recently it has been the concern that taxpayers will be paying for the road improvements, and we responded to that saying there is no offer from the government and no request from the developer to have taxpayers fund road improvements.
"Lately there is a new issue and that’s the concern that access could be limited in some of the upper drainages as part of the mitigation measures, so we’re responding to that as well, as we’ve responded to all of these things.
"We think that if people really understand what is being proposed then they shouldn’t have a problem with these things."
Oberti refutes the idea being put forward by opponents that the resort is being planned for a pristine area when the road to the area actually begins at the Mineral King mine site and the resort is located at the site of an abandoned sawmill. Furthermore, he says more than 50 per cent of the area has either been newly logged, or is recently replanted.
The Jumbo Creek area is also widely used by heli-ski companies, snowmobilers, horses and other recreational user groups.
While the developers don’t deny that there are wildlife values in the area, they say the grizzly bear and mountain goat populations prefer the unroaded Purcell Wilderness Conservancy which starts two drainages over. According to studies submitted to the government most wildlife only passes through the area.
According to Oberti the project’s supporters include the local Shuswap First Nations, the Tourism Action Society of the Kootenays (TASK) and will soon have the approval of the Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce as well.
Oberti has been involved with several projects in Vancouver and recently helped to create the Kicking Horse Mountain resort in Golden.
The price tag on the Jumbo Glacier Resort is $450 million. Financial backing has apparently been promised by unnamed North American, European and Japanese investors.
The proposed development would include a 110-hectare resort area with up to 25 ski lifts to the surrounding glaciers. Some 5,500 bed units will be developed at the base, plus another 750 beds for staff accommodation. Because of its altitude, with glaciers at more than 3,000 metres, the resort expects to operate year-round.
One of the glaciers, Farnham Glacier, is already being used by Canadian national alpine, freestyle and snowboard teams for training and Oberti says that will continue once the resort is developed.
If the EAO gives the project its approval, Oberti’s next step is to get the master plan approved by Land and Water B.C. and a master development agreement with the B.C. government.
The environmental assessment review process is already in its ninth year, says Oberti. How fast they can break ground if the project passes is up to the government.
"It all depends on the will of the government. It can be done as quickly or as slowly as it has been done in the past. The timetable is in their hands," said Oberti.
"We feel we’ve got the studies and information to demonstrate that we’ve dealt with the concerns that have been expressed. We’ve certainly been responsive – it’s like going to school, when you do your homework it’s nice to get the marks. We feel that work will be recognized."
As to the idea that the area doesn’t need another ski resort, Oberti says the province is still underdeveloped compared to places like Colorado. He also believes that Jumbo Glacier Resort will act as a magnet resort, bringing more tourists to the region who will also visit other ski areas as the infrastructure linking communities continues to improve. Nearby Cranbrook Airport is currently being upgraded to accept international flights.
"Well it will be gradual? I don’t think it will happen all at once, but definitely the accessibility to the Kootenays will increase. I still believe the majority of people will come to the national parks, but when they find out there are things to do and visit outside of the national parks they will come," said Oberti.
"I like to stress that what I love in this project is to be able to present something like this in the calibre of the provincial parks in the sense that the view from the mountain tops is stunning, they’re the same things you see in places like Lake Louise."
