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SLRD sees tenure decisions as pre-empting LRMP process

Any approval of commercial recreation tenures on Crown land within the Lillooet Timber Supply Area could compromise the LRMP process in that region. This is the feeling of Squamish-Lillooet Regional District board members who voted at their Dec.

Any approval of commercial recreation tenures on Crown land within the Lillooet Timber Supply Area could compromise the LRMP process in that region.

This is the feeling of Squamish-Lillooet Regional District board members who voted at their Dec. 15 meeting to ask that the B.C. Assets and Lands Corporation defer any decisions on tenure applications until the Lillooet Land Resource Management Process is complete.

The board believes the LRMP is at a critical stage and decisions on applications – like the one from Cayoosh Snowcat Skiing – should be temporarily put on ice.

BCAL has asked the SLRD for input on all tenure applications within its jurisdiction, which includes the Squamish Forest District as well as parts of the Lillooet Forest District.

This is not the first time the SLRD has suggested to BCAL that tenure decisions could be perceived to be pre-empting the LRMP process.

In October the SLRD wrote to BCAL saying that as participants at the LRMP table, it was inappropriate to comment on land tenure within the LRMP boundaries.

The SLRD said this was applicable to the Cayoosh Snowcat Skiing application as well other applications – like heli-ski operations – that use Whistler or Pemberton as base or staging areas but conduct activities within portions of the LRMP area.

BCAL is also an active LRMP table participant.

In response to the SLRD letter, Dave Bacon, BCAL’s commercial recreation program manager for that region, noted that LRMPs take several years to complete and it would not be reasonable to withhold Crown land disposition pending completion of those plans.

"Rather, we follow our land referral and consultation approaches to determine potential impacts and interests and review current LRMP progress to ensure our decisions do not unduly compromise potential LRMP direction."

Bacon said this could mean decisions being withheld on certain applications while others may proceed.

The SLRD, however, feels a decision on the LRMP, one way or the other, is imminent and that it is reasonable to withhold Crown land dispositions for a few more months.