Make Mt Waddington, the adjacent Whitemantle Range and Homathko Icefield a non-motorized area and a provincial or national park.

The proposed park would create a world class mountain wilderness area that would:
·      Consist of some of the most spectacular mountains in Canada, including the highest mountain wholly within BC.
·      Contain some of the largest non-polar glaciers and icefields in the world. 
·      Protect a heavily glaciated landscape of untouched, rugged mountain wilderness that is absolutely world class and is not currently represented in BC’s park system.

This is the only area of high icefields left in the Pacific Ranges that have not been given away as commercial tenure.

RECREATION

The proposed park would provide unparalleled opportunities for self-propelled ski mountaineering and climbing.  These mountains are known worldwide for the stunning pristine mountain wilderness they offer. It is very rare for people to be able to visit a landscape that essentially shows no signs of human activity. Mountaineering trips in a remote mountain wilderness are life changing events that people cherish as some of the best moments of their life. I have personally heard of many people from around the world who have visited these mountains on ski mountaineering trips and have been completely blown away by their scale, grandeur and remoteness – something they have not found anywhere else in the world.

In BC we often take these wilderness areas for granted, but they are extremely rare and we have an obligation to the rest of the world to preserve these places.

ISSUES

Current recreation uses in the proposed areas are almost exclusively non-motorized mountaineering and ski mountaineering groups that typically operate out of a basecamp for a week and use helicopters for access. These kinds of activities have virtually no impact on other users. Heli-skiing or other heli-sports are incompatible with the current commercial and recreational use of the area or with designation of the area as a park.

In the last 10-15 years, and most recently in 2021, there have been increasing and repeated applications for heli-skiing and heli-sport tenures in the Coast Mountains

1.     Heli-skiing, which is an important industry in BC, is well supported with enormous land tenures that cover a huge majority of the Pacific Ranges. 
2.     Conservation and recreation, which are also extremely important to BC, are not well represented. The only remaining mountainous areas of large glaciers and icefields that do not have established heli-sport tenures are the Waddington/Whitemantle Ranges and the Homathko Icefield. These landscapes are not well-represented by existing parks either. Therefore, it is essential that the remaining areas of the Waddington/Whitemantle Ranges and the Homathko Icefield not be developed as heli-ski or heli-assisted commercial tenures and instead immediately be zoned as non-motorized to preserve this region as wilderness and a candidate for protected area status. Such a designation is possible under section 17 of the Land Act.
3.     The Coast Mountains now contain some of the largest heli-ski tenures in the world, several of which are larger than the entire Swiss Alps. It has not been demonstrated by the industry why such large tenures are needed. Heli-ski tenures in the interior are a fraction of the size and are able to handle much larger numbers of guests. It is also not clear if such large remote tenures align with BC’s Climate Change policy.

It is essential that non-motorized use be defined as “no motorized activity is allowed except for helicopter or ski plane access”. 

SUPPORT

Canada has committed to increase its protected areas to 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 from a current 12.1%. That's more than a 100% increase! The proposed park is a prime candidate to help meet this increase. 

As an example of the level of public interest in these remote untouched wilderness areas, a 28-minute video about a self-propelled ski traverse of the Homathko Icefield called Crossing Home was produced by Jordan Manley for Arc’teryx in 2016. The video is posted on several websites and has been viewed by several hundred thousand people and won multiple awards. See:

Crossing Home by Jordan Manley

If these mountains were in nearby Washington State or Alaska they would most definitely be protected as a wilderness area and be managed to preserve their remote, wilderness values.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the proposal, including maps and an example letter see:

mountainclubs.org/mount-waddington-park-proposal

ACTIONS
1.     Immediate action is required to deny any current tenure applications in the area and designate the Waddington/Whitemantle Ranges and Homathko Icefield  as non-motorized areas. 
2.     The next action would be to protect these wilderness areas as a provincial or national park. 

WRITE A LETTER

Please take the time to write a personal letter. It doesn't have to be long. Send your letter to:

The Honourable John Horgan, M.L.A. Premier of British Columbia

Cc:
Gillian Harrison, Land Officer
Vera Vukelich, Manager Land Policy and Programs
Hon. George Heyman, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Hon. Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Hon. Steven Guilbeault Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change

At these e-mail addresses:

premier@gov.bc.ca
gillian.harrison@gov.bc.ca
Vera.Vukelich@gov.bc.ca 
ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca
FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
Steven.Guilbeault@parl.gc.ca