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38-615: In July 1910, a party of the British Columbia Provincial Government Expedition led by the Chief Commissioner of Lands Price Ellison explored the region surrounding Crown Mountain on Vancouver Island for the purposes of setting aside land to establish British Columbia's first provincial park . Ellison then reported his findings to the Executive Council of British Columbia. On March 1, 1911,

76-523: A plan that would reach 75% of the province's greenhouse gas emissions target . The plan is designed to reduce emissions 40% by the year 2030, compared to 2007 levels. Most of the plan's funding is projected to come from BC's carbon tax . For buildings, the BC Building Code was amended to make all buildings “ net zero energy ready” by 2032, the natural gas grid must contain 15% RNG and the province will assist in funding efficiency upgrades. For industry,

114-539: Is a provincial park in British Columbia , Canada . It is home to the second largest natural hot springs in Canada, after Deer River Hot Springs 15 km to the north east. It is a natural river of hot water rather than a spring fed man made pool. The park is part of the larger Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. The community of Liard River, British Columbia is located nearby. The Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park

152-709: Is responsible for the effective protection, management and conservation of the province's natural resources . It is currently overseen by George Heyman . The "Department of Lands and Works" was established under the Constitution Act in 1871 following the admission of the Colony of British Columbia to the Dominion of Canada . The department was responsible for the management of Crown lands , surveying and mapping of Crown lands, construction and maintenance of public services , and encouragement of European settlement . In 1908,

190-508: Is the most visited park unit with over 1.8 million visitors in 2017–18. The British Columbia Protected Areas System consists of five different designations: The BC Parks and Protected Areas System also feature two sub-designations: British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy is a ministry of the government of British Columbia in Canada . The ministry

228-537: Is the third largest park system in North America after national parks systems of Canada and the United States . The largest park unit is Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park at 989,616 hectares (3,821 mi). The smallest park unit is Ballingall Islets Ecological Reserve at just 0.2 hectares (0.49 acres ). BC Parks reported attendance of 26,253,500 at all parks and protected areas in 2018–19. Cypress Provincial Park

266-718: The Barkerville Provincial Park and the first marine parks that have areas for moorage, the new 1965 Park Act inserted conservation as a park objective for the first time and the 1971 Ecological Reserves Act , the result of its participation in the International Biological Program , saw protected areas created solely for the purpose of scientific research and educational purposes. As the New Democratic Party government of Dave Barrett (1972–1975) formed, awareness of environmental issues in

304-495: The COVID-19 pandemic . The agency began to selectively reopen parks for day-use only starting on May 14. The British Columbia Parks and Protected Areas System is a collection of physical properties managed by BC Parks. The system encompasses 1,035 park units covering an area of about 14.1 million hectares (54,440 mi)—about 14.4% of the entire province—with over 6,000 km (3,700 mi) of hiking trails and approximately 12,700 campsites. It

342-540: The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve was continued and resulted in several new provincial parks in the Gulf Islands . The major accomplishment of this era was creation of conservancies in 2006 as protected areas that prioritize biological diversity and First Nations values, rather than recreational values. First Nations had previously been largely excluded from deliberations of park development until

380-562: The Tweedsmuir and Hamber Provincial Parks were over one million hectares when created in 1938 and 1941, respectively, the Wells Gray Provincial Park was established in 1939 at over 470,000 hectares, and the E. C. Manning Provincial Park was created from a wildlife reserve in 1941. The Liard River Provincial Park was a short-lived 730,000 hectare protected area, established in 1944 and cancelled in 1949, though its central feature

418-595: The "Department of Lands, Forests and Water Resources", whose functions had been split between the "Ministry of Environment" and "Ministry of Forests". The department was responsible for the management and protection of land, air and water resources including Crown lands (except for matters under the jurisdiction of the Department of Forests), water rights, and pollution control. The department was divided into three branches: land and water management, environmental and engineering services, and environmental protection. Later in 1976,

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456-428: The 1997 Supreme Court decision of Delgamuukw v British Columbia after which the provincial government began recognizing Aboriginal title . Also in this era, land trusts became an effective tool to protect privately owned land in a way that did not require its outright purchase and management by the government. On April 8, 2020, BC Parks announced the full closure of the parks and protected areas system in response to

494-401: The B.C. Lands Service, B.C. Forest Service, and B.C. Water Resources Service. It retained the same responsibilities as its predecessor until the disestablishment of the department in 1975. In 1975, the "Ministry of Environment" was established by an order in council under its first name: "Department of Environment". The original functions of the Department of Environment were transferred from

532-569: The Dept. of Environment was renamed the "Ministry of the Environment". In 1978, a major government reorganization transferred functions relating to lands and parks from the "Ministry of the Environment" to the newly established "Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing". At the same time, the "Ministry of the Environment" gained functions relating to marine resources and wildlife (from the former Ministry of Recreation and Conservation), environmental health (from

570-522: The Ministry of Environment was disestablished and its functions were merged with those of the "Ministry of Lands and Parks" to create a new ministry called the "Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks". The successor to this ministry was the "Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection", existing from 2001 to 2005. The successor to this was the "Ministry of Environment", existing from 2005 to 2016. Throughout all of these successive name changes and restructurings,

608-419: The Ministry of Health), and emergency programming (from the Ministry of Provincial Secretary and Travel Industry). The reorganized "Ministry of the Environment" was divided into four branches: Land and Water Management, Environmental and Engineering Services, Environmental Protection, and Environment and Land Use Secretariat. The name was revised as just the "Ministry of Environment" the following year. In 1986,

646-576: The adoption of the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act, the park system doubled in area to 10.9 million hectares (11.6% of the province) in just 10 years. Park creation halted for the first few years of the Liberal Party government (2001–2017) as it downsized government operations, though they followed through, in 2004, with recommendations of completed land use plans for creating parks in identified areas. The provincial-federal agreement to assemble

684-474: The area of ski hills as private developments within parks, such as Cypress and Seymour , or promoting private developments just outside of parks, like Blackcomb and Mount Washington . Likewise seeking a partnership saving costs, the government agreed to move parks and reserves on Moresby Island into the national park system to create the Gwaii Haanas National Park . Also, during this timeframe

722-435: The country in its natural state. To achieve the 12% target, a provincial protected area strategy and regional land use planning was initiated to identify areas and means for resource extraction and for protection. With the addition of suitable areas identified through the resource planning process and numerous very large parks, such as Tatshenshini-Alsek , Tsʼilʔos , Northern Rocky Mountains and Cariboo Mountains , along with

760-550: The department was disestablished with an amendment to the Constitution Act and its functions were divided between the newly formed "Department of Lands" and "Department of Public Works", of which the former is the ancestor to the current ministry. The Department of Lands was responsible for the management of Crown lands, surveying and mapping of Crown lands, timber inspection, forest protection, and water rights management with respect to mining operations. The Department of Lands

798-514: The executive council passed the Strathcona Park Act , which protected approximately 250,000 hectares (620,000 acres) of mountainous terrain from being sold, settled or otherwise occupied. While the Park Act was intended to protect the land from being exploited, it exempted both mining claims and timber holdings had been granted prior to the establishment of the park from being voided. This statute

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836-564: The first inland marine park was created with the Shuswap Lake Marine Park and numerous parks (such as Monkman , Sukunka Falls , Gwillim Lake and East Pine ) were created to support the government priority of building Tumbler Ridge . Park creation under the next New Democratic Party government (1991–2001) was guided by the federal government's acceptance of the Brundtland Commission 's recommendation of preserving 12% of

874-478: The government agreed to help fund clean energy firms while improving the efficiency of existing manufacturing and fossil fuel operations. For transportation, all new cars sold from 2040 onward must be a zero-emissions vehicle , with other vehicle types being subject to stricter emissions regulation. For waste, the goals outlined in the plan are to divert 95% of biodegradable waste from landfills and capture 75% of landfill emissions. The Water Sustainability Act (WSA)

912-546: The government of John Oliver established John Dean Park from a private land donation in 1921. This was followed by the establishment of two mountaintop parks, Kokanee Glacier and Mount Assiniboine , with the support of the Alpine Club of Canada in 1922. These early parks were established for recreational purposes, with the larger ones were intended to be developed as major tourist destinations. Their creation did not terminate any existing forestry or mining rights. In 1924,

950-679: The government of Richard McBride to adopt the Provincial Parks Act of 1908. The act enabled the provincial government, through the Department of Lands to reserve public lands for the establishment of future parks. After the federal government's interest in establishing national park on Vancouver Island became known, the government of McBride amended the Provincial Parks Act to allow the creation of provincial parks by an Order in Council , rather than an act of parliament . And on March 1, 1911,

988-469: The government of McBride adopted the Strathcona Park Act' , which established a 214,451 hectares (529,920 acres) park reserve in the centre of the island named Strathcona Provincial Park . This success encouraged the McBride government to establish a second park reserve, Mount Robson Provincial Park , in 1913. Following the creation of two more national parks, Mount Revelstoke in 1914 and Kootenay in 1920,

1026-515: The ministry had retained the same functional responsibilities since 1991. Following the 2017 British Columbia general election , the ministry was renamed the "Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy" with an emphasis on directly addressing the issue of climate change in the province. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy manages several secondary agencies: In December 2018, Premier John Horgan 's NDP party and Andrew Weaver 's Green party jointly announced CleanBC,

1064-532: The parking area to the springs so that the delicate muskeg that forms the swamp is not disturbed. The walkway was the scene of a much-publicized black bear attack that killed two tourists on August 14, 1997. The campground is open year-round The park is located at mile 475 (or km 765) on the Alaska Highway , between Fort Nelson (307 km (191 mi) south-east) and Watson Lake (218 km (135 mi) north-west). The community of Liard River

1102-424: The parks function from the "Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing", was merged with the Ministry of Environment. As a result of this addition to its functions, the Ministry of Environment became known as the "Ministry of Environment and Parks". In 1988, the park function was removed and transferred to the newly established "Ministry of Parks". As a result, the name was reverted to the Ministry of Environment. In 1991,

1140-581: The province had been rising for several years and the new government placed an emphasis on land management and preservation. It benefited from the Accelerated Park Development Fund , created in Bennett's last year in power, and a long list of potential parks of mostly mid to large sizes that were not approved by the previous government for various reasons. In its four years, the NDP government had brought

1178-422: The provincial government amended the Provincial Parks Act to allow for the reduction in area of established parks, and also to acquire land for parks through land or timber exchanges. Another amendment in 1927 allowed for the rising of water levels within parks. In addition to several small, local use parks established throughout the 1930s and 1940s, the government of Duff Pattullo created four large parks. Both

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1216-416: The size of the park system up to 4.5 million hectares. The next Social Credit governments (1976–1991) returned its focus to small recreation-oriented parks and sought cost-savings through partnerships, though they continued creating ecological reserves and reconciled outstanding mineral and forestry tenures in existing parks. Private service delivery of park services began in the early 1980s, mostly notably in

1254-504: The warm water swamps. Bears , as well, are a common hazard in summer months, and may be feeding only 10 ft (3.0 m) away from bathers. Due to the lush plant life (including 14 species of orchids) influenced by the warmth of the springs, the area used to be known as the "Tropical Valley". A rare predatory black bear attack occurred on August 14, 1997, claiming two lives. Alpha pool with water temperatures ranging from 42 to 52 °C (108 to 126 °F); There are raised walkways from

1292-685: Was created in April 1957. The first boardwalk and pool facilities were built by the United States Army in 1942. The Liard River Hot Springs proper are located at 59°25′40″N 126°06′15″W  /  59.42778°N 126.10417°W  / 59.42778; -126.10417 . They were originally named the Theresa Hot Springs . The park contains a warm water swamp and boreal forest which supports rich and diverse plant communities as well as mammal and bird species. Watch for moose feeding in

1330-745: Was enacted on February 29, 2016 to ensure and manage the sustainable supply, diversion, and use of water in BC. It includes changes on: In 2011, the British Columbia announced plans to transfer the cost of recycling for packaging and printed paper from municipal governments to product manufactures. The non-for-profit Recycle BC began operations on May 11, 2014, to fulfill the collection and recycling of these goods on behalf of these companies. As of December 2018, British Columbia had 17 extended producer responsibility categories. Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park

1368-458: Was further clarified through an amendment made in 1918 that explicitly permitted the "location, acquisition and occupation of mineral claims under the Mineral Act." The popularity of Glacier and Yoho National Park , both established by the federal government as national parks in 1886, and of municipal parks like Beacon Hill Park (established 1882) and Stanley Park (established 1888), led

1406-409: Was included in the 1957, 1,082 hectare Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park . The Social Credit government of W. A. C. Bennett (1952–1972) created hundreds of small parks but reduced the overall size of the park system from 3.6 to 2.9 million hectares to accommodate resource development. While these parks continued the recreational focus of the park system, including the first heritage park with

1444-524: Was notable for overseeing the founding of British Columbia's first provincial park , Strathcona Provincial Park , in 1911. In 1945, the "Department of Lands" was re-established as the "Department of Lands and Forests". It was responsible for the management of all public lands, administration of water rights, and land settlement programs for returning soldiers . The department was renamed the "Department of Lands, Forests, and Water Resources" in 1962 following its reorganization into its three namesake branches:

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