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22-849: It is adjoined on the south by the Spruce Lake Protected Area (a.k.a. the South Chilcotin or Southern Chilcotins, though in the Bridge River Country ) and on the west by Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park . Neighbouring on the east is the Churn Creek Protected Area . The park was first established in 1995 and expanded in 2000, 2001 and 2004 to total approximately 67,918 hectares. 51°18′N 123°10′W  /  51.300°N 123.167°W  / 51.300; -123.167  ( Big Creek Provincial Park ) This British Columbia protected areas related article

44-464: A protected area by the British Columbia provincial government in 2001, and then established as a Provincial Park by then-Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection Joyce Murray in 2004, with the new park's boundaries including 70% of the protected area and permitting limited resource extraction in the remaining area on the protected area's periphery. The protected area designation resulted from

66-405: A boat on Seton Lake . In rough water close to shore, each time Jack attempted to stand, he fell, striking his head on a section of the boat. Wading to shore, William dragged his father. On dry land, Jack drank more, while William built a fire. After warming himself at a residence about two miles away, William returned alone to find his father dead. Jack was about 70 years of age. The official verdict

88-530: A more complex character, who was commonly intoxicated. He would often threaten with violence anyone who crossed his path. Whisky and gin were his preferred beverages. Jack was a first-class big game hunter, who trapped and hunted in the Bridge River Country. Renowned for storytelling, he would boast of hand-to-hand combat with wild animals. He assisted guides who led trophy hunters to the Lillooet area. In

110-599: A site which was possibly where Jack once found impressive gold nuggets. Alternative versions claim searches for the location were unsuccessful. In 1882, Hunter Jack was charged but not tried for the murder of the Poole family. Evidence pointed to other perpetrators. In 1900, when Jack found his daughter Julia Ann hanged, the official verdict was murder, but many suspected suicide. The girl, who had been missing for several days, had been drinking heavily for some time. In 1905, Jack and his son William drank gin freely while paddling

132-631: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Spruce Lake Protected Area The Spruce Lake Protected Area , formerly known variously as the Southern Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park , Southern Chilcotins , and also as South Chilcotin Provincial Park , is a 71,347-hectare Protected Area in the British Columbia provincial parks system , approximately 200 km north of Vancouver . The area had been

154-465: The Bridge River Country region of southwestern British Columbia . He was a larger-than-life indigenous personality who died in 1905. His formal name was Jack Tashpola or Tash Poli. He was born at 22-Mile post . He was called chief of D'Arcy , We Enkekti, or Hunter Jack. Folklore portrays him as the hero who negotiated peace among First Nations and toward Chinese miners, but was murdered by persons unknown. Contemporary newspaper accounts present

176-542: The Bridge River Country , made it stand out for protection amid a region already wild and extremely beautiful before logging and hydroelectric development transformed the valley to the south. Many environmentalists hope that the creation of Tsʼilʔos and Big Creek Provincial Parks will help shore up the protection of the South Chilcotin Provincial Park which remained vulnerable to government review. Hunting guide Ted (Chilco) Choate of Gaspard Lake, on

198-594: The Chilcotin Country to the north. It adjoined Big Creek Provincial Park and Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park , which bordered it on the north and northwest, respectively. Part of the larger subrange of the Pacific Ranges known as the Chilcotin Ranges , the area was partially protected in the 1990s after 60 years of debate and controversy. Historically this region was the hunting territory of Chief Hunter Jack of

220-533: The Chilcotin Country , and also east across the Camelsfoot Range to the Fraser River near Big Bar . The area was the object of a protracted quarrel between preservationists and resource development which first began in the 1930s when prospectors and guide-outfitters dedicated to its natural beauty proposed it for preservation status. Charlie Cunningham, whose career as a wildlife filmmaker began in this area,

242-588: The Chilcotin Plateau , has joined in the call to combine all three parks, plus the Churn Creek Protected Area to the northeast, as well as some of the surrounding country and the deep, much higher heart of the Pacific Ranges , into a National Park . Industry and government remain publicly committed to shared use and sustainable planning. 51°03′50″N 123°02′08″W  /  51.06389°N 123.03556°W  / 51.06389; -123.03556 Chief Hunter Jack Hunter Jack of Shalalth inhabited

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264-481: The Chilcotin Ranges , into the Bridge River Country where the park is located. Bert Brink, one of British Columbia's most renowned naturalists, advocated for the conservation of this area for over sixty years and lived to see it become a park before he died in 2007. The protected area was located on the inland lee of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains , on the north flank of the Bridge River Country and

286-590: The Lakes Lillooet , whose big-game hunting business shared the region with hunters of the Tsilhqot'in people. The shared use of the area north of the Bridge River and Gun Creek was part of the settlement of an early 19th-century peace which had ended a long and bloody war between Hunter Jack's people and the Tsilhqot'in . Trails from the Bridge River Country led over the region to Taseko Lake and Chilko Lake in

308-426: The 1880s, he met visiting hunter Captain (later Admiral) Seymour , who was so impressed by Jack that he subsequently sent him a flag and naval uniform as gifts. Jack raised the flag in front of his cabin and wore the uniform on occasions. His colleagues did not question this self-titled status. He exerted significant control over the meat sale business in the area. He was one of the most successful placer miners in

330-543: The Lillooet Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP), which attempted to address local community, environmental, recreation and resource interests. Even though it is not in the Chilcotin District proper, the area has been called the "South Chilcotins" since about 1980, when a group of conservationists started to promote the area for protection as a park. The South Chilcotin name is derived from its geographic position in

352-487: The South Chilcotin Mountains Park, a "Class A" park of 56,796 hectares, from Spruce Lake Protected Area. The remaining approximately 14,550 hectares were set aside for tourism and mining , but commercial logging is still prohibited. The bill also confirmed the implementation of the 2004 decision for mining/tourism zones in the Lillooet Land and Resource Management Plan area. The area was designated as

374-452: The T.R. Mowson ferry operation. Two months later, when the cable broke, Ward jumped from the drifting ferry. The scow was destroyed by the raging torrent downriver. After a month, a new scow was in operation. The ferry received a government subsidy from 1905 almost until service ended, which occurred in 1910, when the Ward's Ferry bridge was built. Sebring Creek flowed into Bridge River about

396-529: The district. He never lived on the reserve but had a cabin near the confluence of the Hurley River . He held potlatches at which he presented gold nuggets to his guests. Pointing his rifle to intimidate, he drove the Chinese miners from Marshall Creek and Tyaughton Creek . Many believed Jack found most of his gold around the head of Tyax (Tyaughton) creek. In 1913, old and decayed sluice boxes were discovered at

418-424: The subject of an ongoing preservationist controversy since the 1930s. In 2007, its status as a provincial park was downgraded to protected area. Recreational activities in the park included hiking, cycling, swimming, fishing and hunting, and there were walk-in wilderness camping sites. Wildlife in the protected area include grizzly bear , California bighorn sheep and wolverine . In June 2010, Bill 15 created

440-563: Was a driving force in the original movement for preservation. The Charlie Cunningham Wilderness proposal was revised in the 1970s as the Spruce Lake-Eldorado park proposal, and also as the Spruce Lake Management Planning Unit, but as land-use plans impinged on the proposed park area these names were abandoned. The area's unique and distinct landscape and ecology, different from the rest of the Chilcotin Ranges or

462-465: Was awarded the ferry charter for a year. During the first 10 days, four horses drowned and several had narrow escapes. One horse being towed tried to board the boat, almost capsizing it. Brother Thomas Mowson, who assisted in the venture, took over when Charles died in a hunting accident the following February. The charter renewed for a further five years, a larger ferry was installed, which could also carry livestock. In April 1900, G.A. Ward purchased

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484-441: Was death from excessive drinking and exposure. He was buried at D’Arcy and his son Thomas Jack , succeeded him as hereditary chief. In 1907, William died of exposure while out trapping with his brother Johnnie. In the late 1800s, Jack operated the first ferry across the upper Bridge River for a period. For this toll operation, he used a canoe to carry passengers and supplies, but horses swam. In August 1898, Charles Mowson

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