“Hey, buddy, can you spare a dime? And a ranger?” This is a communication from a BC Parks staff person in June 2010, one of scores of documents obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Wilderness Committee that paints a picture of neglect and decay in our Parks systems after a recent round of funding cuts.
B.C. government documents revealed chronic shortages of rangers and other key resources throughout provincial parks after heavy funding cuts in 2009. They reveal parks staff pleading for resources to: do basic ranger patrols, travel between and within parks, service pit toilets, install an avalanche warning sign, buy $100 worth of bolts needed to repair a potentially dangerous bridge, and even to supply toilet paper for park visitors.
“These documents tell a story of cuts so deep in BC’s Parks that basic tasks couldn’t be carried out,” said Gwen Barlee, Policy Director for the Wilderness Committee. “The government took away dozens of park ranger vehicles which then resulted in large cuts to the remaining park ranger staff. Staff were talking about taking the Greyhound bus, buying dirt bikes and scooters to try to get around,” said Barlee.
The FOI revealed that budget cuts to BC Parks had resulted in busy parks in the Sea-to-Sky corridor being unpatrolled on long weekends due to lack of rangers. Outhouses in several parks were also closed because there was no money or staff to service them.
Last week, Premier Clark announced the removal of parking meters in BC Parks and the restoration of $650,000 in Parks funding. FOI requests from the Wilderness Committee had earlier revealed that the parking meters had driven away hundreds of thousands of visitors from BC Parks and were in fact losing money.
“The BC Government’s own documents prove that it’s going to take a lot more to reverse a decade of decay in our parks,” said Barlee. “As we approach the May long weekend, I think British Columbians will be appalled to learn just how underfunded and neglected our province’s parks are,” said Barlee. “BC parks have been starved of funding for almost ten years now. In light of what the shocking government documents reveal I call on Premier Clark to restore funding and staffing for our park system starting at 2001 levels.”
The BC Government originally tried to charge the Wilderness Committee $9,000 for 300 pages of information about the BC Park budget cuts. The documents were finally provided to the Wilderness Committee after eight months of delay.
- Gwen Barlee