| |
The
Columbia Headwaters at Risk
There
are a number of real threats to the Ktunaxa Cultural Lanscape
and delicate ecosystem in the Columbia Headwaters. Fairmont
Hot Springs Resort (FHSR) is proposing to develop a parcel
of land known as Lot 48 which is located in the heart of where
the Ktunaxa
Creation Story took place. This land is sacred to the
Ktunaxa people.
It also sits right in the middle of a Provincial Park, a Wildlife
Management Area, and Ecological Reserves, that are all part
of the Columbia Headwaters which flows into the Columbia Wetlands
and Columbia River. Both are valuable and delicate eco-systems
that already have many strains of human use and encroachment
upon them.
Proposed Resort
Development on Lot 48
FHSR purchased the parcel of land known as "Lot
48" on the Columbia Headwaters, and later successfully
petitioned to have it re-zoned it for resort development in
the 1980's.
The current staff of the RDEK have recommended that this development
is not a good fit for the area, and that the decision to allow
the resort zoning was done in the 1980's when land use plans,
environmental assessments, and consultation with the Ktunaxa
were not standard practice.
* Prior to the third and final readings of Bylaws
No. 1880 & 1881, Fairmont Hot Springs Resort under the
new ownership of Ken Fowler
Enterprises requested and was granted a sixth month deferral
while they approach the Provincial Government in respect to
the sale of Lot 48 to protect it's cultural and ecological
value in perpetuity.
Learn more about the proposed development
on Lot 48 in the Columbia Headwaters
Park Boundary Adjustment
One of the main barriers that has prevented the development
of the resort thus far, has been a lack of road and power
access to Lot 48. FHSR has requested
that the Ministry of Environment enact the Park
Boundary Adjustment to Columbia Lake Provincial Park,
so that they can proceed with the road and power line construction
right through the middle of the narrow park.
* The new ownership of the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort
has offered to withdraw the application for the Park Boundary
Adjustment from active processing during the six month deferral
on Bylaws No. 1880 & 1881.
Learn more about the requested
Park Boundary Adjustment.
| About the Columbia Headwaters | Overview & Location | Historic Ktunaxa Use |
| Ktunaxa Connectedness to the Land | The Columbia Headwaters at Risk |
| Proposed Development on Lot 48 | Park Boundary Adjustment |
| Columbia Lake Water Zoning | Unanswered Questions | Take Action |
| Frequently Asked Questions | Media & Links |
|
|
