Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Garth Lenz
THE PROPOSED JUMBO GLACIER RESORT Minister of State for Resort
T
he proposed Jumbo Glacier
Resort (JGR) has had WOULD PUT A TOWN TWO THIRDS THE SIZE OF NELSON Development? Santori’s specific
widespread opposition mandate will be to focus on
since its initial stages in 1989. in the centre of the last large area of undeveloped wild- resort development and expan-
Over 6,000 residents have regis- land habitat in southeastern BC. Scientists say that the sion in the Kootenays. His
tered their opposition. Yet this appointment raises concerns
direct and indirect effects of the resort could eventually that the environmental assess-
massive ski development is back,
and it will surely be approved wipe out the local grizzly bear population and affect the ment process is nothing more
unless Kootenay residents raise grizzly population all over the southern Purcell Moun- than a sham and the Liberal
an outcry. tains. Many recreationists and small tourism businesses government is set to approve the
The site of the development use the nearby Purcell Wilderness Conservancy and other project.
is the remote Jumbo Valley, surrounding wilderness areas. But if the Jumbo Valley is The Jumbo Valley has
above Argenta in the West clearcuts and logging roads, but
turned over to private interests, it will begin to consume the resort would sit about five
Kootenays and west of Inver-
mere in the East Kootenays. This the wilderness and wildlife values. Crown land will be sold or ten kilometres from the Pur-
25-year development plan is a for subdivisions and the cost to the taxpayers of expensive cell Wilderness Conservancy. It
project of Oberto Oberti on road construction, improvements and maintenance, ava- is well known in science that
behalf of Glacier Resorts Ltd., lanche control along the road, and fighting any wildland grizzly bears and other large
and it’s worth approximately wild animals cannot survive
$1/2 billion. fires that threaten the resort is not yet available and in confined to a single park. They
part cannot be known beforehand. need to travel widely to find
It would have hotels, con-
dos, townhouses, chalets, lodges, mates and adequate food, and
bed and breakfasts, parking lots they need seclusion to do that.
and staff housing…in total 6,252 Left as it is, the Jumbo Val-
bed units. Ultimate plans for expansion are for the huge Whistler ski resort. But when it first ley is a bear travel corridor pro-
7,000 beds. When completed it would accom- started out in 1976, Whistler had a population viding relative seclusion. But a town with hun-
modate 737,000 people a year. The proposal of only 590 people. Now it has maximum bed dreds of thousands of people a year will spell
includes two gondolas, an aerial tram, and 20 to capacity for 52,000 people! The initial capacity disaster to the grizzlies and to the backcountry
25 lifts. of the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort means values of the whole area.
The bed capacity alone would accommodate nothing in an industry that is notorious for con-
the combined populations of Edgewood (160), tinual expansions. This also makes it totally The deadline for letters is April 12,
Fauquier (219), Burton (167), Nakusp irrelevant that the developers have cut back 2004. There will be only ONE pub-
(1,698), Argenta and Johnson’s Landing (200), here and there, dropping this or that parking lot,
Meadow Creek (300), Kaslo (1,032), New ski lift or scrap of land in their proposal. It can lic meeting in the West Kootenays
Denver (538), Silverton (222), Slocan (336), all be added once the resort has been built. on March 11 in Nelson at the Pres-
Winlaw (273), and Salmo (1,120), for a total to Is it an accident that a report by consultants tige Inn from 3 to 8 pm. See the
6,265 beds. to Mr. Oberti on the Jumbo Glacier Resort proj- back page for further details.
The developers say that’s small compared to ect was recently released at almost the same
time Trail MLA Sandy Santori became the new
Michael Wheatley
fully with large human development over the long term.”
Aalton Harestad, R.P. Bio.
Co-chair, BC government’s Grizzly Bear Scientific
Advisory Committee
the project. Pages and pages of technical reports pared to bringing hundreds of thousands of people
H
ow can you put thousands of people in high
quality grizzly bear habitat, with their vehi- submitted by the developers to the Environmental into the area.
cles and parking lots, their sewage and Assessment process all come to the conclusion Proponents of the project argue that the
sewage treatment plant, their houses and hotels that this massive development will do no signifi- resort itself will only cover 200-250 acres. That is
and restaurants, without driving away or killing cant environmental damage. totally meaningless. The intensity of the develop-
grizzly bears? Answer: by “mitigation.” (Mitigation For grizzly bears, the resort will use “bear- ment on that 200 or so acres will cause most griz-
- “to make less severe.”) smart” practices such as careful garbage disposal . zlies to avoid the area by a wide margin. The thou-
With mitigation measures, the developers’ And grizzly bear habitat elsewhere could be sands of people who live or visit there will also
consultants say that the resort, the subdivision, “enhanced” by managing access. Would this mean radiate out over a broad geographic area. Bears
the parking lots, etc., will have “no net impact” on closing access traditionally used by noncommer- that can’t or don’t avoid people will get killed.
the grizzly bear population. This word, “mitiga- cial recreationists so that 737,000 people a year Experience shows that, over the long term,
tion” is used to shrug off all possible impacts of can visit Jumbo? Whatever closures they would development in Banff National Park has grown
undertake, the effect would be miniscule com-
A United Nations report has warned ski resorts around the world that glaciers
are melting rapidly due to global warming. Lower elevation ski resorts will go
bankrupt, which will increase the pressure on high elevation glaciers in
extremely sensitive alpine areas such as in Jumbo Valley.
Right: Appropriately called 'Lords of the High Country,' mountain goats are
found only in high alpine areas of the Pacific Northwest. They lead a very
fragile existence. The steep, rugged terrain of Jumbo Pass has afforded these
majestic animals protection from predators and human disturbance, until
now. Increased activity, thousands of people, gondolas, lifts, traffic, bombing
of avalanches and helicopters in the alpine will cause negative impacts on goat
habitat and populations, which are very vulnerable.
ARTIFICIAL SNOW AND SALT ing can lead to salt use. greater crowds of people who soon clamour for
The developers already acknowledge they will still more expansions.
Most ski hills in BC use huge amounts of salt to
condition their ski runs, and many use artificial use salt on “race days.” How many “race days” Just the sheer number of people in the area
snow. The salt contaminates water coming off the will there be, and what kind of use will concen- does heavy ecological damage. Even if their sewage
glaciers. Making artificial snow uses huge amounts trate at Jumbo Glacier as other resorts increasing- can be safely handled, it requires much ground
of water, drawing down water levels for drinking ly lose their snow? and water disruption to do so. Heavy use also
and fish. With BC’s glaciers melting rapidly, water It is estimated that the required amount of destroys vegetation and compacts the ground,
coming off of glaciers is a precious resource that artificial snow will increase between 36-144% by which loses its ability to absorb water runoff.
should not be polluted or disrupted in its flow pat- the 2020s, and by 48-187% in 2050s. Snowmak- This causes high peak flows in spring, erosion,
terns. ing is extremely expensive. landslides and floods. The developers say there are
no reports of damage at other ski hills around the
The Jumbo Resort will be different, we are Once the resort is built, the owners can province, but a very different story comes from
told. They wouldn’t think of using salt on their change the operations of their business as needed, Europe.
slopes. They point out that salt and artificial snow and the government that has brought us deregula-
are used by lower elevation ski hills that have tion of the logging and mining industries will issue The UN says global warming will increase
problems with warm weather and insufficient whatever permits are needed. the melting of permafrost and make many moun-
snow. The Jumbo ski areas are significantly high- tain areas vulnerable to landslides. Ski lift equip-
ment and buildings in permafrost soil become
er in elevation, with plenty of snow. EXPLOSIVES unstable. Stabilizing them is expensive.
But this does not take into account the warn- Global warming will also cause increased risk
ings in the United Nations report: “CLIMATE of avalanches, and the costs associated with that.
CHANGE AND WINTER SPORTS: ENVIRON- The Jumbo Master Plan states that avalanches
MENTAL AND ECONOMIC THREATS.” Global along the road will be controlled with explosives “MELP, in regulating existing ski hill opera-
warming will make it far more expensive to run a and helicopter bombing. Who knows how wildlife, tions throughout BC, has encountered a vari-
ski operation, whether an area receives too little in particular the mountain goats and denning ety of water quality problems. Sediment gen-
snow or heavy freak storms that require shutting bears, will survive with this kind of noise and eration is a typical concern, caused by ski run
down for avalanches. According to the UN report, destruction taking place for a large part of the clearing, road construction and residential
the potential annual costs of climate change in time?
Switzerland have been estimated at US $1.5 to 2.1
development, and is sometimes serious
billion by the year 2050. enough to require enforcement action.
At the same time, global warming will reduce
PEOPLE, HYDROLOGY Sewage treatment may be neglected, and
the length of the ski season and the number of AND SLOPES effluent quality has been known to violate
skiers, reducing the profits of the resort. Skiers One impact cannot be denied, so much has it permit requirements and/or the federal Fish-
are having to go higher and higher to find good been proven everywhere. Using the excuse of eries Act.”
snow. Jumbo Resort plans to have summer skiing. overcrowded facilities, ski resorts pressure gov-
We know that the southern Interior of BC just ernment for expansions, and the expansions then Environmental Assessment Office
had the warmest 10 years on record. Summer ski- spread the environmental damage and bring June 1998
Wayne McCrory
to do something about it, please join us
in opposing this project with all the
fervour of your love for wild things.