On Friday August 14, signs and pylons appeared at the entrance to our Riverside Wilderness Park. The signs stated that the property had been closed according to the Agricultural Land Commission Act. Pylons stencilled with “ALC” had been placed to block vehicle access. TCVS promptly contacted the ALC, who confirmed in writing that the ALC’s compliance and enforcement team DID NOT post any signage nor did they place any pylons to block the road. This means that the signs and pylons were installed illegally by an individual who was not authorized to do so. The fraudulent signs have been removed and an investigation into this matter has begun. If anyone has any additional information about this criminal incident, please contact our local RCMP detachment at (250) 428-9313.

TCVS would like to reassure our membership that Riverside Wilderness Park remains open for the public to access Goat River–especially critical during the current heat wave and while our town’s indoor pool is also closed. We invite our members and the local community to continue to enjoy the park, and we would like to remind everyone to please be considerate neighbours by driving slowly when driving on the dusty road into the park, and please follow all COVID-19 safety measures during your visit. The property is open for public use during daylight hours only, and no campfires are allowed. Please consider writing a letter to the RDCK to explain how important it is to you that our valley’s residents have legal public access to Goat River, including safe parking off Highway 21. It is only a matter of time before the congested parking situation near the bridge causes a tragedy. Let’s all work together to ensure that our community and visitors can count on having safe legal access to our beautiful Goat River.

Located at 1031 Highway 21, this lot was purchased two years ago to address the pressing need for our community to have legal access to Goat River, and to create safe parking off the highway for river users. Over 150 individuals, families and local businesses very quickly raised over $237,000 for TCVS to purchase this property for public recreational use. Shortly after, TCVS applied to the Agriculture Land Commission (ALC) for a permit to construct a shelter and a gravel parking area for river users. This application is still awaiting approval. TCVS has always followed the letter of the law regarding land use on our private property, and has not violated any regulations in the ALC Act. Division 2 of the Agriculture Land Commission Act (“Permitted Non-Farm Uses”) states: “The use of agricultural land for biodiversity conservation, passive recreation, heritage, wildlife and scenery viewing purposes…is permitted…if both of the following conditions are met: a) the area occupied by any associated structure does not exceed 100m2 for each parcel; and b) the purpose does not include the creation of a wetland intended to manage urban runoff or waste.”