New Regulations Plague Paddling Industry

December 1998 - January 1999

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by Sue Handel and Alan Wilson

At this fall's Sea Kayak Guide's Alliance Exchange, representatives of BC Parks and BC Assets and Lands made presentations on the future of commercial kayak operations in BC. Mark Harvey of Assets and Lands, as well as Bill Woodhouse and Yur Bekker of BC Parks introduced new permitting policies that will apply to commercial operators using Crown and Park land in British Columbia.'

CROWN LANDS

Mark Harvey told the Alliance gathering that the policy for commercial use of Crown Land will change dramatically. Under the Land Act, he said, kayak operators will be required to apply for a Licence of Occupation for each area of Crown Land they plan to use for more than 14 days in a six month period.

In the past, there were no requirements for kayak companies to apply for use of Crown Land. This new Licence of Occupation will grant the holder the right to occupy a site over any other commercial user, although recreational users have over-riding priority on any site, licenced or not.

The application process is lengthy and detailed, requiring financial statements, a business plan, detailed site mapping, land use plans, wildlife plans, activities plan, etc. Brian Collen of Pacific Northwest Expeditions reports that the application papers are two inches thick!

To help pay for all the paperwork the government will levy an application fee of $107 which will cover the application for numerous sites. Any operation with a base camp would pay $500 for that site, plus $100 per site for satellite sites. These are annual fees.

Where did this tenure policy originate? In a subsequent interview with Neil Hamilton, Brian Moen and Lou Olivier of Crown Lands (in the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, MELP), we were told the government has been working for the past ten years to solve land use conflicts and settle competing interests on Crown Land from heli-skiing operations, hunting interests, aquaculture, etc.

Notably absent, however, was any impetus from the kayak touring industry which to date has generally managed to share wilderness resources in the few places where conflicting use has arisen, such as Johnstone Strait.

The touring industry, made up mostly of small owner-operators, is feeling panicked by these developments. The cost and complexity seem out of scale with a relatively young and largely seasonal industry. There are fears this will hurt eco-tourism at a moment of crucial coast-wide transition from fishing and logging.

Small companies may be forced out of the industry when faced with the expense and complexity of acquiring permits. Or, as some Parks officials worry, they maybe driven from Crown Land into Parks, causing overcrowding.

Hamilton and the others admitted that they have very little knowledge of the sea kayaking industry and that the new policies haven't been effectively communicated. We told diem about the special variables such as weather and safety concerns make it more difficult to regulate the kayaking industry as one would other operations.

We explained to them the emphasis on site development which one sees in the policy - tent platforms, privies and even larger developments - was inappropriate to the wilderness experience clients seek, and the leave-no-trace ethic most operators practice.

They responded that they have abandoned the September 1st deadline for applications, saying the process has become more open-ended, with applications expected over the next two to three years. They reiterated the need to gather information through this process so they can know who's out there and what they're doing.

COLLECTIVE PLANS

When pressed, Hamilton and his colleagues suggested they might look at appropriate collective plans from bodies such as the Alliance, possibly for area-wide use. For this to happen, the kayak touring industry will need to find ways to work together, avoiding unnecessary competition with one another for exclusive rights. Keep in mind, at the end of the day, the issue of rights to land is not so much a matter of competing with other kayakers as it is with industries such as hunting, logging, and fish farms.

This process is still very much in transition. For more information you can check out the MELP homepage and click on the "Key Initiatives" button. Or contact regional offices of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. Vancouver Island: 250/ 751-3100. Lower Mainland: 604/582-5200.

Operators are encouraged to contact the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance, or call Brian Collen of the Alliance (250./6168129).

BC PARKS

Bill Woodhouse and Yur Bekker of BC Parks announced that in the near future, park permits will be given out on a permit per park basis. In the past, only one permit was required for the use of any number of parks. Now, if an operator runs trips in an area consisting of more than one BC park, that operator must obtain a permit for each park. For example, there are 17 BC Parks in Clayoquot Sound. An operator in this area would have to apply for a separate permit for each park site they wanted to use at a cost of $107 per permit. Permit costs can add up very quickly considering there are nearly 400 parks in BC and many operators run trips in a number of different parks.

Secondly, rather than an open door policy allowing any licensed tour operator to acquire a permit for use of Park land, the total number of operators (and their group sizes) would be capped. Exclusive permits will be granted according to criteria which were not clearly defined at the time of the presentation. Applicants will be required to submit a very detailed application including a business plan with future plans and projections, a business history and financial summary.

The new policy will restrict the number of companies running trips in the parks. Government officials believe that changes to the permit policy will be effective in resolving conflict between commercial and private kayak groups in high traffic areas such as the Broughton Archipelago and Johnstone Strait. They say a company's history of operation in an area (also known as "grandfathering") will not be a deciding factor in granting permits.

Other changes to the permitting policy include the requirement that all commercial permit holders be members of one of the three recognized societies such as the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance. As well, commercial operators will be required to carry portapotties. 0

Contact: Yur Bekker, BC Parks Area Supervisorfor Clayoquot Sound: 250/726-2168.