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Trees come down at Begbie Falls Recreation Site for new campground

Some local residents are not happy with the project

Tree removal is complete at the new campground at the Begbie Falls Recreation Site, just off of Highway 23 south of Revelstoke.

The contractor has broken ground, said Dawn Makarowski, spokesperson for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.

“Tree removal was completed by removing only select trees, rather than clear cutting,” she said.

READ MORE: Proposed campground at Begbie Falls

The project was announced in April and work began Sept. 18.

The main campground will be 1.3 km down the Begbie Falls Main FSR. There will be 19 drive-in sites, including a host site. Approximately 150 metres further down the road, there will be an additional eight sites, for a total of 26.

According to the Notification of Development distributed to residents in the area, Recreation Sites and Trails BC reached out to pertinent stakeholders prior to moving forward on the project.

“Referral packages were sent to the regional ecosystem specialist, district manager, Stella-Jones (local forest licensee) and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. A newspaper advertisement was also placed in the Revelstoke Review newspaper to reach out to the local community,” the notification said.

A notice was also posted a the trailhead on Aug. 16.

READ MORE: U.S. protects already extinct caribou herd

But Revelstoke resident Mindy Burgman is not happy with the project, or the amount of public consultation that was done.

“I want to support the forest service all I can but its dismissive approach is wrong,” she said in an email to the Review.

Burgman said she is concerned with the impact the campground will have on wildlife and traffic in the area, as well as saddened by the removal of the trees.

“Why can’t we just leave these few, precious local places alone?” she said in a Facebook post.

The project was originally proposed to address the increasing number of people using the pullouts on the Forest Service Road for overnight stays.

“The new sites will accommodate this increasing demand and focus use in a specific area. This will address and better manage public health, wildfire and wildlife concerns,” the notification said.

In response to Burgman’s social media post there were both supporters of the project and naysayers.

“I want a better solution and better results for everyone,” Burgman said.

This is one of several projects brought forward in the past few months that has been controversial within the community:

Sunnyside mountain biking trails

‘You’re going to have a fight on your hands’: development proposed on iconic Mount Begbie

‘This river is a treasure’-Revelstoke resident opposes gravel pit proposal near Jordan River

LETTER: Upper Arrow Heights resident urges council to deny rezoning in area


 

@JDoll_Revy
jocelyn.doll@revelstokereview.com

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