Several local parks are expected to grow if legislation introduced Thursday by the provincial government is approved.
It would add five more hectares for the Davis Creek site of Kootenay Lake Park, 18 more hectares to the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy to increase connectivity in the park for mule deer and grizzly bears, and 32 hectares for Valhalla Park to improve wildlife connectivity.
To further protect lake values, lake foreshore would also be added to Kootenay Lake Park and the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy, the government said. Administrative amendments and road ownership changes are being proposed to West Arm Park.
“British Columbians love their provincial parks, and we are so fortunate to have some of the best examples here in the Kootenay-Boundary,” MLA Katrine Conroy said in a news release. “Creating more parkland means that more of the spaces we all love will be protected forever.”