Friday, June 22 at 7pm at the Crawford Bay Hall, join the Citizens Information Ad-Hoc Group (Retallack Proposal) to learn more about this proposal, ask further questions and discuss next steps.
All major players have been invited to this meeting – should they not be available at this meeting, there is talk about another meeting, hosted by Retallack and the Lower Kootenay Band in the coming days.
Retallack Purcell Range Back Country Proposal Community Meeting June 22nd
The information meeting concerning the Retallack Proposal (#1155768 B.C. Ltd) will occur Friday, June 22 2018 at 7pm at the Crawford Bay Hall.
Everyone Welcome. Please come with information, questions and concerns. Deadline for public input on the proposal is July 13, 2018.
For further info please contact Citizens Information Ad-Hoc Group (Carolyn Vanr at 250.505.3760 or vanrcarolyn@gmail.com)
From Chris McNamara of Retallack, Attached is our joint press release that provides an update on this project and next steps. Please be advised that presently there is no additional public meeting that is being scheduled by us for Crawford Bay next week.
Lower Kootenay Band and Retallack Partnership Adventure Tourism Proposal Update
submitted at 11am, Friday, June 22nd – PRESS RELEASE
Creston, British Columbia, Canada – The Lower Kootenay Band (yaqan nuʔkiy) and Retallack wish to thank the public and user groups who have provided feedback thus far regarding their joint 50/50 adventure tourism partnership proposal within the Southern Purcell Mountains.
The proposed tenure area, located in the Ktunaxa Traditional Territory (Ktunaxa ʔamakʔis),encompasses a traditional connectivity corridor and trade route between the indigenous Ktunaxa peoples who have resided in the Kootenays since time immemorial.
The multiple use tenure proposes guided hiking, horseback riding, climbing and mountain biking in summer; and guided ski touring, heliskiing, mountaineering, snowshoeing and dogsledding in winter. The proposed tenure area is non-exclusive and will remain open to the public.
Based on feedback received to date, several amendments have been identified for future consideration to improve the application. To ensure that as much public and user group feedback as possible is considered, the proponents are currently awaiting the end of the provincial government public comment period on July 15, 2018 prior to publicly proposing any new amendments. Public comments may continue to be submitted via the government website at https://arfd.gov.bc.ca/ApplicationPosting/viewpost.jsp?PostID=54966 or also directly to the proponents at sustainabletenure@gmail.com.
After the conclusion of the public and government comment period, the proponents have committed to reviewing all directly received public comments or summary comments that are made available to the proponents by the Province. From there, the proponents are committed to identifying and proposing future project amendments. In particular, the amendments will reflect usage statistics and additional proposals to further reduce potential helicopter impacts to wildlife and local residents in surrounding communities.
When the review has been completed, any resulting new amendments (including new high resolution maps) will be published alongside the project’s currently proposed management plan and maps located at https://arfd.gov.bc.ca/ApplicationPosting/viewpost.jsp?PostID=54966.
Locations and dates of any future public meetings in neighbouring communities will also be announced at that time.
About yaqan nuʔkiy (Lower Kootenay Band)
Historically and since time immemorial, the yaqan nuʔkiy were the original inhabitants of the Lower Kootenay area. The name yaqan nuʔkiy literally means “where the rock stands” and refers to an important place in the Creston Valley.
The yaqan nuʔkiy is one of six bands that make up the Ktunaxa Nation. The Traditional Territory of the Ktunaxa Nation covers approximately 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 square miles) within the Kootenay region of south-eastern British Columbia and historically included parts of Alberta, Montana, Washington and Idaho.
The people of yaqan nuʔkiy speak the Ktunaxa language which is one of the eleven original aboriginal language families in Canada. The language is an isolate and is not related to any other language in the world.
About Retallack
Retallack is a Kootenay-owned business based in Nelson, BC that provides world-class
backcountry catskiing, snowboarding and mountain biking adventures in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada.
In addition to being a significant local employer, Retallack supports local business, suppliers and trades workers and also sponsors local public recreation and volunteer groups. Retallack assists with public trail and road maintenance and provides backcountry emergency response and rescue for members of the public, government, and other operators. Retallack is also the first operator in its industry to receive a prestigious 4-Green Key Eco-Rating for demonstrating “national industry
leadership and commitment to protecting the environment through wide ranging policies and practices.”