Event: Queen’s Bay Beach Party “Swim-in.”
When? 1:00 pm Sunday 21 August 2016; This is a rain or shine event.
Why? To show support for keeping the Kootenay Lake ferry terminal in Balfour and preserving the Queen’s Bay beach.
Where? Bike, hike, boat or drive to Turtle Rock beach approximately 4 kms north of Balfour along Highway 31; please park only on the lakeside of the highway.
What? Beach tours of the precious shoreline proposed for filling and paving if the Balfour ferry terminal is moved to Queen’s Bay. 2:00 pm giant “swim-in”; prizes for kids, short speeches, fun.
Swimmers, sun-tanners, kayakers, pleasure-boaters, paddle boarders, fishers, hikers, wind surfers, bird watchers, canoers, water skiers, and anyone else who appreciates Queen’s Bay is invited to a beach party 21 August in support of preserving this unique stretch of Kootenay Lake shoreline. The event will start at 1:00 pm at turtle rock beach approximately 4 kilometers north of Balfour along highway 31. There will be tours of the popular beach marking out the half-kilometer that our Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is considering filling in and paving as parking lot for a proposed new ferry terminal. At 2:00 pm participants will rally for the bay’s first official “swim-in” to recognize its environmental, cultural-historical, and recreational value to the local community and the region as a whole. There will be prizes for the kids, some very short speeches, and a chance for everyone to take some (in)action in support of the bay by enjoying themselves at the beach.
There has been lots of rain and/or shine this summer. So please plan to attend whatever the case as a show of support. Parking along the highway by the beach will be limited so boat, bike or hike if you can. So add this to your calendar. We look forward to seeing you.
Backgrounder: This event is part of an ongoing campaign spearheaded by the Queen’s Bay Residents’ Association and local businesses in Balfour, where the ferry terminal is currently located. It’s in response to last June’s release of a feasibility study by our Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure recommending moving the Kootenay Lake ferry terminal to Queen’s Bay.
- The Balfour businesses and local residents are widely and deeply opposed to this proposed move. Opposition to relocating the terminal to Queen’s Bay also comes from tourists and the larger community outside the region who appreciate keeping Kootenay Lake the special place that it is. More than 3000 signatures so far have been gathered petitioning the government to keep the ferry terminal in Balfour.
- Closing the Balfour terminal would likely be the end of the ferry landing businesses costing our local economy dozens of jobs and millions in tourist and local dollars. Dredging and filling the north end of Queen’s bay with 6000 truck-loads of fill covered in pavement would irretrievably ruin a precious and popular stretch of warm water beach including rare Kootenay Lake shallow water fish habitat as well as historical and cultural values
- The Queen’s Bay Residents’ Association and the Balfour Ferry Businesses Coalition have conducted a technical review of the government study recommending moving the terminal and found it grossly deficient as a fair appraisal of the other options besides relocating the terminal to Queen’s Bay. The document has been found by subject matter experts to be incomplete, biased and unfit to base a decision to move the ferry terminal.
For more information, contact: John Betts 250-229-4380 or Maureen Jansma 250-229-4661 – Queen’s Bay Residents’ Association