The British Columbia government is looking for public feedback on a new strategy to manage one of its busiest provincial parks.
The Joffre Lakes, located between Pemberton and Lillooet, with their vivid blue and green hues and spectacular mountain vistas, have grown increasingly overcrowded in recent years.
The province said the park saw 196,322 visitors in 2019, up 222 per cent from 2010.
BC Parks has responded with temporary solutions, including more parking spaces, expanded washroom facilities, managed tent pads in the backcountry and increased RCMP enforcement of illegal parking on Highway 99.
The province has now released a draft version of a park management plan developed in partnership with the Lil’wat Nation and N’Quatqua.
The proposal seeks to deepen the co-management and cultural use of the park by those local First Nations.
It also proposes exploring a free, day-use pass program to limit the number of visitors, while establishing a park capacity. A portion of those day-use passes could potentially be held for commercial use.
Other ideas include redesigning or rebuilding trails and adding viewing platforms to try to reduce the environmental impact of hikers and visitors.
Ongoing parking issues in the park would be addressed through continued collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation and RCMP to crack down on illegal parking, the promotion of shuttle service and by encouraging carpooling.
You can see the entire draft plan here, and submit your feedback to the province here.