April 2022 Forum Review
Marking the 20th Anniversary of the Howe Sound Community Forums, Furry Creek has been a significant location in the role of the formation of the Forums. Many enjoyed attending in person and others the convenience of participating online. This event was hosted by the Area D Directory Tony Rainbow of the Squamish Lillooet Regional District.
The Forum began with a welcome from Director Rainbow and an overview of the SLRD with a focus on developments in Area D by SLRD Chair Jen Ford including an overview of growth and new developments in the Sea to Sky corridor.
Monica Pearson, Regional Initiatives Section Head, South Coast Strategic Land Use, BC Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship, provided an update on the changes within the Ministry and the evolution of the Howe Sound Cumulative Effects pilot project. The work that began in 2015 has now been rolled into the publicly available Stewardship Baseline Objectives Tool.
Jonathan Heerema, Senior Advisor for the Vancouver Coast Mountain Tourism Region with Destination BC and Karen Goodwin, VP of Destination and Market Development with Tourism Whistler gave a presentation on Destination Education Initiative in the Sea to Sky. After a twenty-two-month process of planning and engagement, a creative, strategic campaign is due to launch before the summer tourism season. The strategy aims to raise awareness among locals and travellers on how to visit responsibly.
Next, students of the Capilano University Tourism degree course presented the results of a project in partnership with the Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative. Keana, Sid and Mariana’s project focused on how to raise awareness of the UNESCO Biosphere Region while promoting sustainable tourism. The recommendations included creating training workshops for tourism operators, and an Ambassador program. These recommendations plus options for signage were ideas that local governments could also adopt as methods for taking pride in the UNESCO designation. These programs will roll out this summer.
Representatives from the Squamish Nation and the municipalities of Whistler, Squamish, West Vancouver, Gibsons, Bowen Island and Lions Bay, plus regional areas of West Howe Sound, Sunshine Coast Regional District and the Gambier Island Local Trust Area gave updates. For many, it has been a very challenging fall/winter for municipalities and regional districts responding to emergency situations resulting from extreme weather events and COVID.
During the lunch break, attendees enjoyed networking and lunch overlooking the golf course.
The forum continued with presentations on the aspiring UNESCO Sea to Sky Fire and Ice GeoPark by John Rae.
Quick summaries of the many Federal activities were shared by MP Patrick Weiler, and Provincially from MLA Jordan Sturdy, West Vancouver/Sea to Sky.
Ruth Simons summarized the activities since the fall of the Ocean Watch Action Committee. Courtney Smaha, the new Project Director of the Marine Stewardship Initiative, provided a positive outlook on the continued support and maintenance of the Marine Reference Guide.
Following up on roundtable discussions at the forum held on Bowen Island last October, Ruth Simons reported back on responses to the question about how to sustain the UNESCO Biosphere Region now designated. Mayor Elliott led the question, and discussion ensued on the recommendations presented. Will local governments recommit to the updated Principles of Cooperation, and enter into a Memorandum of Understand (MOU) with the HSBRIS? The general consensus was to move these two recommendations forward. HSBRIS will be following up with each local government on the customizable MOU.
At the end of the Forum, before a scenic tour of the property, Michael Geller, who has been the chief architect of the Furry Creek development for the past 30 years, gave a quick history of the project.
This is the last HSCF forum for this term, the next forum following the Fall Municipal elections will be in April 2023, location to be confirmed.
