Residents of the West Branch Valley on the Chilcotin Plateau are finding themselves on opposite sides of an issue on a proposed rezoning which would allow for a commercial heli-sports lodge development.
A 52-guest resort plus 25-person staff accomodation facility could be made possible in the remote wilderness valley south of Tatla Lake, if a rezoning application moves ahead. But the applicant, Dave King, said the application is asking for more capacity than he sees the development every using.
"Typically, they're looking for exclusivity," he said, of companies like Bella Coola Heli Sports, the company he is hoping to partner with on the development. "You can't run that many people through and just be exclusive," he said, adding he has a license for a 50-seat restaurant in the main building of his property, but he only has 12 seats at the dining table.
The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) is currently looking at the proposal after a public meeting was held Aug. 27 in Tatla Lake which gave both the applicant and area residents a chance to be heard. An estimated 70 people attended the meeting.
Dave King and his son Luke King were at the meeting for White Saddle Ranch and John Furneaux of Bella Coola Heli Sports represented the applicant at the public meeting.
In the application, Bella Coola Heli Sports is proposing to develop a tourist commercial resort in the remote area of the Chilcotin, south of Tatla Lake. The lodge would be built on land currently owned by King, who has applied for the rezoning of just over 27 hectares of land now zoned Rural 1 and Resource/Agricultural to Special Exception C 2-5. The rezoning would permit the property along Mosley Creek to go from agricultural use to the development of the commercial tourist resort. Dave King informed the CRD he has entered into an agreement with Bella Coola Heli Sports (BCHS) for the company to purchase and utilize the property primarily for winter operations "with potential for increased all-season use."
"It's the presence of huge investors that ring alarm bells all over the place," said Patrice Gordon, a resident of Horn Lake. "These very special places, like Middle Lake, two kilometres past the proposed development area, are disappearing on this planet. I think we need to do what we can to bring awareness to the situation."
Gordon said despite neighbours being on opposite sides of the issue, people are trying to maintain long-standing friendships and relationships.
"It's not easy, but it's so important."
King said his goal with the rezoning and development is to partner with BCHS and utilize the profits he would make from the sale or lease of the property to allow him to "rewild" some of his remaining 1,500 acres of land, returning the property he used to ranch to a more natural state. King said he'll be replanting some of the parts of his land which had been cleared for cattle grazing. King no longer owns cattle and wants those places to return to a more natural state.
"The whole entire system is better served if you turn it into an eco-friendly resort," King said. He also said two-thirds of the property included in the rezoning would be under a covenant to protect it, with only 66 acres of the entire property open for development for the lodge facility and associated infrastructure. A wetland within the rezoning would be protected, he said.
Between Bluff Lake and Middle Lake, snow-capped peaks tower over the narrow valley, a home to a multitude of wildlife, from grizzly bears and mountain goats to elk and moose. The West Branch valley runs from Bluff Lake on the Chilcotin Plateau to Bute Inlet on the remote coast.
Biologists from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship have provided input into the application opposing the rezoning due to concerns over the potential impacts to mountain goat populations.
"Mountain goats are particularly sensitive to aerial disturbances such as helicopter noises," said a summary report prepared by CRD planning staff. The ministry reportedly "encourages a precautionary approach to land use management until goat populations increase and stabilize." Consulting biologists hired by the applicant, however, countered the concerns of the ministry biologists regarding mountain goat winter range.
For his part, King said he believes the company would be able to mitigate the impact on goats, pointing out helicopter activity has been taking place in the valley for a very long time.
The area has long been a draw for adventure tourists seeking remote wilderness and mountaineering challenges, with Mount Waddington and other backcountry adventures being accessed from the area. Mining exploration and firefighting both take place out of a Bluff Lake heli base operated by Dave King's brother. Winter heli-skiing also already takes place in the area, with heli-ski operations seasonally based out of Dave King's lodge, as part of Bella Coola Heli Sports' Pantheon Ranch packages. This operation provides heli-ski vacations for up to nine guests. Packages for an individual package to ski unlimited vertical go from $14,080 for four nights to $186,880 for seven nights of private helicopter and lodge with nine hours of helicopter time.
However, some residents are afraid this rezoning could open the doors to much more activity and development, one which some fear puts the beautiful West Branch wilderness at risk.
"We moved here because we don't want the hustle and bustle of Whistler," said Greg West, who lives along the access road which he worries would see much higher traffic numbers if the development goes ahead.
"Our property is a corridor," said Sue Rolston, who has lived in the valley for 63 years. Rolston is especially worried about the potential impacts of the proposed development on wildlife.
She said the environmental assessment work done for the project so far does not illustrate the importance of the habitat for many large species which need intact wilderness, an ever-shrinking asset in the province, combined with the impacts due to the Hell Raving Creek Fire. The massive wildfire in 2023 burned a large part of the steep hillsides of the valley, including an old growth management area. While Rolston said the area could recover from the massive fire, adding more for the wildlife to deal with at such a precarious time is a bad idea.
But Dave King said he believes a tenured ski company would be more accountable and provides a more sustainable option while limited draw hunting is still taking place on those same goat populations.
"It's a lot more eco-friendly than a lot of the other options," said King, who said he feels like his neighbours who oppose the project are reacting based on misinformation and fear.
"I don't feel it is as onerous as people make it out to be," he said, noting his rewilding of his property isn't just for him, he has always kept his property open for people to enjoy.
"I'm not making a private park for Dave," he said.
At the time of writing, 904 people had signed the petition opposing the rezoning and development started by some valley residents.
The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) has the second reading of the rezoning application on the agenda for their Nov. 7 board meeting, with a staff recommendation for the proposal to be rejected due to potential risks to wildlife. Should the board vote to pass the second reading of the application, then it would come back for further public input. Nigel Whitehead with the CRD said a rezoning usually takes eight to 12 months from start to finish.
More information can be found at www.cariboord.ca planning@cariboord.ca.
