There has been quite a bit of controversy lately concerning the proposed amalgamation of the
lands into the Smoke Bluffs climber’s park.
Some people are strongly opposed to the sale of these lands to the District of Squamish. Much of the discussion raises valid points, but some of the rhetoric is unfair to both the District and the Federation.
A few thoughts:
I have been climbing in the 麻豆社国产area since the late seventies. My understanding has been that it has been the intention for some time to eventually transfer the Smoke Bluffs lands, purchased by the Federation of Mountain Clubs in 1987, so that they could be incorporated into a climber’s park. The original foresightful aim was to save the land from developers since the District of 麻豆社国产was not sufficiently evolved at that time to protect these lands for climbers. That situation is vastly changed now.
The focus of the FMBC, to my understanding, has always been to ensure that strong covenants would be in place to protect the lands against development and to ensure access for climbers.
The DOS bylaw passed in 2006 established a park committee, but some of the proposed parkland is presently still officially zoned Industrial/Resource.
The District recently acquired the Drenka lands to add to the climber’s park, so now it is no longer illegal to climb or develop new routes in this area. Your municipal government is not the anti-climber evil empire. With the acquisition of this parcel, the District is on the cusp of officially rezoning its portion of the Smoke Bluffs and dedicating them as a park. The FMBC invited discussion from clubs and organizations on a proposal to include the FMBC lands in the (soon to be official) climbing park.
Some negative innuendos against the FMBC executive have been posted on social media without evidence. If you distrust the FMBC executive that deeply, or if you think that the organization is cash strapped and desperately needs money from the sale of their real estate, why would you want them to continue to be the stewards of this land? Isn’t this a kind of cognitive dissonance?
Eduard Fischer
Squamish
