F205-S12(12-7)-i2 - [Letter from the BCMC to the BC Provincial Lands Department regarding the Creation of Garibaldi Park]

In October 1915, the BC Mountaineering Club sent a special resolution to the Provincial Lands Department, calling for protection of the Mount Garibaldi District. They wanted to see natural features “preserved unimpaired for the instruction and recreation of the people of Western Canada.”

Today, parkland is generally created for habitat preservation, more than for "instruction and recreation." Early settlers had limited understanding of the ecosystem and they had biased views on preservation. They saw preservation as a benefit to people rather than the flora and fauna of the area, and they did not understand Indigenous land use either. However, the BCMC advocacy for Garibaldi most likely helped save this special ecosystem from logging or mining at a time when there were few regulations in place to prevent such areas from exploitation.

Fonds 205

• Garibaldi Provincial Park