June 27, 2000.
Dear Premier Ujjal Dosanjh,
We, the undersigned organizations, support the St'at'imc (Statlium) Chiefs' June 12 decision which rejects NGR Resort Consultants Inc.'s (NGR's) ski resort proposal for Melvin Creek near Lillooet, B.C. We therefore request that you honour and uphold the St'at'imc's decision and immediately refuse approval of the project proposal.
We acknowledge the fact that the proponent, Al Raine, has stated that he will respect the St'at'imc's decision concerning the project proposal:
"NGR has also stated its position that the project will not proceed without the support of First Nations." (MELP email to Melvin Creek Project Review Team, June 29, 1999) [Here is another quote, not presented in the original June 27 letter, from NGR's July 1999 Project Report to the Environmental Assessment Office, Section G, First Nations: "NGR's Commitment. The company has stated at all public meetings that it will not proceed without Tribal Council support. This position was stated to Tribal Council representatives in 1992 during the initial Tribal Council presentation. This position has also been repeated to provincial authorities."]We therefore request that you encourage the proponent that he honour his word to quickly withdraw his project proposal from the Environmental Assessment Office's review process.
Since 1990, when NGR proposed a four season resort, provincial wildlife officials rejected the location due to impacts on grizzly bears and mountain goats, and then repeatedly pointed out the repercussions this proposal and associated developments would have to the wildlife. In 1993, NGR notified the then Premier Harcourt that it had abandoned the process, in part due to the wildlife concerns by government staff. According to internal government recommendations, NGR's project proposal should have been abandoned at that time. Nevertheless, NGR was able to garner Cabinet support and to get the process this far.
The long term impacts, or footprint, of this resort proposal will permanently alter and affect habitat in Melvin Creek and the surrounding lands, and the development and demographics of communities to the east, west, and north of this proposal.
Because of all the concerns outlined above, we request that you immediately refuse approval of the Melvin Creek ski proposal. Please inform us of your decision regarding this matter as soon as possible.
Yours truly,
Seymour Trieger, All About Us Canada Foundation
Baden Cross, Applied Conservation GIS
Elaine Golds, Burke Mountain Naturalists
Elsie Dean, Council of Canadians, Vancouver Chapter
Jim Fulton, David Suzuki Foundation
Pat Harrison, Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC
Chris Genovali, Raincoast Conservation Society
Bill Wareham, Sierra Club of B.C.
David Cadman/Will Koop, Society Promoting Environmental Conservation
Valhalla Wilderness Society
Paul George, Western Canada Wilderness Committee
cc. St'at'imc Chiefs
Interior Alliance
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
Joan Sawicki, Minister of Environment, Lands,
and Parks
Gordon Wilson, Minister of Employment and
Investment
NGR Resort Consultants Inc.
Media
Other organizations