{"id":55782,"date":"2020-06-01T12:27:19","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T18:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=55782"},"modified":"2020-06-01T12:41:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T18:41:33","slug":"closures-remain-as-camping-season-begins-in-b-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2020\/06\/01\/closures-remain-as-camping-season-begins-in-b-c\/","title":{"rendered":"Closures remain as camping season begins in B.C."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Grab Your Tent:<\/strong> Signs outside Kokanee Provincial Park, near Nelson, B.C., show that the park is closed on May 13. Kokanee Provincial Park is one of the BC Parks locations that has reopened to day-use and camping in accordance with Phase 2 of BC\u2019s Restart Plan. (Photo by Shelby Daughton\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

[dropcap]B[\/dropcap]C Parks<\/a> <\/span>officially<\/span> reopened some <\/span>provincial park <\/span>camp<\/span>grounds<\/span> to users <\/span>today<\/span> in accordance with Phase 2 of BC\u2019s Restart Plan<\/span>,<\/span> after opening for day-use on May 14, <\/span>but<\/span> other <\/span>p<\/span>rovincial parks are not <\/span>open for <\/span>camping <\/span>just <\/span>yet<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

P<\/span>arks<\/span> in more populated areas<\/span> will remain entirely closed<\/span>.<\/span> This includes<\/span> parks near Vancouver, such as Cypress Provincial Park and Mount Seymour Provincial Park.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Taryn Eyton<\/span> is a Vancouver resident<\/span> who <\/span>runs<\/span> an outdoor adventure blog called<\/span> Happiest Outdoors<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She believes that <\/span>the reopening of parks has been marred by missteps<\/span> in announcements<\/span> from the provincial <\/span>government and BC Parks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was in the fine print, that wasn’t really obvious to a lot of people, was that the parks near the major population centers didn’t open<\/span>,\u201d said <\/span>Eyton.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eyton also believes that the announcements were not clear about backcountry camping, which is not <\/span>planned<\/span> to <\/span>open in many popular parks<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eyton <\/span>initially felt that the <\/span>March <\/span>closure of <\/span>B.C<\/span>.<\/span>\u2019s<\/span> provincial<\/span> parks<\/span> was the right call<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all didn’t really know how things were transmitted<\/span> [and]<\/span> how vulnerable people were<\/span>,<\/span> indoors versus outdoors<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> said Eyton.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Later<\/span>, Eyton became less in <\/span>favour<\/span> of the closure<\/span>s<\/span> due to <\/span>information about <\/span>low outdoor transmission rates<\/span>. Eyton says <\/span>th<\/span>at <\/span>getting outdoors <\/span>in provincial parks <\/span>could have helped people get through <\/span>self-isolation<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eyton <\/span>acknowledges<\/span> that <\/span>there are challenges to reopening parks such as <\/span>sanitation<\/span> and safety.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSanitation when camping is obviously a lot more challenging than sanitation at home, so I could see the challenges there and the hesitation towards opening those kinds of facilities,\u201d said Eyton. \u201cI also see the challenge with search and rescue<\/span> [groups] <\/span>not having enough protective equipment to carry out rescues<\/span>,<\/span> and not wanting to encourage people to take risky backcountry trips or wilderness trips<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite this, Eyton says park users can balance their use of parks and wild spaces by takin<\/span>g<\/span> low risk trips and <\/span>being <\/span>responsible for <\/span>their own sanitation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizations<\/span> that use BC Parks<\/span> like the B.C. Mountaineering Club<\/a><\/span> (BCMC)<\/span> have created clear guidelines to <\/span>ensure<\/span> the safety of their members during <\/span>reopening<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Ludwig, the president of the BCMC says that the<\/span>ir<\/span> r<\/span>eopening guidelines were created by a committee <\/span>which includes<\/span> lawyers, health professionals<\/span>,<\/span> and strategic planners<\/span> in collaboration<\/span> with the BCMC\u2019s <\/span>climbing team.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All members who want to go on trips must take the B<\/span>.<\/span>C<\/span>.<\/span> Self-<\/span>Check<\/span> T<\/span>ool <\/span>for COVID-19 <\/span>and post their results on the trip forum.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New restrictions <\/span>also <\/span>include <\/span>a maximum of six people<\/span> on any planned trip<\/span>, no carpooling with <\/span>non-household members,<\/span> no touching any non-household members, and<\/span> no <\/span>activities<\/span> that required shared equipment<\/span> or surfaces<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur committee meets every two weeks to reassess the situation, and we just simply follow the lead on government guidelines,\u201d said Ludwig. \u201cWe’ll allow those kinds of shared activities once the government says it’s okay to do so.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anders <\/span>Treiberg<\/span> runs an RV travel blog with his wife Liz called We Discover Canada<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Treiberg and his wife<\/span>, who <\/span>enjoy travelling in their RV around North America<\/span>,<\/span> are excited about the reopening.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really good<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d said Treiberg. \u201cI think everybody’s pretty excited about getting out.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the excitement, Treiberg has taken issue with the way th<\/span>at<\/span> campsites are being booked. He says sites are being booked only two months in advance<\/span>. H<\/span>e was hoping to book a spot at an RV campground in Osoyoos<\/span> for September <\/span>when the <\/span>online <\/span>booking system opened.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>T<\/span>hat means we could only book that park on the second of July<\/span>,<\/span> because it’s only two months ahead<\/span>,\u201d said <\/span>Treiberg<\/span>.<\/span> \u201cT<\/span>hat makes it very frustrating because why not [open] all the campsites up now, and whoever wants to book<\/span>,<\/span> can<\/span> book<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Treiberg<\/span> has sent BC Parks an email voicing his concern.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also see the challenge with search and rescue<\/span> [groups] <\/span>not having enough protective equipment to carry out rescues<\/span>,<\/span> and not wanting to encourage people to take risky back country trips or wilderness trips<\/span>. – Taryn Eyton\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you\u2019re<\/span> wondering how to <\/span>mak<\/span>e<\/span> the most of open parks<\/span> and campgrounds<\/span>, <\/span>while also staying safe, <\/span>Eyton has some<\/span> advice for <\/span>you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Make] sure that you\u2019re doing your best to be nice to Mother Nature and other people,\u201d said Eyton.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She<\/span> also <\/span>encourages<\/span> people to <\/span>make sure th<\/span>at the<\/span> place they want to go is open<\/span> and<\/span> to <\/span>have a back-up plan <\/span>if the place they\u2019re going too <\/span>is <\/span>crowded<\/span> when they arrive.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BC Parks has officially reopened some provincial park campgrounds to users today in accordance with Phase 2 of BC\u2019s Restart Plan, after opening for day-use on May 14, but other provincial parks are not open for camping just yet.\u00a0\u00a0 [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":602,"featured_media":55791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 BC Parks Reopen","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-55782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-life","8":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/602"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55782"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55912,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55782\/revisions\/55912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}