Anyone who has ever hiked into Pinecone Burke Provincial Park is familiar with Don Gillespie’s handiwork.
The Burke Mountain Naturalists (BMN) member has been venturing into the far reaches of the area since before it was an official park, clearing trails and marking paths so that others could follow in his footsteps and enjoy the scenery.
“We did as much as we could,” he said over coffee in Port Coquitlam. “We would just keep moving back and back. We started working up the Widgeon and all the way into the Boise Valley… I was up there for my 40th wedding anniversary.”
Gillespie researched the logging routes and existing trails, adding new links that connected Coquitlam with trails that led all the way to Squamish and Garibaldi.
Elaine Golds, another Burke Mountain Naturalist and another prominent Tri-City environmentalist, said Gillespie’s work was crucial in re-discovering many points of interest in the backcountry, noting “this was before Google Maps.”
The additional trail connections also went a long way toward helping the group make the case for turning the 38,000 hectares of forest into a provincial park, an effort that came to fruition in 1995.
“It was a wonderful time building trails to get people into the area to see the beauty,” said Ian McArthur, a BMN member who still gets out to maintain trails when he can. “There were a lot of people working for the same goal of having it become a park and we were successful.”
“You need to get people into the area so they get to see it and love it,” added Golds.
It is safe to say that the Burke Mountain Naturalists’ goal has been achieved.
The organization is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park with a hike this weekend. The annual event has become so popular that organizers are strict about people registering in advance in order to not overwhelm the volunteers — and the trails.
‘MANY PEOPLE’
The idea for turning the vast forest north of Coquitlam into a provincial park was first championed by Mark Haddock, one of the founding members of the Burke Mountain Naturalists. He said the idea came in a dream, and soon after, he enlisted the help of the group to begin campaigning to have the lands protected.
Golds said the idea of turning Burke Mountain into a park had been floating around for a few years prior but Haddock was the first person to suggest pushing the boundaries all the way to Garibaldi, including Widgeon, the Boise Valley and other tracts of land.
The proposal was met with some opposition from the forestry industry, which was particularly interested in an area of old-growth trees deep inside the park.
Had it been logged, the region would have lost a natural wonder, according to Gillespie.
“It is absolutely magnificent,” he said. “On the trail, you can walk through and touch 600- to 700-year-old trees. It’s like a cathedral.”
But the Burke Mountain Naturalists persevered, and soon, many residents and politicians were onboard with the proposal.
The provincial government at the time was in the process of expanding the amount of forest land that was protected and Pinecone Burke was on the radar of then NDP MLA John Cashore.
“Many stars aligned,” said David Mounteney, an organizer with the Friends of DeBoville Slough and a BMN member.
“The fact is, a lot of other people joined us on it,” added Golds. “One group alone can’t make a park. It takes many, many people.”
‘UNFINISHED WORK’
All that work was not finished once the park was proclaimed in 1995.
One of the ironies of Pinecone Burke is that it took only three years to get the 38,000 hectares protected but more than two decades to get a finalized park management plan from BC Parks.
Today, parking at the entry points to Pinecone Burke is inadequate and there are no bathrooms servicing the area. BMN members do their best to keep the trails maintained but Mounteney, Golds and Gillespie all agreed that without more funding, the trails will begin to grow over.
“BC Parks has described it as a park in waiting,” said Mounteney. “They are waiting to do stuff because they haven’t got the funds.”
But in the last year, there have been several signs that a management plan could be coming soon, with BC Parks completing the initial terms of reference.
The government website said the province is currently holding its initial public commenting period — but the deadline for submissions passed in November.
The next step is putting forward a draft management plan for public review and comment before the final document can be approved.
BC Parks is taking slow steps in the right direction, say the Naturalists, who said they will keep pushing for more to be done.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction,” said Mounteney, “but there’s also a lot of anticipation of what will happen next. It feels like it is unfinished work.”
“We don’t want to stop here,” added Gillespie. “The public wants more green spaces protected.”
