[Paddlewise] Gwaii Haanas Policies Affecting Sea Kayakers

After my signature is the text of a missive I received from Parks Canada management regarding
changes in policies in Gwaii Haanas, the sea kayakers' paradise in the Queen Charlottes, British
Columbia.  Feedback is solicited by Anna Gajda, of Parks Canada, in reaction to their "Options
Workbook," viewable on the Web site detailed below.  Comments will be accepted through the middle of
December.  Ms. Gajda agreed to allow the message to be posted on Paddlewise, and is eager to receive
feedback.

I believe that beginning in 1999 Parks will assess a CAN$10/night/person fee 
(up to a maximum of $60) for
overnight visitors to Gwaii Haanas.  This policy, now firmly established for 1999, and others to be
worked out this winter, may affect sea kayakers planning to
visit the Charlottes.

I urge interested folks to contact Ms. Gajda at the address below.  The Options Workbook should be
viewable at the Web site after the middle of November.
-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
--

BEGIN
Hello all!  According to the list that I have, you participated in the 
initial round of consultation on the Backcountry Management Plan for Gwaii 
Haanas.  I greatly appreciate the time that you took to participate, and 
hope that you will have time to review the options workbook, which is just 
beginning to go through public review.  This workbook identifies solution 
options for each of the issues discussed in the first round of 
consultation.  We would like to know which of the options you prefer and 
why, or if you don't like any of the proposed options, to suggest an 
alternative.

If you have access to the internet, the Options Workbook will be on our 
website shortly (should be up by November 13th).  We have also set up a 
discussion group so that everyone who participates directly receives 
comments from other participants, and the comments are automatically placed 
on our website.  I hope that this method will stimulate more discussion 
among participants, and lead to even better solutions to our management 
problems.  It may also increase different users appreciation of other 
peoples' concerns and values.

As a reminder, the website address is http://fas.sfu.ca/parkscan/gwaii - 
look under "Public Consultation - Backcountry Management Plan".

If you don't have Internet access, I can email you a copy of the workbook 
and a response form - please let me know in which format you require your 
files.

The input that you provided was very useful in developing the options 
workbook, and I look forward to reading your views on the options.  Input 
on the workbook will be accepted until December 15th, 1998.  All input will 
then be reviewed and a draft plan will be written - I hope to have it out 
for public review in February, 1999.

If you have any questions about this consultation process, or problems with 
accessing the information from the website, please do not hesistate to 
contact me.

Looking forward to your feedback!

Regards,

Anna Gajda
Backcountry Activities Manager
Gwaii Haanas
P.O. Box 37
Queen Charlotte  BC  V0T 1S0
CANADA

PH: (250)559-6322
FX: (250)559-8366

END

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