January 2019 meeting report
The Kimberley Nature Park Society met for the first time this year Jan. 31 and welcomed Councilor Sandra Roberts as our new official city liaison, replacing Nigel Kitto who did an outstanding job last term. Board members also set out a number of priorities for event management, trails maintenance, fire treatment activities, and succession planning.
The Columbia Spotted Frog is one of many species to be found at Eimer's Lake.
Letters of support were approved and sent for organizations planning a number of activities and events:
- Mainstreams Environmental Society proposal to do education and research at Eimer’s Lake - Wildsight Kimberley/Cranbrook Branch day camp to teach children about nature in the park - Black Spur Ultramarathon in August - Trans BC Enduro Mountain Bike race in July (provisional support)
We also identified a number of other priorities for 2019:
- In the spring we will be organizing a work party to clean up the area where fuel treatment crews thinned the forest around the gravel pit near the Swan Avenue Entrance. The thinning revealed a bunch of old junk lying around on the forest floor and we will be using some muscle and pickup trucks to take it all to the transfer station. Some of the junk is quite heavy - strong volunteers are welcome!
A bunch of scrap metal, bottles, tires and other debris needs cleanup after forest thinning exposed it.
- There is an interest in exploring an improved biking and hiking route from the park up to the Nordic ski trail area. Ryan McKenzie, general manager of trails, suggested a few possible routes that will be analyzed and discussed over the next few months. - The KNP Natural History Committee is working to expand its membership and activities this year and will be hosting a field trip Feb. 23 at 9 am. Anyone with an interest in nature is welcome to attend this slow and pokey exploration that will focus on animal tracks, winter birds and anything else that we see. Meet at the Kimberley-Riverside Campground Entrance. - The KNPS Management Plan is due for an update. A four-person committee was convened at the meeting to review the current plan and suggest amendments. When updated, the plan will be sent to the city and the province for approval.
Our park management plan was last updated in 2012 and is now due for a refresh.
- Our current and long-time president, Kent Goodwin, has expressed a desire to step down at the end of this year. We had some discussion about succession planning, and delegating more tasks to other directors. A list of all the chores that need to be done to keep the park operating successfully will be compiled and some outreach to non-active members will occur throughout the year.
The complete minutes of the meeting are posted on this website in the “About Us” section if you would like see more details.
