Only 10 days remain to have your say in a recreation management plan for Shuswap, Mara and Adams lakes.
The lake-based recreation plan is being developed by the Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP).
One of the three goals of SLIPP’s 2008 strategic plan was to facilitate desirable recreation experiences that are safe and sustainable.
Sydney Johnsen of Peak Planning Associates and John Hull, an associate professor at Thompson Rivers University, are leading the planning process.
“The purpose of the recreation management plan is to balance economic, environmental and social issues to address lake-based recreation conflicts, issues and uses,” says a SLIPP press release.
Johnsen and Hull are seeking input from lake users through an online survey that pinpoints what time of day users are on or around the lake, what activities they enjoy and whether they are satisfied with current amenities.
More than 700 respondents were surveyed at lake access points last summer.
Preliminary results identify the top four recreational activities as swimming, sunbathing, picnicking, and boating, and the majority of users as visitors as part of a group, who stayed between one and four hours, and were between the ages of 20 and 50 years old.
Ski/wake boats, houseboats and canoes/kayaks were the top three types of boats used on the lakes with more than 55 per cent of boaters using public access boat launches.
The majority of non-residents were from B.C. and Alberta and 87 per cent of respondents stated that being in a healthy environment was the most important aspect of their visit to the region.
“Any strategic management recommendations will most likely require a monitoring program that identifies the impacts of recreational use on the larger environment to assist with long-term planning and sustainable development,” says Hull.
The first draft of the plan will be available for public feedback in the spring of 2013.
To learn about the plan or to complete the survey, visit www.slippbc.com. The survey closes Friday, Dec. 7.