Boater wants more than study on Taghum-Blewett boat launch
By John Boivin
Local boaters are wondering if doubling the amount of money to study a new location for a boat launch on the Kootenay River is actually going to result in anything getting done.
The Regional District of the Central Kootenay’s board voted last week to spend $20,000 for a study into the feasibility and location of a new boat launch on the river near Taghum.
“For safety and to help preserve a way a life, the area needs one,” says Ramona Faust, the director for Area E. “This is a necessary thing.”
Local boaters have had no place to launch their craft onto the Kootenay River west of Nelson since 2013, when Teck blocked access to its property on Fisherman Road. Boaters were trespassing on the property to use it as a launch point. Teck considered the activity a liability, as the property is contaminated with mine tailings.
The RDCK set aside $10,000 for a study in 2015, but Faust says staff priorities were elsewhere, and not much happened. She says the larger pot of money, from the RDCK’s Feasibility Reserve, should get the ball rolling.
“It will be a full investigation of all areas- the best location, the size of a launch, the numbers of people who will use it, and it will include public outreach,” she says. “We’re really going back to square one.”
Boat owner frustrated
Doubling the money for a study is just a source of frustration for one man pushing the project.
“It just seems to be going nowhere,” says Jamie Gavin. “It’s not a top priority for them.”
Gavin says he’s walked the area with the area’s directors, scouting possible launch sites. He says they seem to understand how important a new launch is to locals and the tourism industry.
“I know they are trying, I know how much they want to get it done,” he says. “But let’s get it done.”
Gavin says boating traffic is growing, and with all the talk of the Kootenays being a tourism mecca, the infrastructure to support summer water recreation is inadequate.
“I’ve been on the water here all my life, and I’m amazed how boating traffic in his area has mushroomed in the last three years. I’d say it’s grown 100 per cent,” he says.
“And we’re losing a boat launch?”
He says if the Regional District just picked a location for a launch, local boaters could have the project finished for far less than the $20,000 being spent on studying the issue.
“It’s not the money we need, it’s the location… we just seem to be spinning our wheels.”
Complex problem
But finding a new boat launch site is a daunting task, as the area is a patchwork of ownerships and interests. Any project will have to include consultation with Teck, private landowners, local First Nations, and numerous government departments, including Fisheries and Oceans, Environment, and Transportation. After that, the RDCK has to decide who’ll pay for the new structure, and how it will be managed.
“The Regional District has to ask, how many services do we have, can we afford this, and can we attend to this after it’s built?” says Faust.
Faust hopes Phase One can be completed by the end of the summer, though she can see the study extending into the fall. After considering the results, the RDCK board will decide whether to proceed with Phase Two, technical planning for a structure. That phase will also cost about $20,000.
Given the complexities of the job ahead, Faust isn’t willing to guess when the boat launch will be built, or where, or the price tag.
“The idea is not to cost anybody a whole deal of money,” says Faust. “That’s the goal.”
Gavin says boaters just want to see some action.
“This will be the third summer that we have not had a boat launch on this part [of the river],” he says. “This has been slow and frustrating.
“It seems we’re stuck in the mud.”