Executive Summary and Action Plan
The economic impact of outdoor recreational opportunities has been defined as “the sum total of economic gains to all sectors of the economy...” Research shows that trails create jobs, enhance property values, expand local businesses, attract new or relocating businesses, increase tax revenues, decrease local government expenditures and promote community well-being. Click here to open the business plan file (pdf file, 547kb, requires Acrobat Reader).

 

 

 

 

 

Who Is PRPAWS (Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society)?
In 1992 a handful of outdoor enthusiasts realized that there was a vanishing amount of accessible old growth left on the Upper Sunshine Coast. They formed the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PRPAWS, commonly called PAWS), a registered, non-profit, charitable society, to set aside protected areas linked by corridors. Membership grew rapidly in excess of one hundred. The society meets regularly and has an eight member executive committee. It issues newsletters that are distributed by mail and more recently via this website as well. Membership is open to anyone for a nominal fee.

 

 

The purposes of the society are:

  • to establish accessible parks and wilderness areas in the Powell River district, with linking corridors where possible;

  • to protect old growth in a variety of settings;

  • to promote recreation and tourism in these areas through publicity and education;

  • to work through appropriate agencies;

  • to encourage public participation in the establishment, development, and

  • maintenance of protected areas;

  • to promote social comradeship through a common interest in outdoor activities;

  • to stimulate and further interest in activities such as hiking, canoeing, walking and the observation and study of the natural environment;

  • and to help protect our natural heritage for this and future generations.

Mission

PRPAWS has systematically addressed the purposes of its constitution by adopting goals and working towards them: We have participated in the Protected Areas Strategy (PAS) since its inception in 1994. We have successfully lobbied for the creation of  Inland Lake Park, Duck Lake Protected Area, and Malaspina Park. We have built the Sunshine Coast Trail, linking these parks and other features. As of the spring 2002 PAWS has reached agreements with StillwaterWeyerhaeuser which have established a variety of buffers for the SCT. Stillwater's recently enacted Forest Stewardship Plan has has set aside Old Growth Zones and Recreation/Tourism Zones, along the SCT, the Powell Forest Canoe Route, the Knuckleheads and other areas of interest (see www.cagstw.org).


PAWS has participated in the Price Waterhouse Study on Tourism in the Powell River area, now a blueprint for community action. We co-commissioned the SCT Business Plan (see link on home page).We are participating in the Sunshine Coast Trail Committee, the Millennium Park Project, and CAG, the Community Advisory Group to StillwaterWeyerhaeuser. 

We cultivate good working relationships with industry and government representatives.

PAWS is one of the four lead proponents of the Millennium Park Project, a green space on the beach and in the heart of Powell River. Many community groups are participating in this project, and more are joining.

PAWS hosts hikes, work parties, grand openings of trails, and potlucks. The annual outdoor recreation user groups' (ORUG) potluck allows all to come together. Having recreation, tourism, industry and government meet in an informal setting encourages good communications.

PAWS is looking 20, 50 and 200 years down the road when this community has accommodated the inevitable population overflow from the Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island. The Upper Sunshine Coast will be a destination with perhaps the lure of the Galapagos Islands, the Grand Canyon, the Tatzenshini or the Amazon. A ribbon of old growth will encompass the Canoe Route and the Sunshine Coast Trail, and provide a unique and accessible example of the ancient temperate rainforest, the northern jungles.

The Sunshine Coast Trail is a 180 km long hiking corridor. PRPAWS began work on the Sunshine Coast Trail connecting patches of old growth, from Saltery Bay in the south to Sarah Point in the north. The membership approached this staggering goal one trail at a time. Largely through volunteer labor, the organization built new trails, at times integrating already existing ones. PRPAWS held grand openings for the new trails, furthering the idea that the best way to have their concept gain acceptance was to involve the public as well as government and industry. The new trails quickly became popular with the public since they allowed people entry into areas which were until then accessed only by bushwhackers or loggers.

At the beginning of 2000 Phase One of the SCT Business Plan was completed, the majority of this work having been done through volunteer effort with some help through grants. Phase Two calls for the construction of the Tinhat Mountain Reroute of the SCT and to develop more campsites with outhouses and picnic tables.

Imagine having a trail that winds through 180 km of old growth because this community has had the foresight to design, grow and protect something truly unique. It will become a world class tourism destination that will be enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.

PRPAWS has worked together with the BOMB Squad, a group of retired gents who also build trails and marvels of wooden bridges, and with Greenways, another non-profit society which is building a hiking/biking path that is to provide access from Powell River to Lund. Many other interest groups are also involved in the planning process and creation of an Integrated Recreation Facility (IRF). It will lay the foundation of a sustainable environment and economy in the Powell River area for future generations.