Thanks to the 100 or so people who attended the Jumbo East-West rally at the pass on Saturday Sept 21. It was a lovely and inspiring day, but unfortunately, the threat of development at Jumbo Valley continues to loom even as the clock nears midnight.
The hike was a delight, with folks from 16 months to 88 years making the trek from east and west. Pat Morrow was kind enough to make a video from photos and video he captured during the day:
East-West Jumbo Pass Hike 2014 from Wildsight on Vimeo.
Meanwhile, the Jumbo Glacier Resort Municipality completed its work installing a permanent one-lane bridge over Jumbo Creek at the 15.8 km mark on the Jumbo Forest Service Road. The previous bridge had been removed at the request of Ktunaxa Nation to prevent motorized ATVs etc from disturbing the sacred sites in the valley. Although Ktunaxa Nation objected strenuously, the bridge work went ahead.
The monitoring camp, which has been continuously occupied since August 20, has had its hands full trying to monitor the site. Glacer Resorts Limited has resorted to closing off all access to a 32-square kilometre area within the Jumbo Valley, citing safety concerns for the massive infringement on recreation access. Volunteers at the camp have been confronted by construction workers, and visited by RCMP, despite the fact that the developer has committed to maintaining recreation access thorughout the construction process. Click here to read a moving letter from a camp participant.
West Kootenay EcoSociety has learned that our court date for the challenge to the unlawful and unelected Jumbo Resort Municipality will get its day in court before the end of 2014. The progress unfortunately has not been enough to prevent the Jumbo Municipality from awarding a building permit for the proposed day lodge in the heart of the Jumbo Valley. Previously, the unelected “city council” issued a permit for pouring of foundations for the lodge building. Similarly, despite objections and concerns about compliance with the environmental certificate, the Resorts Branch has granted a license for a ski lift.