But lawyer dissatisfied with

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WEST VANCOUVER lawyer John Beltz says the price paid
for free access to the back country areas of Hollyburn

Mountain is a 30 per cent reduction in public areas of

Cypress Provincial Park.

Addressing a report to West
Vancouver District, Council: Mon-
day night from regional parks
branch director George Trachuk
that announced the negotiation of
a free access route through Cypress
Bowt ski facilities. Beltz criticized
the provincial government for
allowing Cypress Bow! Recreations
Lid. (CBRL) to increase its user-
pay area in return for free access
to wilderness areas of the park.

Beliz, who led Save Cypress
Bow! Committee (SCBC) protests

By TIMOTHY RENSHAW
and MAUREEN CURTIS

against the company’s policy of
charging back country’ hikers to
cross its ski runs and was arrested
in a March 1, 1986. ski-in
demonstration, said the provincial
government had negotiated
nothing ‘because the public had
the right to free access under the
terms of the original agreement."'
Following the meeting. Beltz
said that under an amended permit

agreemem the CBRL had been
given controt of a ‘vast urea of the
park outside the original control
area’ to the north of the cross-
country and the west of the
downhill ski permit areas.

“The company has been given
eversthing it wants,  basically,"’
Beltz said.

But CBRE general manager
Wayne Booth said Thursday he
was mystified by Beltz’s  state-
ments,

“T thought everybody was hap-
py’ he said. ‘They have the
guaranteed free access they asked
for. I'm baffled, really.”"

The six-kilometre trail provides
free hiker access to Hollyburn
Peak from the Cypress Bow!

Prepare
your

thrill
PAGE 15

cross-country parking lot, which
has reverted to public control, via
the power line and Triangle trails.

Trachuk said the public will
have free access through the
Cypress Bowl area en route Black
Mountain, Mount Strachan and
the Howe Sound Crest trail at
CBRL's discretion.

Provincial parks spokesman
Wayne Stetski said Thursday the
wrea added to CBRIL’s lease is
“basically the groves of trees be-
tween the cross-country and
downhill trails. It deesn't really
change the situation as far as
public use is concerned.”*

Booth had maintained that,
under the terms of CBRL's origi-
nal agreement with the provincial

garden
PAGE 27

ypress Bowl right-of-way decision

government, it had the right to
charge anyone who used the com-
pany'’s downhill and cross-country
ski facilities. Beltz, on the other
hand, maintains that the public has
aright to free wilderness access in
all provincial Class A parks.

West Vancouver Ald. David
Finlay suggested that council ask
the provincial lands, parks and
housing ministry to take all possi-
ble steps to increase public access
to Cypress Provincial Park.

“In retrospect, the provincial
government did not doa very good
job of parcelling out the land for
recreation,’’ Finlay said. ‘‘The
government failed to take into ae-
count the legitimate needs of
North Shore citizens.”’

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