The Federation of Mountain Clubs
of British Columbia
March 2018 NEWSLETTER
| Member Club Grant application form available April 1st  Does your club have a trail project or community event in mind but lack the funds to make it happen? Good news: Our 2018 Member Club Grant application will be available on April 1st! The link to the form will be posted on our Member Club Grant page. Please note that the deadline for grant applications is April 30th, 2018.
In the meantime, here are a couple of grant-related links to check out: | AGM registration now open Registration is now open for the 2018 FMCBC AGM in Victoria over the June 8-10th weekend. The Outdoor Club of Victoria is hosting us and has some great activities planned. Please complete our registration form by April 30th so the OCV can plan for meals and accommodation for everyone. | Member Club Grant donation deadline is March 31st There are only a few days left to contribute to the FMCBC Member Club Grant fund for this year. The deadline for contributions is March 31st, and you can donate online. And don’t forget that because we're a registered charity, your donation is tax deductible! | The FMCBC welcomes the Columbia Valley Climbing Association  We couldn’t be happier to welcome our newest member club, the Columbia Valley Climbing Association! Hailing from Golden, the CVCA is our 44th member club.
The Columbia Valley Climbing Association was formed almost twenty years ago by a small group of dedicated climbers based out of Golden, BC. After a hiatus, the CVCA recently formed a new board, and the Association's aim is to continue supporting climbing development near the community of Golden and the surrounding Columbia Valley.
Click over to our blog to read more about the CVCA and the projects they're working on. | Recent Backcountry Access meeting in Port Alberni On March 24th, our Executive Director, Barry Janyk, attended a backcountry access meeting hosted by NDP Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser. The purpose of the meeting was to find solutions to backcountry access restrictions that have been increasing on Vancouver Island, and MLA Fraser addressed the group to help define the issues and seek support for improving public access across private forest lands. About 80 folks representing all aspects of backcountry enthusiasm showed up on a sunny Saturday, which speaks volumes about the interest in this issue. To read more about the meeting, check out Barry's summary on our blog. | Updated: Sea to Sky backcountry access issues Back in January, we made a list of priority areas in the Sea to Sky corridor that are difficult for backcountry users to access. That list has since been updated—check it out here. What other areas have we missed? There are some new access issues in the upper Squamish and Ashlu/Elaho river drainages. If you know more about issues in these areas, or any areas in the Sea to Sky region, let us know! | Cloudburst submissions wanted  We still have space for a few more submissions to our upcoming issue of Cloudburst. Please send your articles, stories, gear talk, backcountry musings, trip reports, committee reports, photos, poems, or whatever else is on your mind to stacey.santos@mountainclubs.org. If you've never contributed before, don't be shy! Readers would love to hear about what's going on in your own piece of the backcountry.
We're also looking for a cover photo (preferably something spring-y or summery), so please dig through your archives and send us your best. The hard deadline for all submissions is April 15th, 2018. | Dave King receives NRESi award  Congrats to Dave King of the Caledonia Ramblers, who was awarded the NRESi Community Advancement Award in Natural Resources and Conservation Practice. This award is given each year by the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute to a person who demonstrates a broad influence on the development of natural resources and/or the conservation of our environment, through interdisciplinary research or service to central-north BC. Dave was recognized for his many years and thousands of hours of volunteer work as a member of the Ramblers. Read more about it and see the photos on our Facebook page.
Letter to Forest Licensees on Vancouver Island WIth Right to Roam on our—and the province’s—radar, this letter is worth a read. Written to Forest Licensees on Southern Vancouver Island, it makes it quite clear that “providing public access to forested Crown land is an important cornerstone of our forest tenure system” and that “it is the responsibility of the gate owner to allow any person wanting to use a road section beyond a gate location the ability to do so. Unless use of a road would likely cause significant damage to the road, cause significant sediment delivery, or endanger property, public health or public safety, all gates are to be left in an open position." It’ll be interesting to see the provincial precedent this sets, and if, and how many, gates will be opened. Want to learn more about Right to Roam in BC? Visit our website. | Environmental group trains Whistler seniors to raise awareness about conservation issues - Whistler Pique, Feb 27, 2018 2018 budget keeps Canada’s national parks free for youth - CTV News, Feb 28, 2018 Heritage centre window to BC Parks’ past - North Shore News, March 8, 2018 Missing Squamish climber, companion presumed dead in Alaska - CBC News, March 14, 2018 Golden Ears park road still on winter hours, visitors discover - BC Local News, March 19, 2018 Vancouver Island residents talk backcountry access - Alberni Valley News, March 26, 2018 Regulation for electric bikes may forever change B.C. mountain trails - CBC News, March 27, 2018 | Researchers at the Avalanche Research Program at SFU are conducting a study with Avalanche Canada to help improve their risk communication products, particularly the daily avalanche bulletin. They’re looking for new/beginner snowshoers and backcountry skiers to take part in hour long interviews about avalanche safety (for which they’ll reimburse participants $50). Learn more. Beginning April 10th, wilderness reservations can be made for Garibaldi Provincial Park through the Discover Camping Reservation Service. More details here. BC AdventureSmart is seeking outdoor educators and team members in Kelowna and Vancouver for the BC AdventureSmart Summer 2018 program. Check out the job postings and required skills and duties here. Join Mountain Legacy Project researcher Mary Sanseverino for an image-rich evening of mountain landscape discovery as she unpacks the interdisciplinary practices that let the images of the Mountain Legacy Project speak. The presentation is on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 7 pm in UVic's Human and Social Development Building, room A240. More details here. Congrats to the winners of the ACC’s 2018 Grants Program! Read all about the winners and their projects here. | Thanks to Andrea Eitle of the Columbia Valley Climbing Association for this month's feature photo of Amelie Goulet-Boucher on Girls Day Out. The CVCA is our newest member club—read all about them on our blog and check them out on Facebook!
| Click here to view our Fall/Winter 2017 issue of Cloudburst. Use our online form to report motorized recreation observed within BC Park boundaries.
Visit Canada Helps to make a donation to the FMCBC . All donations go towards our Member Club Grant Program
The FMCBC is always looking for volunteers. Click here to find out how you can get involved. | | The FMCBC is a proud member of: | As always, the FMCBC would like to thank Mountain Equipment Co-op for supporting the FMCBC through their generous contribution of office space from which to base our administration. | | Copyright © 2018 Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC, All rights reserved.
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