Community Articles
General News · 20th November 2022
Lisa Ferentinos
According to BC Parks' Miracle Beach Area Supervisor, they do not intend to remove all boats with violation stickers from the park. However Tomorrow, Monday, November 21, 15 boats that have been determined to be derelict will be removed. On November 3, BC Parks said they would make photos of those available through an announcement on Tideline but unfortunately, this has not yet happened. I was sent the photos which are in the attachment below. Some of these have already been removed, hopefully by their owners. If someone you know owns one of these boats, but is not around, please let Parks know.
Phone: (250) 391-2311
Cell: (250) 886-1969
Email: Thomas.Porsborggov.bc.ca
Meanwhile, some may have thought the boats that were not yet removed were “up for grabs”. I believe all the ones that were taken have now been returned. Thanks to Tideline and responsible community members!
BC Parks is interested in meeting with community to discuss potential areas for storage of boats adjacent to the parking lot. They also need to determine a strategy for reducing the number of boats being stored. Boats can't be kept anywhere they will destroy the coastal strand vegetation that protects the shoreline.
The park Manson’s Landing is different from most due to the complicated land ownership and jurisdictions. The Harbour Authority of Cortes Island has authority only over the area where the wharf begins at the end of the paved road. Parks owns the entire parking lot. Although the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is supposed to own the roadway, there is an error on the official map, which shows the road in the forested area to the left of the parking lot (as you face the ocean) being owned by MOTI and the road being owned by Parks.
There are no other BC Parks that have a similar issue with boats being stored on park property, as storage of anything on Park property is illegal. However, there are community groups that have partnership agreements with Parks to maintain trails and interpretive sites. We are waiting for them to send us the standard language in an agreement to see if we might adapt it to a boat storage area.
If an organization were to make an agreement with Parks for a structure to hold kayaks and canoes, or an area for boat storage, liability insurance would be required and something like an annual registration fee might need to be charged to cover it.
If you want to speak to Parks staff, you can look for them after about 10 am tomorrow when they will be removing the derelict boats (weather permitting). If you want to be kept informed of developments, please email lisa.ferentinosgmail.com. Thanks!
Phone: (250) 391-2311
Cell: (250) 886-1969
Email: Thomas.Porsborggov.bc.ca
Meanwhile, some may have thought the boats that were not yet removed were “up for grabs”. I believe all the ones that were taken have now been returned. Thanks to Tideline and responsible community members!
BC Parks is interested in meeting with community to discuss potential areas for storage of boats adjacent to the parking lot. They also need to determine a strategy for reducing the number of boats being stored. Boats can't be kept anywhere they will destroy the coastal strand vegetation that protects the shoreline.
The park Manson’s Landing is different from most due to the complicated land ownership and jurisdictions. The Harbour Authority of Cortes Island has authority only over the area where the wharf begins at the end of the paved road. Parks owns the entire parking lot. Although the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is supposed to own the roadway, there is an error on the official map, which shows the road in the forested area to the left of the parking lot (as you face the ocean) being owned by MOTI and the road being owned by Parks.
There are no other BC Parks that have a similar issue with boats being stored on park property, as storage of anything on Park property is illegal. However, there are community groups that have partnership agreements with Parks to maintain trails and interpretive sites. We are waiting for them to send us the standard language in an agreement to see if we might adapt it to a boat storage area.
If an organization were to make an agreement with Parks for a structure to hold kayaks and canoes, or an area for boat storage, liability insurance would be required and something like an annual registration fee might need to be charged to cover it.
If you want to speak to Parks staff, you can look for them after about 10 am tomorrow when they will be removing the derelict boats (weather permitting). If you want to be kept informed of developments, please email lisa.ferentinosgmail.com. Thanks!