The Kootenay-Boundary
Land Use Plan
Past resource decisions, flooding
valleys for hydro-electric projects, over-commitment of forest resources,
poor management or lax enforcement by past governments, have made
planning for a sustainable future essential.
The Kootenay-Boundary Land-Use Plan
(KBLUP) identifies common goals to sustain both resources and communities,
and sets out a course for getting there. The plan is intended to
help provide the stability needed to ensure strong, healthy communities
for present and future generations by clearly defining the land
available for resource use, particularly forestry, mining, agriculture
and tourism, as well as the areas that will be protected. It will
also ensure that the people who have chosen to live in the Kootenay-Boundary
region can continue working and raising their families in a more
secure future.
The KBLUP incorporates two years
of sincere negotiations between representatives of all major sector
interests in the West Kootenay-Boundary, and builds on the progress
achieved there with more than two months of further concentrated,
follow-up consultations with regional residents. This comprehensive
approach involving all parts of the region will ensure that communities
will be stable, informed, vibrant, integrated and sustainable. The
plan also includes an economic strategy for the region and identifies
the West Kootenay-Boundary as a priority for the government's Forest
Renewal Plan - with a new focus on labor-intensive forestry and
value-added jobs and production.
