B.C.'s oldest provincial park marks 110th anniversary with book about its history, controversies

The story of how the oldest provincial park in B.C. came to be isfeatured in a new book to mark the 110th anniversary ofStrathcona Provincial Park, along with never-before-seen photos.

Author Catherine Gilbert said she was inspired to writeA Journey Back to Natureafter living and working near the park, which is located almost right in the centre of Vancouver Island.

She said previous books about the decade-old park looked at the non-Indigenous history but through research, she found information about settlements within the park thatarcheologists discovered in 2019, as well as otherknowledge from surrounding First Nations communities.

"It was known for many years that there was a trail, or many trails, within the park that were used by Indigenous people," Gilbert said on the CBC's On the Island, "and it's only been within the last couple of years that these were identified by theMowachaht-Muchalahtof Gold River."

She said the book also talks about the tension between environmentalists and industrialists as the park was first identified as a place that was abundant with minerals and trees.

"At the time the park was formed, timber licenses and mineral claims were already within the park," she explained, "and because the provincial government at the time was unable to buy it all up, when people wanted to use the park recreationally, the industry was in the way."

That conflict lasted through the 1930s, '40s and all the way into the '80s, Gilbert said, but eventually a master plan was written in 1993 by B.C. Parksthat specified that the park would be set aside as a natural space for recreation.

"People were reacting in some ways to the industrial revolution and they were looking for natural spaces away from pollution and busyness," she said.

Gilbert also connected with a family in the United States who had a mineral claimon the west side of Buttle Lake in the 1930s and bought a property nearby with cabins on it. She said photos from theWill J. Reid family showa rare glimpse into what life was like and the activities going on in that region.

"For many years, nobody had ever taken any pictures within Strathcona Park," she said. "As it turns out, Reed's daughter was an amateur photographer and she took tremendous photos and developed them herself."

She said the creation of Strathcona Provincial Park was an important precedent that led to the developmentof more wilderness parks in B.C.

LISTEN |Catherine Gilberttalks about A Journey Back to Natureon CBC's On the Island.