Koocanusa

Between March 26 and 29 vandals destroyed and removed newly-installed recreation use signs in the Koocanusa area, causing an estimated $5,000 in property damage. The signs were installed to communicate the new regulations for the Koocanusa Recreation Management Area, which limits motorized recreation to designated roads and trails, and restricts Crown land camping to designated sites.

The Koocanusa Recreation Steering Committee (KRSC) is seeking public comment on its Draft 2021 Koocanusa Recreation Strategy, which strives to support and manage Crown land recreation access and use in a way that maintains the ecological integrity, cultural values, recreation experience, and economic value of the Koocanusa area for current and future users.

Over 100 people attended four open houses in November to offer feedback to inform an updated Koocanusa Recreation Strategy, which will be developed over the next few months with the goal of enhancing sustainable and responsible recreation on Crown lands.

The public will have a chance to discuss recreation management in the Koocanusa area at four open houses this November in the communities of Baynes Lake, Jaffray, Grasmere and Elko.

Summer carries with it moods as varied as the heat of the sun. Barbecues and busy gatherings with friends, baseball games and afternoon dips, a pitched tent on a sandy shoreline, the need for complete solitude beneath cliffs of a summit. Summers in Fernie are fraught with opportunity—sometimes the hardest part is choosing where to begin.