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Black Mountain / sntsk’il’nten Regional Park has become even larger following an announcement made today by the Regional District of Central Okanagan.
The Regional District of Central Okanagan has announced that the acquisition of 313 acres of property will now become part of Black Mountain / sntsk’il’nten Regional Park.
The new lands are located directly east and north of the existing park.
In announcing the new property acquisition, Regional District Chair Gail Given says “We’ve now protected more than 640-hectares of significant grassland, open Ponderosa pine, and grassland savanna. It’s home to at least nine endangered or threatened species and ecological communities.”
Given adds, “This is the 50th anniversary of the Regional District. Our Regional Parks system is something that’s been important for past and current Regional Boards. Today’s announcement further reinforces the vision that began in early 1975 with the purchase of four hectares of land for our first regional Park, Kaloya in Lake Country. And we’re excited about our unique and valuable collaboration with the Westbank First Nation in the management of Black Mountain / sntsk‘il’ntən Regional Park. It holds great cultural and historical significance for the Okanagan syilx people and that’s something we hope to widely share in the years ahead.”
The syilx/Okanagan word sntsk‘il’ntən (sinch-KEEL-en-tin) translates to “the place where arrowheads/flint rock is found”. The property has additional First Nations significance because of the wide variety of plants and medicines found in the area.
During the park expansion announcement, a special Canada 150th plaque was presented to recognize the generous land donation of the Adria and Holterhus families in 2014 under the Government of Canada Ecological Gifts Program to help create the regional park.
The new property was purchased for just over $ 2.3 million. Of that amount, $2.1 million came from two Regional Parks reserve funds.
The Government of Canada’s Habitat Stewardship program contributed $200,000 towards the purchase, and the Central Okanagan Land Trust donated $15,000.
The Black Mountain / sntsk’il’nten Regional Park now has a total of 1,589 acres of geographically, ecologically significant land that will be protected for future generations.
The Black Mountain / sntsk’il’nten Regional Park is not currently open to the public.
A management plan for the park was adopted by the Regional Board in 2016 which will guide the Regional District as it develops and co-manages the park.
The vision for the park includes passive recreation, interpretation, ecological restoration, and conservation of sensitive ecosystems within the park.
Black Mountain / sntsk‘il’ntən Regional Park was created in 2014 with $7-million in funding from the Regional Parks Legacy and Park Land Reserve funds, a $2.3-million donation through the Government of Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program and a
co-tenure/management agreement between the Regional District and Westbank First Nation for a License of Occupation on 123.6-hectares (305-acres) of Crown Land. The Regional District and Westbank First Nation co-manage the park.
There are 30 Regional Parks in the Central Okanagan protecting more than 2,200-hectares of land across the region.
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