?akisq’nuk oppose boat launch repair

The Columbia Valley Pioneer By Steve Hubrecht 

The ?akisq’nuk First Nation has expressed opposition to ongoing efforts by the District of Invermere to repair the Athalmer boat launch.

The district has worked for several years to fix the boat launch, which has been the source of grumbling — and mixed opinions — for a long time. The concrete launch ramp has been closed for quite a spell due to ongoing erosion, and local and visiting boaters have pointed to the rough and rutted state of the informal, gravel part of the launch.

Last summer district officials shared their frustration about being in the dark about consultation from federal and provincial agencies with jurisdiction over the launch area. (They later secured the necessary federal permits.) And some residents and groups, including the Lake Windermere Ambassadors are worried about the area, noting it is environmentally sensitive.

Last week, during their April 14 meeting, Invermere council received a letter from ?akisq’nuk explaining the First Nation does “not support the proposed launch expansion and repairs. Instead, Nasu?kin (chief) and council encourage improved management measures to control access and limit environmental impacts at the existing site, while exploring alternative locations for a future boat launch.”

The letter by ?akisq’nuk director of lands and resources Lorne Shovar outlined concerns including “the need for improved access control, ongoing monitoring and management at the existing launch site, and impacts associated with boat activity such as propeller wash, sediment accumulation, and disturbance to the riverbed” as well as the launch being close to fish spawning habitat and near one of the largest known native freshwater mussel beds in the upper Columbia River.

Shovar added that the area now known as Athalmer (called Kwataq’nuk in Ktunaxa language) holds deep cultural and ecological significance for the ?akisq’nuk. It was historically an important seasonal harvesting, fishing, and hunting ground and winter village site, and there are 62 archaeological sites currently registered in the provincial database within the Athalmer area, including several near the Lake Windermere rock groyne and shoreline.

“It is recommended that while the formal boat launch remains closed, the adjacent foreshore —informal launch site — should also be closed to motorized vessel launching. Continued use of the adjacent foreshore is expanding the footprint of the existing site and reflects the current lack of management control at the launch location,” wrote Shovar.

During the April 14 meeting several Invermere officials, including mayor Al Miller and councillor Gerry Taft both emphasized that the work the district plans is only repair, not expansion.

“We just want to fix it (the concrete ramp) and make it better,” said Miller. “In its current state, it is not good for anybody. It’s not good for the environment, it’s not good for those launching boats.”

Invermere chief administrative officer Dean McKinley said it’s a prevalent misconception that the district is “dragging its feet on (fixing) the boat launch. That’s not the case. We are doing everything we can to get the approvals we need to repair this launch.”

Taft said the launch repairs need to be viewed separately from the overall issue of lake stewardship, with the launch perhaps unfairly becoming a lightning rod for bigger concerns about Lake Windermere.

He hastened to add that overall management and carrying capacity of the lake is indeed important and should be addressed, as should several other issues connected to the lake — especially the proliferation of mooring buoys and illegally constructed docks, and lakefront adjacent property owners essentially taking over what should be public land (or as Taft put it, “if it’s public land it should be clearly marked out as public land”).

On Thursday, April 16, the district published a post on its website outlining its position on frequently asked questions related to the boat launch. In the post, the district wrote that the delay is not due to a lack of planning, desire or funding on the part of Invermere ($309,000 has already been set aside to fix the launch, covering the total cost of repairs), and the repairs will redirect those launching watercraft from the adjacent gravel foreshore (which increases erosion and disturbs the shoreline and riverbed) back to the concrete ramp.

It reiterated the work is repair only, not expansion, and that there will be no increase in boat capacity, no accommodation for larger boats, and no new launch footprint.

In the post the district said it respects concerns raised by the ?akisq’nuk and Shuswap Band about lake carrying capacity, water quality, boating impacts and cumulative effects, and “supports addressing them through a collaborative lake management process … (but) at the same time this repair is modest, targeted maintenance (and) will reduce erosion and sedimentation, not increase impacts.”

In the post the district said it respects concerns raised by the ?akisq’nuk and Shuswap Band about lake carrying capacity, water quality, boating impacts and cumulative effects, and “supports addressing them through a collaborative lake management process … (but) at the same time this repair is modest, targeted maintenance (and) will reduce erosion and sedimentation, not increase impacts.”

The district explained there is only a short low-water window each year when in-water construction work can be done safely and with minimal environmental impact. Construction could be completed in a few days, and district staff and council want to do it this spring, if possible, but emphasized that depends on provincial approval and First Nations’ comfort with proceeding.

“Our goal is to have the launch safe and open for the?2026 boating season, but we recognize the construction window is narrowing,” wrote the district.