Highlights of the Year

• Government reviewed new planning table recommendations for the Central Coast, North Coast, Lillooet, Morice, Sea-to-Sky and Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands strategic land and resource-use plans and commenced government-to-government consultations with First Nations for all but the last. These plans encompass 12 per cent of British Columbia and, when approved, 85 per cent of the province will be covered by strategic land-use plans. These plans help to revitalize the province's economy by providing direction on the best uses for Crown land.
• A number of pre-tenure and coastal plans at the landscape level were completed to support specific economic development opportunities. Three pre-tenure plans were completed in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (M-KMA) in northern British Columbia. High-priority areas for gas development are now available for tenure sales and exploration activities which contribute to the government's objective of doubling oil and gas activities in BC. In addition, coastal plans for Quatsino Sound, the Malaspina and Okeover Inlets system and Johnstone-Bute were completed. These plans provide a framework for sustainable marine development and diversification through tourism, shellfish and finfish aquaculture, and associated development such as docks and wharves.
• Government also approved changes to the Kootenay-Boundary and Revelstoke higher-level plans to help protect Mountain Caribou herds in the region. The changes are based on new scientific information and support the maintenance of core habitat, a key component of the provincial recovery plan that is being completed for this species.
• The ministry led the development of policy, consultation and the selection of trustees for the creation of a BC Trust for Public Lands, to which government contributed $8 million. This meets a New Era commitment by conserving ecologically important private lands for the benefit of the public. The initiative will provide a coordinated mechanism to better protect these lands which will result in increased habitat conservation and green space across the province.
• The ministry's Base Mapping and Geomatic Services group within Land Information BC won accreditation from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001: 2000 for its strict quality levels in the areas of base mapping and related information system standards, products and services. These include provisioning of survey control, imagery, cadastral and topographic mapping, and geographic names.
• The Integrated Land and Resource Registry (ILRR) pilot project was focused in northeastern BC and is scheduled to be launched to the public in the spring of 2005.This web-based, integrated registry of legal rights and interests to land and resources will replace the need to search multiple registries across government to access information. As a result, finding out who has rights and interests for what purpose over any parcel of land can be completed in minutes — something that currently takes days or weeks.
• The newly created Land Title and Survey Authority moved the province to the forefront of innovative land title and land survey management. The new user-directed authority will provide better service, improved technology and public accountability for property owners.
• The health and safety of British Columbians are of the utmost importance to government and exceptional improvements have been made to manage and clean up contaminated sites on BC's Crown land. The province's auditor general recently recognized the provincial government for responsibly managing contaminated sites and getting them back into productive use.
• A contract was signed with EPCOR Britannia Water Inc. for the design, construction, financing and operation of a water treatment plant at the former Britannia Mine. The public-private partnership is expected to save the province $12.5 million in net present value terms over the next 20 years, and manage risks more effectively compared with conventional delivery methods for such projects.