Crown land to be returned to Squamish Nation, including world-class rock climbing area – CBC

Several prominent climbers are concerned about the future of climbing near Murrin Provincial Park

Oct 28, 2019

Long before the small plot of land near a provincial park in Squamish, B.C. was a climbing haven, it belonged to the Squamish Nation — and now that it’s being returned, the future of the popular climbing area is uncertain.

The province has promised to transfer several parcels of Crown land back to the Squamish Nation in exchange for the First Nation’s support of the local Woodfibre LNG project.

One of those areas, known as the Watts Point parcel, is just outside Murrin Provincial Park and boasts dozens of world-class climbing routes as well as several hiking and biking trails.

“Once the land is returned to us, we’ll engage our community — our own members — in terms of developing a land use provision that our community wants for the area,” said Squamish Nation spokesperson Khelsilem, who’s also known as Dustin Rivers.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/land-transfer-murrin-park-climbing-1.5337627