2020-2022 Richlands’ Forest Blocks:

Status Summary

In the early 1900s, a large area of Creighton Valley in Cherryville was subdivided into 10 and 20 acre Crown lots and promoted internationally as a fruit growing region by a Richlands land development company. Although some private property existed in the area before the subdivision, the company’s prospective investors had to apply for a land grant or purchase these new lots from the government.

Fast forward almost a hundred years, when a group of concerned residents worked on a Cherryville Community Plan, including discussions between Eugene Foisy, RDNO Area E director at the time, and BC Lands to protect the remaining tract of Crown land for green space and animal habitat.

In 2020, the future of the only eight Crown lots left from the original Richlands subdivision, approximately 80 acres of forested Crown land bounded by Mitchell Road and Puckett Road, became a hot topic of conversation in Cherryville when local residents learned about a plan to harvest these properties for timber. The contiguous lots in question are the only publicly accessible forested lots in an extensive rural residential area of Cherryville, used over many years for hiking, horseback riding and other recreational activities. Industrial logging on Crown land and private land in recent years has severely constricted important wildlife corridors and habitat in the Richlands region. These properties represent a last chance to mitigate human impacts on local wildlife and inevitable human/wildlife conflict.

CRMC entered into discussions with government to inquire about acquiring the remaining forested blocks, to maintain them for the Cherryville community, as part of the community forest agreement. In summer 2021, a public meeting was held at the Cherryville community hall to share the prospective project with residents and gauge public opinion. The response from the community was very positive. The response from government officials has been supportive, but no agreement has yet been reached. CRMC continues to monitor the area for any signs of future development.