Court rules 2 B.C. lakes cannot be publicly accessed, siding with Canada's largest cattle ranch

UPDATE Sept. 29, 2021: TheNicola Valley Fish and Game Club haslost its application for leave to appeal the ruling which handed the cattle company its victory in March 2021. The latest decision by the Supreme Court of Canada was made Wednesday.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The largest working cattle ranch in Canada has won its fight against public access to two pristine fishing lakes in B.C.'s Nicola Valley, after appeal courtjudges overturned part of a previous ruling thatsaid the lakes should be accessibleto thepublic.

The Douglas Lake Cattle Company (DCLC) had been battling the Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club overaccess to the two trout lakes near Merritt, B.C., for years. The David and Goliathfight came close to resolution in 2018 after aB.C. Supreme Court judge ruled Minnie Lake and Stoney Lake should be publicly accessible.

The owner of the ranch, American billionaire Stan Kronke, won his part of his appeal challenging that decision on Friday.

The B.C. Court of Appeal found the lower court erred in 2018 because portions of trails and road leading to the lakes are notpublic and don't quite reach the shorelines of either lake.

So, even though the water in the lakes is public, there is no way to get there without trespassing on private property.

Rick McGowan, who arguedfor decades that the DLCC had unlawfully blocked anglers from visiting the lakes, said the decision sets a precedent that could threaten hiking routes across the province, sincemany crossprivate property.

"This is a real serious blow to the people of B.C. and Canada," said McGowan, who lives in Merritt. "What they are saying is that the laws that describeroads lanes and publics places, that those laws don't apply [to roads and trails]."

For years, DCLCblocked Stoney Lake Road and centuries-old trails with fences and locked gates to keep people away from the lakes.

Minnie Lake and Stoney Lake are surrounded by 200,000 hectares of land owned by theranch, which claimedthe access roads, water bodies and fish in them are private property.

Members of the Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club argued the lakes and roadway were Crown landand should be free for anyone to use. The B.C. Supreme Court judge in 2018noted public money was spent on Stoney Lake Road, a route that was previously a historic trail from an Indigenous village.

McGowantold CBC's Radio West on Friday afternoon that the club has decided to file an appeal withthe Supreme Court of Canada.

Tap the link below to hearRick McGowan's interview on Radio West: