Attend the Public Hearing on the OCP: March 19th, 7pm 2nd floor City Hall

A hodgepodge of parcels (Pg. 241) make up the area of land Prince George residents refer to as “Ginter’s,” a mixed use area criss-crossed with trails for people, horses, bikes, and dogs. After a 2017 proposed transit exchange facility was quashed, the group Ginter’s Green Forever has advocated for the area to remain as green space.

The City of Prince George has a Future Use plan map that displayed roads going through the space, which have mostly been removed to the satisfaction of this group of citizens. — IF THOSE ROADS HAVE BEEN REMOVED, WHY MENTION THEM? — Current concerns now include the undesignated nature of land in the area —WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? WHAT DOES “UNDESIGNATED” MEAN AND WHY IS THAT BAD?— , and the city’s future Urban Containment Boundary — WHAT IS THE UCB AND WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO TO DO WITH GG?— The group, and all residents are encouraged to express their concerns — ABOUT WHAT? — at the Official Community Plan (OCP) hearing in council chambers on Wednesday March 19th — WELL THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE NEWS. IF IT IS, IT SHOULD BE AT THE TOP —. Now in its final stages, the OCP is unlikely to change direction — WHATS AN OCP AND WHERE IS IT GOING? —, but land designations and other amendments could be altered under direction from City Council to City Administration.

  • Ian Gregg, CFUR Due North

Global study measuring global glacier loss reveals significant melt

According to Glaciologist Dr. Brian Menounos, Professor in UNBC’s Geography program (GEES), “When we think about the end of this century, by and large, most of the ice in the Fraser basin will be gone.” He’s recently published research in the Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise (GlaMBIE) alongside peers that found glaciers lost between 2 to 39% of their ice regionally, and about 5% globally between 2000 and 2023.

The gathering of this data involved in-person measurements, and space-born observation methods. It revealed an overall net loss with our local glacial melt rate being relatively quick compared to other areas of the planet. 

Unfortunately, the research does not paint a pretty picture. While we’re familiar with fires and floods, landslides are something our region has not dealt with on a wide scale, and their likelihood increases as the landscape changes. The project offers its data to create predictive models to forecast future consequences we can prepare for.

Photo Credit - UNBC - Dr. Brian Menounos