Spruce Lake Protected Area

Spruce Lake Protected Area in British Columbia, north of Vancouver in the Chilcotin Ranges, was a large protected landscape shaped by decades of conflict between preservation and development. Valued for striking scenery, wildlife, and backcountry recreation, it was historically part of the hunting territory of Chief Hunter Jack of the Lakes Lillooet and was also used by Tsilhqot'in hunters after an early nineteenth-century peace settlement. Advocates such as Bert Brink and Charlie Cunningham pressed for conservation, while resource interests sought access. Designated a protected area in 2001, it shifted between park and protected-area status before much of it became South Chilcotin Mountains Park in 2010, with some land left for tourism and mining.

British Columbia · Canada