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A Huge Loss to Prince George

By 250 News

by Jack deWit

Many years ago, before I lived in Prince George, and when Highway 97 South still crossed the old railroad bridge, there were two distinct points of interest that always caught our attention when traveling through this city.

Although the old railroad bridge was unique it was only the route of travel to these two sites. The first was the old car on the roof of what is now Pinedale Auto Wreckers Ltd. I don’t recall what its name was in the 1950’s, however, the car certainly was distinctive and noticed by all who passed. When I moved to Prince George in 1986 I had to make a special trip up the old highway to see if it was still there. Yes…. there it was, just as I remembered it. To this day the car still remains perched on the roof as good as it was 50 years ago.

The second point of interest that always seemed special was the government experimental farm. This farm was opened, I believe, in 1940, to better assist the farmers and the forest industry in dealing with soil conditions and the extremes in weather patterns. The soil consisted of clay that had very poor drainage. Experiments conducted in these conditions became most useful for the farmers of the day and those findings are still considered by today’s farmers. The well groomed fields and uncluttered and neatly landscaped building complex area was a real credit to Prince George.

I think the renowned rainbow on the main barn was added in 1982. This building became a symbol to those driving by or flying in or out of the airport. On closure of the farm the barn began to decay even though it had a fairly new foundation installed. The exterior was not maintained and slowly the rainbow began to fade away.

Then the farm, which consisted of a section or 245 hectares, was turned over to the Lhiedli T’enneh Nation on July 16, 2002. At the ceremonies held at Fort George Park Chief Barry Seymour stated, “Our people look forward to building on the relationships established among our three governing bodies over the past three or four years. Sharing information and resources will be a benefit to us. We would like to participate in a mentoring program where our staff can work with City and Regional District staff to gain experience in local government.

Mayor Colin Kinsley, then Chairperson of the Regional District, said, “The protocol between the Regional District and the Lheidle T’enneh reflects the joint work of both parties in the past seven years in support of treaty making through the Prince George Treaty Advisory Committee. The Regional District established the PGTAC in 1995 to ensure local government participation in the Treaty negotiations process in the central interior of B.C. In 2001 the Regional District spearheaded the first Community to Community Forum in this region.”

Kinsley went on to say, “The City of Prince George drew up the first innovative OCP designation, possibly in all of Canada, to recognize treaty-related lands within City boundaries, particularly the Experimental Farm lands next to the Prince George Airport. The protocol will promote the City and the Lheidli T’enneh working together on land use development like the treaty-related Experimental Farm proposal”

The reason I have included these quotes is to show that not all agreements are of benefit to the community as a whole. Why? Just drive by the old farm. The barn is gone; too dilapidated to restore as a heritage site! The hayfields have not been maintained and are looking more like natural meadows rather than productive hayfields. Have the native leaders ever considered leasing out this valuable land? The buildings are not maintained as when the farm was in operation.

Is it just my opinion or have we seen a Prince George treasure fall into total destruction? I don’t care who has ownership of the land, but when good land is turned into a wasteland it is no contribution to Prince George or the Regional District. For heavens sake what happened to “land use development”?

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