One of the West Coast’s most beautiful spots is about to become significantly more accessible to visitors travelling in and locals heading out.
The provincial government has partnered with the Toquaht First Nation to upgrade Maggie Lake Forest Service Road, which connects the Nation’s community of Macoah to Hwy. 4 near the Tofino-Ucluelet junction.
“Typically these are roads that have been industrial roads for forestry activity, but they also have to serve people who are simply living their lives,” Mid Island - Pacific Rim MLA Josie Osborne told the Westerly News. “This is a commitment from the Government of British Columbia to work with First Nations to increase the safety and accessibility of these communities for people living in them.”
Toquaht Chief Anne Mack hopes the improved accessibility will help the First Nation’s members living outside the community return to their traditional territories.
“We are grateful for the financial support of the provincial government to support equipment purchases and training necessary for our traditional territory, and to make our community of Macoah both accessible and a viable transportation route for citizens year round,” Mack said.
“Safe, reliable access to health care, school and work is an important factor in our citizens being able to return home, which is a priority for our Nation.”
Macoah is home to Secret Beach, a premiere destination for kayakers looking to explore the Broken Group Islands and Osborne said upgrading the road leading into it will help tourists drive a boost to the economy while giving residents more access to out of town services.
“It is primarily about benefiting the First Nation community through safety and reliability, better access to services for members who are travelling out for shopping, medical appointments and social visits, but building a sustainable economy for First Nations is also a huge benefit,” she said. “Toquaht is a perfect example of road upgrades that will not only benefit the members who live at Macoah, but also those visitors who are travelling in to stay at Secret Beach to go kayaking in Toquaht territory and their activity and the invitation that Toquaht has extended to people to come visit them at their places of business in their beautiful territory.”
She added there are a number of First Nations communities across the province that are only accessible by vehicle on forest service roads and need to be upgraded to improve accessibility and safety.
“These are their traditional territories. These are their homes,” she said.
Along with the Maggie Lake upgrades, the province is also partnering with Uchucklesaht Tribe members to improve Canal Main road.
“Improved access to Uchucklesaht’s Territory and Village is a meaningful and important step to successful Treaty Implementation,” said Uchucklesaht Tribe Chief Wilfred Cootes. “Uchucklesaht values the collaborative work to date that has resulted in this important commitment by B.C. to improve our road access.”
The work being done at Maggie Lake and Canal Main will include, widening and realigning the road in multiple places, new bridges to replace narrow ones and improving road surfacing.
“Improved road access to these remote west coast communities plays an integral role in the health, social and economic prosperity for these First Nations,” said Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin. “The Toquaht Nation and Uchucklesaht Tribe have made it a priority to improve access to their communities and the Province is happy to partner with them to improve their quality of life and to provide access in times of emergency and for recreational purposes as well.”
The upgrades include a combined 69 kilometres of roadway and is being funded with help from $1 million in grants from the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation to put towards equipment, training and contracts from the Ministry of Forests.
The grants also ensure opportunities for the Uchucklesaht Tribe and Toquaht Nation to play a major role in overseeing the quality of access routes surrounding their communities that are in remote locations.
“The Maggie Lake and Canal Main roads serve as crucial links for Toquaht Nation and Uchucklesaht Tribe members who need safe and reliable access in and out of their communities,” said Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston. “By taking action to improve these forest service roads, we are helping ensure they are designed, built and maintained for the people who use them.”
A media release announcing the partnerships adds that the work will bring safer access to shopping, medical appointments and education while also improving evacuation safety in emergency situations like wildfires or floods.
“Recreational users will have an easier time travelling to the various trailheads located along the road for remote hiking, wilderness camping, hunting and wildlife viewing,” the announcement states.
“The roads will also increase reliable access for industry partners currently accessing the communities and the surrounding area.”
