How to stop a gold rush

Something weird was happening in the small mountain town of Rossland, B.C. In 2020, as the pandemic dragged on, the outdoor adventure mecca was thriving — yet few tourists were to be found. The West Kootenay community on B.C.’s famed “powder highway” is known for its hiking, biking and skiing, but even as visits plummeted, real estate was booming. And instead of closing, new businesses were opening, including the Rossberry Hill Bistro, whose menu boasts local ingredients, and the Wild Turkey Inn, a 1905 high Victorian-style heritage home that’s been painstakingly restored. You could say Rossland was undergoing its second gold rush. The first — when the discovery of rich gold deposits sparked an actual gold rush that saw Rossland become the premier mining centre of North America — peaked in 1897, with the town’s population soaring to 7,000. By 1929 it was all over. Mines unprofitable and abandoned, the number of residents plummeted to a mere 2,100. The boom had officially bust, and many businesses shuttered.
Rossland Mayor Kathy Moore can’t help but see that first gold rush as a cautionary tale. The town’s colourful history, remote location and natural beauty combine to make Rossland an enticing destination, and Moore can pinpoint exactly when she realized that only the townspeople could save Rossland from a second boom-bust cycle. It was 2007, not long after Red Mountain, the much-loved volunteer-run ski hill that the Sinixt people call kmarkn or “smooth top,” had been sold to a private investment group. Within months, the group proposed developing a golf course in the hills above the town — directly atop the community’s watershed. “That got people’s attention,” Moore says. The community was told there would be no environmental risks; however, a group of local physicians soon raised concerns over the potential danger of golf course herbicides leaching into the water. “We realized we needed to decide for ourselves what we wanted,” she says.

Canada’s tourism enlightenment
“It’s hard to work against Mother Nature, and it costs,” says Dave Cowen, CEO of the Butchart Gardens. We’re backstage at the iconic Vancouver Island attraction, learning about the facility’s commitment to sustainability, from water conservation and soil renewal to building an industrial recycling program that deals with the waste of over one million visitors a year. I’m on a field trip for attendees of Victoria’s IMPACT Sustainability and Tourism Conference, where Canada’s tourism stakeholders gather to address the issues that challenge the leisure market everywhere: climate change, the pandemic, reconciliation, supply chain demands, shifting labour forces, consumer trends, and disruptive technology. Baked into the conference’s manifesto is a positive commitment: “We’re not waiting for the world to change. We must change the world.”

Take a look at some of our upcoming trips:

- Natural Wonders of Western Newfoundland with Jenny Wong

- Great Bear Rainforest Photo Trip with Daisy Gilardini

- Saskatchewan Whooping Cranes with Myrna Pearman