Residents of a village in British Columbia, Canada, have been left outraged after a much-loved local natural feature was destroyed by staff of a luxury hotel resort.
Harrison Hot Springs is unsurprisingly famous for its hot springs, and this particular publicly accessible example, known locally as "Hobo Hot Springs," was located next to Harrison Lake.
Village residents had built up stones within the water to create a pool, according to Hot Springs of British Columbia, but on October 22, the Agassiz-Harrison Observer noted the site had been filled with boulders and dirt.
On social media, resident David Northey shared pictures of the changes to the hot springs, noting that a few phone calls had determined the Harrison Hot Springs Resort was responsible.
"You get to go in the hot spring, jump in the lake and come back. … It's just been a wonderful thing for our families to use," Northey told the Daily Hive. "It's really sad that they've been destroyed."
In addition to being a beloved local spot that provided hot springs access for those who couldn't or didn't want to spend money at the resort, Mayor Fred Talen noted the hot springs hold great importance to the local Indigenous population.
"I believe [the Sts'ailes], too, should have a voice and be listened to on matters concerning the stewardship of these natural resources," Mayor Talen told the Daily Hive. "So I'm looking forward to working with the Harrison Hot Springs Resort on this."
Talen noted the land is owned by Harrison Hot Springs Resort, and the move to fill Hobo Hot Springs was done to "mitigate the resort's risk and liability associated with public use of these hot springs pools."
However, doing so without public consultation has left many locals disappointed.
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Definitely 👍 There could be knock-on effects of the decision to fill in Hobo Hot Springs. According to NASA Astrobiologists, "extremophile organisms" often live in terrestrial hot springs. The destruction of this habitat could therefore impact the local ecosystem.
The protection of natural features is an important element of environmental stewardship, and the actions of this resort have shown a serious lack of respect.
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