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NEWS RELEASE
Stewardship Group receives $56,000 Grant to Improve Popular Right-of-Way Access on Milburn Lake
June 12, 2025
North Cariboo, British Columbia: The Bouchie Lake Watershed Stewardship Society (BLWSS) is pleased to announce the recent awarded grant from the College of New Caledonia Research Forestry Society (CNCRFS) Legacy Funding that will enable the Society to advance their plans to improve the Public Right-of-Way Access on Milburn Lake located 20 km. west of Quesnel, British Columbia. The grant of $56,000 will support the Society in having 1200m3 of clean gravel to be transported to the site so as to improve the site in terms of aesthetics and public use. The CNCRFS supported the project as it meets the granting criteria in terms of benefits: Environmental, the limiting of contaminants into the water of Milburn Lake; Recreational, improved access to Milburn Lake; Aesthetic, the improved look of Milburn Lake Access; Safety, a clearer delineation of uses of the access site e.g. swimming vs boating, parking vs picnicking.
While the Milburn Lake Public Access is a Ministry of Transportation and Transit Right-of-Way it has become an increasingly popular local recreational spot for swimming, fishing, canoeing and kayaking. As such, the BLWSS has advocated for and worked with MoTT to have the access improved since 2018. This includes the completion of the Milburn Lake Access Improvement Plan in 2018 which was subsequently adopted by the Bouchie Lake Watershed Stewardship Society and shared with MoTT.
Over the years, the BLWSS and local residents noted that the Right-of-Way regularly flooded during spring freshet which lasted well into the summer months. This resulted in limited access to the lake, contamination of the water and unsafe parking practices along Milburn Lake Road. In 2020 due to a high snowpacks and a fast late spring thaw the overflow culvert was unable to deal with the volume of floodwater with the result that lake water flooded over Milburn Lake Road and into two adjoining properties which had to be placed under evacuation order by the Cariboo Regional District (CRD).
In September of 2022 the Ministry of Transportation brought in 1200m3 of pit run gravel to the site, which was compacted and graded. The primary objective of this work was to protect Milburn Lake Road from future flooding damage; however it did not prevent ongoing partial flooding of the access as can be seen from this picture taken two years later in June 2024.
The current improvements recently approved are consistent with the Milburn Lake Access Improvement Plan and will be completed under a pending permit from MoTT in September 2025. These improvements will result in further flooding prevention and increased access to the lake for the public.
Future planned improvements to the site will allow for further beautification of the site with a planted riparian area, grassed picnic area, a sandy beach for children, picnic tables and clearly designated areas for parking, boat launching, picnicking and swimming.
The Bouchie Lake Watershed Stewardship Society was officially established as a registered non-profit organisation in 2016. It was the result of several earlier groups of residents that have concerns regarding the health of Bouchie Lake and the access to Milburn Lake. Today the organisation has a focus on the Bouchie Lake Watershed which includes the lakes of Bouchie, Milburn and Mit Lake along with the streams connecting the lakes and the surrounding landscape, all of which contribute to the overall water quality of the ecosystem.
The Board of Directors of the BLWSS are very grateful to the College of New Caledonia Research Forestry Society (CNCRFS) Legacy Funding for their support that will enable the BLWSS to undertake these improvements that will benefit so many.
Contact:
David Law, Co-Chair
Bouchie Lake Watershed Stewardship Society
E: blwatershedss@gmail.com
T: 250 249 5948
Website: www.blwss.ca
In 2020 the spring freshet completely engulfed the overflow culvert
which due to its limited capacity caused the lake level to rise,
flood the access, overrun Milburn Lake Road
and flood two adjacent properties.
In 2022 MoTT imported 1100m3 of pit run gravel to protect Milburn lake Road from future flooding events.
Current spring freshet conditions continue to cause partial flooding of the access area resulting in limited access. Picture taken in 2024.
A short history of how we came to be:
There have been many informal groups over the years leading up to Bouchie Lake Watershed Stewardship Society being inaugurated as an official society under the BC Societies Act in 2016. Some groups were concerned only with Bouchie Lake (Bouchie Lake Stewardship Committee), others were concerned only with Milburn Lake (Milburn Lake Stewardship Society). In the case of Bouchie Lake the groups were formed in response to concerns over the water quality of the lake. In the case of Milburn Lake, the concerns were more focused on the state of the main public access site, unsightly garbage, lack of year round access due to flooding, other obstructions on the site and lack of toilet facilities.
As a result of these community groups, outhouses were installed both at Bouchie Lake (2007) and at Milburn Lake (2001). The outhouse at Milburn Lake was achieved through the hard work of Gordon Crick in getting the necessary permit from the Ministry of Transportation and the generosity of the Cariboo Chilcotin Outfitters Association, Gordon and Lucille Crick and Ted and Laura Ann Neville in providing the funding. The installation of the outhouse at Bouchie Lake was achieved through the combined efforts of four groups: the Bouchie Lake Recreation Commission, the Cariboo Chilcotin Guide Outfitters Association, the Cariboo Regional District Area B and the Bouchie Lake Stewardship Committee .
In 2016 the Bouchie Lake Watershed Stewardship Society was inaugurated as an official society under the societies act of BC, thanks to the work of Richard Armstrong. The society was initially registered under the name Bouchie Lake Stewardship Society (BLSS) but later, after considerable discussion on the scope of the society's interests and a proposal to rename the society the Bouchie-Milburn Lake Society, it underwent an official name change in 2019 to the current Bouchie Lake Watershed Stewardship Society (BLWSS). The inclusion of the term "Watershed" was intended to reflect the more inclusive nature of the society's interests beyond just the two main lakes themselves (Bouchie and Milburn) to include Mit Lake, and the streams feeding and connecting the lakes (Bouchie Creek and Purser Creek) and the surrounding landscape, all of which contribute to the overall water quality of the ecosystem.
Bouchie Lake was originally known locally as "Six Mile lake" and Milburn Lake was known as "Nine Mile Lake".
If anyone has more detailed information that could be included on the history of these groups, the people involved, dates and major milestones, we would welcome any contributions through our Contact Us links.
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