made on the Rathtrevor property”. Despite the suspicions raised by this investigation, the government granted an additional 65 square km of timber rights to Clearwater Timber in 1964, so its holdings now extended from north of the Flourmill Volcanoes to Mahood Lake. On April 1, 1969, Bob Williams (a Member of the Legislative Assembly or M.L.A.) told the Legislature, "It seems questionable that a licence should be granted for the company to run at will through Wells Gray Park at bargain basement prices." Former Kamloops M.L.A., Phil Gaglardi, was accused of using his position as Highways Minister to interfere with the Department of Recreation and Conservation in the land swap and thus secure approval for the deal. Williams summarized the loss to the government by pointing out that 204,000 cubic metres (7.2 million cubic feet) of timber had already been cut, yielding $88,000 in stumpage fees applied to the Rathtrevor purchase. The logging company was nearly halfway through the deal in 1969. Up to that year, the government could have collected a total of $670,613 on stumpage fees, or $l.6 million if the deal had been completed, instead of the $186,000 park site it did acquire. Williams called the arrangement “a glaring example of park mismanagement mixed with outside interference. What we are looking at is between 50 and 60 Stanley Parks. What British Columbia, the public, is being left with is stumps.” By 1974, two years after the New Democratic Party had formed the government, the arrangement with Clearwater Timber was cancelled and the access road to the Flourmill Volcanoes logging area was permanently closed by demolishing the Mahood River bridge. In the 40 years since, Rathtrevor Beach has become one of British Columbia's most popular provincial campgrounds. Rathtrevor Beach Nature House Rathtrevor Beach Nature House is a nature centre located in the park and operated by RLC Enterprize. The centre features natural history displays and offers seasonal environmental education programs for school groups and the general public. Gallery See also Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region References External links Rathtrevor Beach Nature House - from the park operator Regional District of Nanaimo Provincial parks of British Columbia Nature centres in British Columbia 1967 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 1967