Crown land closures

This page lists Land Act s.10.1 closures where certain Crown land applications cannot be made, as well as areas that have been closed to some public uses due to rescissions of the permission.

On this page:

• Land Act Section 10.1 closures
• Permission Rescissions
• Other closures and notices

Land Act Section 10.1 closures

Under Section 10.1 of the Land Act the Minister may order that applications for specified activities on Crown land will not be accepted, as listed in each Ministerial Order.

Closures to Crown land under Section 10.1 are listed below along with their corresponding Ministerial Order. The actual Ministerial Order can be found on the BC Laws website. For any questions related to the Ministerial Order details please contact the regional location of FrontCounter BC

• MO M432 December 20, 2023 – Applications for Crown grants for recreational residential purposes will not be accepted.  In accordance with Section 10.1 of the Land Act, no applications will be accepted by the Cariboo Natural Resource Region for a Crown grant for recreational residential purposes.  Effective January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025.

• MO M24 March 1, 2023 – Applications for a float home or float home community not accepted effective March 01, 2023 to March 01, 2025 with the exception of specific circumstances in the Powell River area where regional criteria has been developed to manage float home applications.

• MO M251 August 24, 2022 – Applications for Crown land in some areas of Lake Babine will not be accepted.  In accordance with section 10.1 of the Land Act, no application for a Crown Grant will be accepted in Zone 1, and no application for a Crown land disposition with be accepted in Zone 2 (see Schedule A maps in MO M251) with some exceptions related to public safety or the Lake Babine Foundation Agreement.  Effective August 24, 2022, to August 31, 2024.

• MO M244 August 23, 2023 – The Ministry has extended the prohibition on the acceptance of new private moorage (PM) applications within the Southern Gulf Islands and southeast shoreline of Vancouver Island by another 2 years to August 23, 2025. The proliferation of private moorages in the Southern Gulf Islands area, Quw’utsun Nation’s (QN) core territory, has resulted in cumulative effects and impacts in the foreshore and marine environments.  

  The extension of the prohibition will provide additional time to advance the cooperative planning process between the Province and QN towards an improved strategic PM management approach that will account for cumulative impacts while at the same time providing increased predictability, certainty, and reduced wait times for PM applicants.

The prohibition does not apply to applications for new private moorage where road access to the associated upland property does not exist, nor to applications to replace or assign an existing permission, lease, or licence for private moorage within the existing tenure boundary. Effective August 24, 2023 until August 23, 2025 or until cancelled.

• MO M210 April 28, 2021– Applications for an Investigative Use License for a waterpower project are not accepted – In accordance with Section 10.1 of the Land Act, no applications will be accepted by the South Coast Region for disposition of Crown land for Investigative Use Licenses for a waterpower project effective April 28, 2021 to April 28, 2023, with the exception of when the applicant is a First Nation or a corporation controlled by a First Nation; and/or the Waterpower Project has secured an Electricity Purchase Agreement.

• M0 80 March 27, 2023 - Applications for agriculture and shoreland residential purposes are not accepted. In accordance with Section 10.1 of the Land Act, no application for Crown Land may be made with respect to a Crown grant or lease for intensive agriculture, extensive agriculture, or shoreland residential purpose in the Omineca Natural Resource Region. In this order, intensive agriculture, extensive agriculture, and shoreland residential purpose have the same meaning as specified in the Land Act policies. Effective April 1, 2023 until March 31, 2025, or until it is cancelled. Reasons for Decision (PDF, 276KB)

Permission Rescissions

Members of the public are permitted to do certain temporary, non-commercial activities on Crown land under the Permission land use policy. This policy identifies activities the public can undertake on Crown land which do not require a specific Authorization or the payment of a fee or rent under the Land Act. This policy requires each user of Crown land to take full responsibility to ensure their activities are in accordance with the conditions in this policy and to understand the risks associated with such activities.

This permission may be limited or rescinded with or without notice to exclude certain activities, locations, or individuals. Current rescissions include but may not be limited to:

• Notice of Rescission of Permission to Occupy Crown Land March 1, 2024 (PDF 1.7MB). From March 1 to November 1 in 2024, 2025, and 2026 permission to hold non-commercial organized events is rescinded in the identified portion of the Kootenay Boundary Region for habitat protection purposes. Any non-commercial group wanting to host an organized event within the rescinded area will require a Crown land tenure. The permission for individual use is not affected by this order. See the attached order and map for details.

• Notice of Rescission of Permission to Occupy Crown Land November 10, 2023 (PDF, 500KB). Until further notice permission to use or occupy Crown land in the Keyhole Hotsprings and the Lilwatatkwa7 Trail areas in the Sea to Sky Natural Resource District of the South Coast Region is rescinded for the protection of public safety.

• Notice of Rescission of a Permission to Occupy Crown Land (PDF, 165.2KB) July 14, 2021. From July 15 to October 15 yearly unless otherwise indicated, commercial-scale picking of huckleberries is prohibited in some areas of the Kootenay Boundary region. See Huckleberry Harvesting for additional details.

• Notice of Public Permission Rescission – Winter Non-Motorized Recreation Zoning in the Sea to Sky LRMP Area - effective Dec 18, 2023. From December 1 to May 31 yearly permission to use Crown land for the purpose of motorized recreation within RA1 zones and RA1-A zones in the Sea to Sky Natural Resource District of the South Coast Region is rescinded. See Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plan for additional details.

• Notice of Rescission of Permission to Occupy Crown Land March 24, 2023 (PDF, 519KB). From March 24, 2023 to March 24, 2024 Permission to be on specified Crown land for the purpose of outdoor recreation, whether personal or commercial is rescinded for Snowy Mountain Lodge, Dana Foster, and Stephen Ludwig.

For details on permission rescissions please contact the appropriate Ministry of Forests regional office.

Other closures and notices

British Columbia’s Crown land offers many unique opportunities for recreation - outdoor adventure activities include nature-viewing, wildlife viewing, skiing, mountaineering, backpacking, caving, horseback riding, mountain-biking, off-road vehicle touring such as snowmobiling, snowshoeing, kayaking, white-water rafting and heli-skiing.

Individuals and companies who provide adventure tourism services (“Adventure Tourism Operators”) such as guiding or remote accommodation are required by legislation to operate with the permission of the Provincial Government, under a contract for the use of the Crown land. This contract ensures that the Adventure Tourism Operators have adequate insurance, are paying a fair amount of rent, and will respect rules regarding protection of the environment.

In some cases the government has been made aware of Adventure Tourism Operators who are advertising their services and booking clients without permission and a valid contract. They are therefore in trespass on Crown land, and the  government advises members of the public not to book services through these Adventure Tourism Operators:

• Snowy Mountain; DBA Snowy Mountain Alpine Tours; DBA Snowy Mountain Lodge; and DBA North Blue Lodge (together “SML”), under the management of Dana Foster and Stephen Ludwig. If you have questions about the status of SML’s authorization to use Crown land contact Crown.Lands.Thompson.Okanagan@gov.bc.ca
• Kootenay Experience Ltd; DBA Ymir Backcountry Lodge; DBA Ymir Lodge; and DBA Ymir Ski Touring Lodge (together “YBL”), under the management of Trevor Holsworth. If you have questions about the status of YBL’s authorization to use Crown land contact FCBC.CBK@gov.bc.ca.