KELLY LAKE, Kelly Lake in Downing Provincial Park is the centre of attention this weekend as BC Parks celebrates its centennial today while scientists from MARSLIFE explore the lake's rare rock formations to see if they hold the key to life on Mars.

The Pavilion Lake Research Project and MARSLIFE (Mars Analogue Research: Signatures of Life in Freshwater Environments) research teams from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency are using submersibles (one-person subs) and scuba divers to explore the depths of Kelly Lake in search of microbialites in the formation of coral-like structures.

A primary goal of BC Parks is to protect biodiversity and sites of special natural significance such as the protection of Kelly Lake and its unique lake bed. And, although it's close to Clinton, views of mountains and 2,245-metre Mt. Bowman, a spectacular mountain ridge, give the park a remote atmosphere.

MARSLIFE scientists and NASA astronauts will be celebrating with BC Parks as they join the party and mingle with the public, including Environment Minister Terry Lake and BC Parks mascot Jerry the Moose.

The BC Parks 100 celebration commemorates 100 years of provincial parks. With 13.6 per cent of the province set aside as parks and protected areas (1,000 in total), B.C. has the second-largest park system in Canada - second only to the national park system.

• Strathcona Provincial Park, on Vancouver Island, was British Columbia's first provincial park established March 1, 1911.
• Parking fees were eliminated from B.C.'s provincial parks on May 3, 2011, to help make parks more accessible and inviting to families.
• BC Parks provided $450,000 to community groups through the Community Legacy Fund to support improvements to 27 parks across the province.
• A BC Parks 100 Passport program offers prizes to kids and families for visiting provincial parks this summer.

Find out more:

• MARSLIFE: www.pavilionlake.com
• BC Parks 100 celebrations: www.bcparks.ca
• Connect with BC Parks on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/YourBCParks

Contact:

Suntanu Dalal
Communications
Ministry of Environment
250 387-9745