DEAR EDITOR:
Bowen Islanders will argue about pretty much anything but one thing we agree on is our love of Bowen Island’s natural beauty and strong community. It’s a big part of why most of us moved here and I believe the two are intricately interconnected.
Just step outside and breathe that clean, clear air scented with fir, cedar and sea. No amount of money or technology can manufacture that invigorating air. It’s the natural product of a mostly intact temperate rainforest.
Those of us who’ve lived on Bowen for more than 20 years have seen some big changes, including the shift to a municipality and an increasing pace of urbanization. I believe that we are now at a developmental crossroad where we need to decide how, exactly, we wish to experience our island and community as the population expands over time.
If we choose to manage development on Bowen to prevent the kind of urban sprawl we see all over the Lower Mainland, then we need to actively structure our systems to protect the natural beauty before it is gone. Municipal government is an urban management institution with relatively short election cycles for council members whose governing priorities change, by and large, with the political and cultural times. By its very nature, it is not equipped to manage the sorts of ecosystem-level issues associated with protecting natural beauty. Then we have regional government for managing issues beyond the scope of our small municipality. The Islands Trust fulfills this role, with a specific mandate to preserve and protect coastal islands. On the provincial level, we currently benefit enormously from the large swaths of Crown land on Bowen, but since that land may be sold or put up for tender, we can’t count on even much of Mount Gardener remaining undeveloped in the long term.
The question we need to answer is whether we value Bowen’s natural beauty enough to make its preservation a priority—however we do that. Perhaps there is a better option than the Islands Trust, though I am not aware of it. Besides, there’s no legislative framework for leaving the Islands Trust, precisely to prevent short-term political interests from negatively impacting island integrity. Even if we could leave, I’ve seen no reliable evidence that it would end up being cheaper and it’s certainly not worth the loss of the ecosystem-sensitive services offered by the Islands Trust, not to mention the political strength inherent in allying with other islands in the Salish Sea.
If we do make our beautiful island ecosystem a financial as well as an emotional priority, then maybe we would do well to focus on how best we can leverage the Islands Trust to help us build a vibrant, welcoming and sustainable community that celebrates our island paradise.
Emily McCullum
