A protest against the further desecration of CRC
Dear Editor,
The Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw regulates water use zones and specifically designates the coastal area of Cape Roger Curtis as WG1 zoning which includes as a condition of use the following: "Community dock, neighborhood dock and moorage shall be located such that it will not limit use of or physically divide a beach or negatively impact eelgrass meadows, kelp beds, clam beds or mussel beds."
I hereby formally protest against the dock construction works at lot#11 that have commenced today (see pictures below) and request your immediate intervention and suspension of all works until a proper and independent review has addressed the following short-falls of the approval process.
The approval process for granting the permit for this dock has failed to properly consider:
- the destructive impact the dock will have on eelgrass in the bay
- specific definition and the supervised implementation of effective mitigating measures - the public's right to the unimpeded access to and from the beach (NWPA)- enforcement of Best Practices
Further, the construction of dock #11 has violated the terms and stipulations of the specially protected Covenant Zone at Cape Roger Curtis. An in-depth explanation of these violations can be found at StoptheDocks.ca
Sincerely,
Dr. Richard Wiefelspuett
The so-called cougar
I have just finished reading this weeks paper, and I just have to comment on the "cougar track" photo. A very small amount of time with Google confirms my original thought, which is that if that is a cougar track it's the worlds smallest cougar. also, the photo shows fairly distinct claw marks. this photo may be a mink track, but is much more likely to have been made by a canine of some description.
the following is quoted from http://www.wildernesscollege.com/mountain-lion-tracks.html "Mountain lion tracks are generally round with a diameter from 2.75 to 3.75 inches. They show four toes, normally without claws. Their tracks are asymmetrical with a leading toe, which allows left and right tracks to be differentiated (in the photo to the right, the lead toe indicates a right footprint). Mountain lion tracks have a large, m-shaped (or trapezoid-shaped) palm pad, which has two lobes towards the front of the pad and three lobes towards the back of the pad. Front tracks are generally larger, wider, and more asymmetrical than hind tracks."
I find it odd that every episode of predation on this island is blamed on this cougar that no one has ever seen!
Sincerely,
Pam Cleary
Survival
The Fish and Wildlife society is actively, and with great success, engaged in hatching eggs and releasing hundreds of thousands of young fish every year.
This Monday morning Dr. Alex Morton and other supporters of wild salmon survival demonstrated with strong voices at the DFO offices in Vancouver, calling attention to the renewed licensing of more ocean based fish farms by the Federal Government. The crisis of infestation of the farmed fish and the surrounding water is so severe, that a public inquiry had been called, the Cohen Commission. It recommended to determine causes before any further expansion of the industry would be granted.
As most of us know, that those wild young salmon migrating to the open Pacific through the virus and lice infested waters surrounding the fish farms pick-up and carry the pathogens with them for the rest of their lives. Result: they are easy prey to predators and mostly too weak to return to their spawning grounds, a recipe for extinction.
Argument:To feed the world's exploding population farming fish becomes ever more urgent. It can be done without hurting the wild stock by putting the farms on land and filtering their effluent. Several land based operations demonstrate feasibility. Alternative maritime bio - mass products are also a food option with great potential.
We, the people, who are the ultimate government, need to tell our temporarily elected representatives, that we want a long term vision, not short term gain with disastrous effects.
HCBehm
