Stream of response
We feel a few corrections and some information is needed [“Fish in jeopardy after residents raze riparian area,” May 1].
After removing fallen trees cut the previous year, that were across and in the stream, we felt it was better to clean up the tangled mess it created. These trees and the large alder below the stream were not cut by us but we admit to cutting the alder at the stream edge which was a mistake.
Ryan Barfoot talked about the alder protecting the area from invasive Himalayan blackberry and English ivy. The ivy had been climbing the trees and the blackberries were shoulder deep. The only plants that were cleaned from the stream were blackberries and ivy which were blocking water flow.
The cleaned area is about 15 metres long compared to the rest of the storm sewer which is about one kilometre. This storm sewer collects drainage from Townsite’s streets and alleys, two schools, the new development above Brooks Secondary School and new track at Timberlane. There is also natural inflow of water from the water table. After rainfall, this water becomes cloudy and sometimes has a sheen of oil.
The trout do not need total coverage. The places fish have been spotted are in open areas at culverts. While ATVing last spring we came across a small bridged creek with an open area of about 30 square metres. We had stopped for lunch and noticed more than a dozen cutthroat in the open area of the creek. As we approached the edge a few swam under the bridge but as soon as we walked away they came back out into the open. My point is that cleaning a small area has in no way destroyed the fish’s habitat. In a year or so, with a little care and grooming, that will be a spot where the walkers, joggers and bikers will pause to check out the only spot the steam is visible.
We are long-time Laburnum residents, know the history of the area and are fanatic about keeping our streets and boulevards looking good.
Ted Wrubleski and Terry Foort
Laburnum Avenue
Election promises
I am weary of Liberal Party rhetoric about the economy and the environment as if they are totally unrelated [“Candidates illustrate differences in party platforms,” May 8].
There is a financial and physical cost to extreme weather. You can’t tell me this does not affect the economy. I do not believe there are forces inherent in a free market that coerce corporations into safeguarding the environment. The paper laws safeguarding our environment need to be policed by independent people. In this political campaign, the Liberal and big industry scare tactic of “We must jump on the fossil fuel band wagon, full throttle, or we’re hooped” is detrimental to long term plans that can balance the use of resources to the benefit of the people and the planet.
Our policies should address the connection between environment and economy. I recently questioned candidates about their policies concerning the current practice of the forest industry policing itself since the demise of the Forest Practices Code. The Liberal candidate stuck to the party line saying we cannot afford policing without a strong economy. Is that like saying we cannot afford an environment without a strong economy?
In BC, we have renewable and finite resources. Proper management of our fish, forests and fossil fuels will sustain jobs well into the future. The oil and gas industry must not be allowed to dictate policy to our governments. More, bigger, faster, is just not sustainable. Give me long term reasonable visions for my family.
Leslie Goresky
Central Road
Texada Island
Jumping the gap
Well, well! Gordon “Flip” Wilson has jumped again, this time to Christy Clark’s Liberals [“Wilson wants others to ‘come home’ with him,” May 8].
Wilson has never seen a sinking ship that he did not love, and his political career has been a series of Titanics. From his brief flash of the limelight in resurrecting the Liberal party in 1991, he soon lost that leadership through personal and political indiscretion. In 1993 he established his own Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) party, another flash in the pan which never elected a single member besides himself. Shortly after his re-election, he deserted his PDA donors and supporters to help steer Ujjal Dosanjh toward the worst defeat in BC’s electoral history.
Why this failed politician is given any credibility is beyond me, but I am glad to see that he has joined Christy Clark as she leads the BC Liberals toward their May 14 encounter with the iceberg.
Bill Forst
Gibsons, BC
