Urban sprawl threatens Juan de Fuca
Percolation pits to test for septic fiels, mere minutes hike from the Juan de Fuca trail.
Excerpted from Vancouver Sun:
A hidden gem of BC Parks is Juan de Fuca Park, a ribbon of wild coastal lands averaging 225 metres in width, along Vancouver Island's south coast. This park was created in 1996 to protect the 47-kilometre-long Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, and to serve as a memorial in perpetuity to the spirit of the Commonwealth Games, held in Victoria two years earlier.
The Marine Trail has outstanding historical significance. It is the most southerly section of the 1907 Dominion Lifesaving Trail, established to help shipwrecked mariners survive on the inhospitable Vancouver Island shore. The section of the Dominion Lifesaving Trail to the north is a world-famous hiking destination now known as the West Coast Trail of Pacific Rim National Park. The West Coast Trail is protected by a kilometre-wide buffer zone of wild forest land, a buffer zone four times the width of the Juan de Fuca Marine Park.
The magnificent wild coastal scenery and extraordinary biological richness of the two parks are similar. Both parks provide a natural coastal corridor for many species of large west coast mammals, such as cougar, black-tailed deer, black bear, and the Vancouver Island wolf. In addition, otter, seals and sea lions inhabit the adjacent waters.
When the Juan de Fuca Park was established, the inadequacy of the buffer strip designated as park land was recognized, but it was not felt to be of major concern, as the adjacent private lands were within a Timber Forest License. Thus they could not be considered for housing or commercial development.
Four years ago, a decision of the Campbell government removed thousands of hectares of private land on the west coast of Vancouver Island from its previous Timber Forest License designation. This decision was taken with the minimum of public consultation and discussion, and did not take into account future park needs or the potential impact on the existing Juan de Fuca Provincial Park. The auditor-general's report on the decision sharply criticized the government's decision for its failure to consider the public interests involved.
Today, seven parcels of these lands totalling almost 600 acres, alongside one third of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail (the most scenic third), are the subject of a development proposal which would see some 280 residences and a lodge immediately adjacent to the trail. The development would even require some parts of the Marine Trail to be rerouted.
Were the development to take place, the value of the Juan de Fuca Marine Park as a wildlife corridor, as a historic site, and as a recreational resource, would be severely and irreversibly degraded. Quite apart from the sections of the Trail that are actually outside the park, the existing park strip, at less than a quarter of the minimum width considered necessary to protect the West Coast Trail section of the federal Pacific Rim Park, is simply too narrow to protect the wild marine character of the Trail. The proposed development, with its vehicles, people, dogs, houses, septic tanks, driveways, and clearing of timber, would be too close to the park strip and the trail to maintain its wild marine character. Further, rough terrain often requires the trail to be close to the border with the private lands, and in certain sections the steepness of the gullies pushes it completely outside of the park's buffer strip. Thus the actual separation of parts of the proposed developments from the Trail would be far closer than the two hundred and twenty-five metre width of the buffer strip would suggest.
So far the provincial government adopted a hands-off attitude. This is unacceptable. Surely it is common sense, and good business practice, for the province to protect the value of its own assets. Incorporating the lands proposed for development into the park, and expanding the buffer zone along the entire length of the trail is required. The kilometre-wide buffer zone of Pacific Rim National Park should be the model.
Regrettably the leadership candidates of both the NDP and the provincial Liberals have said little about the issue.
This also is unacceptable. Surely the people of the province have a right to expect those who wish the premier's job to show they value this unique historical and heritage site, and to show how they value this irreplaceable wild coastal provincial park. Surely they should demonstrate also that they have the business sense to protect the value of an irreplaceable provincial asset.
David Anderson served 20 years as MP for Esquimalt Saanich, MLA for Victoria and as MP for Victoria. He retired in 2006. He was a federal cabinet minister for a decade, serving both as Fisheries and Oceans Minister and as Minister of Environment.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
FAIR DEALING NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Dogwood Initiative is making an excerpt of this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of environmental and social issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair dealing' of the copyrighted material as provided for in the the Copyright Act of Canada. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair dealing,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
