From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney

Hello,This report shares news on a WildSafe program application for Areas C & B, the next steps of a potential wood-chipping service, and my visit to Refuge Cove.

WildSafe BC application

The WildSafeBC Community Program aims to prevent conflict with wildlife through collaboration, education and community solutions. Working with the community, the Program uses a multi-faceted approach to increase community wildlife knowledge, reduce conflicts and help keep wildlife wild and the community safe.

In July the Board supported a staff report on WildSafe Educational Programming: with a quick turnaround, the report was presented August 7 to the Electoral Areas Committee. August 21 the Board supported an application for the WildSafe Program for Electoral Areas B (Cortes Island) and C (Discovery Islands-Mainland Inlets) for the January 2025 intake. If the application is successful, local contributions will be augmented by a grant to deliver a minimum 400-hour program.

Fortunately, Quadra, Cortes and the Discovery Islands are ecosystems rich in biodiversity, including large predators. The WildSafe program will support and educate our communities, I’m hopeful the application is successful.

As a reminder, keeping large predators wild keeps them safe. It’s recommended to not feed deer or raccoons as they are prey species and may attract large predators to your yard. If you encounter a cougar or a wolf, instill wariness by waving your arms and shouting loudly, to teach them to stay away from humans (I know it can be tempting to take a picture, but this doesn’t teach staying away like yelling does). Leash your dog, unleashed dogs can be seen as prey; and keep livestock in 6’ fences and in predator-proof shelters overnight.

Wood-chipping & climate resilience

FireSmarting around our homes and chipping the debris builds climate resilience for our homes, neighbourhoods & community. As we see in the news, there’s an increasing prevalence of destructive wildfires: taking steps to mitigate wildfire risk is important work.

In previous years the SRD’s unlimited wood-chipping to all road-accessible driveways offer has assisted many islanders with FireSmart activities. However, Emergency Services Manager Shaun Koopman has said Quadra should not expect to see wood-chipping offered again under the grant until Spring 2027 at the earliest. The FireSmart grant program cannot be relied upon to provide funding for annual wood-chipping as grant funds are aimed at a variety of wildfire risk mitigation efforts.

Recently staff have reported on the possibility of creating a Wood-chipping Service. A local service would provide certainty that the service will be provided annually, possibly without the restrictions mandated by the grant funder (under the grant, woodchips are unable to be returned to the homeowner).

The staff report says it would be necessary to recover some of the operating costs through property taxation or user fees while using grant funding to offset costs in years when that funding is available. It states a maximum requisition of approximately $0.06 per 1,000 of property assessment to maintain the service. The Electoral Area Services Committee has recommended to the Board ‘establishing a locally financed climate resilience service that includes wood debris removal for Areas B & C’. There are many details to be considered and steps in the process still to come: stay tuned for more on this in the coming months.

Refuge Cove

On BC Day I had the opportunity to visit Refuge Cove on East Redonda Island for the first time. It was a lovely bustling place with vessels of all sizes stopping for fuel, supplies and much more. With thanks to shop owners able to take time to chat with me, I heard the priority challenges of Refuge Cove are similar to other islands in Area C: solid waste, recycling and reliable internet. My conversations in Refuge Cove reinforced the importance of my advocacy on solid waste and Last Mile grant funding for remote areas.

A request for ‘remote’ residents… I want to ensure all remote neighbourhoods are included in Connected Coast-Last Mile advocacy: I would appreciate if you could connect and let me know where you are located. Learning where you are will help because the federal ISED map which is used as a reference is known to be not entirely accurate.

Gowlland Harbour Barge Cleanup

It’s so heartening to learn that the sunken barge in Gowlland Harbour is scheduled for cleanup! Huge gratitude to all the voices who have been advocating for this, and to the We Wai Kai Nation collaborating with the Wei Wai Kum Guardians for their ongoing monitoring of the barge site. According to CBC, the Province and Transport Canada will share the costs of the removal which is planned to be completed by mid-October.

Public Hearings

A reminder there are two Public Hearings scheduled for Wednesday September 11 at QCC. The first, at 5:30pm, is regarding Bylaw 564, short-term rental amendments to the zoning bylaw. The second, at 7pm is regarding Bylaw 510, Quadra Island bulk water regulation. Full details available here.

Thanks for reading! You’re welcome to connect with me with questions or concerns, or to share which remote bay/neighbourhood you live in.

Thanks for reading! You’re welcome to connect with me with questions or concerns, or to share which remote bay/neighbourhood you live in. You can email rmawhinney@srd.ca, or call 250.203.2468. If you’d like to chat in person, you can book a meeting at calendly.com/robynmawhinney.

Read previous Director’s Reports at robynmawhinney.ca/directors-reports.

Until next time,
Respectfully and sincerely,
Robyn Mawhinney

Images in this report are from my recent BC Day jet-ski adventure to the Copeland Islands & Refuge Cove. The first image is early morning light at Centre Islet. We’re fortunate to live in this beautiful place. – courtesy Robyn Mawhinney