All posts by De Clarke

De Clarke is a sailor, photographer, retired software engineer and intermittent author who since the late 70’s has published both technical writing and essays on various topics ranging from feminism to technology and environmental issues. She has lived on Cortes since late 2011.
Disaster

Cortes Island’s greatest risk: wildfire

 My assumption is that we will, at some point in time, see a fire on Cortes of a severity that will flabbergast the population. It may not happen this year, and it may not happen in 10 years, but the conditions are getting very, very bad.

That is what Mike Brown, volunteer fire fighter and long time Cortes resident, had to say at the May 3rd meeting on Emergency Preparedness in the Pioneer Room.

At that thinly-attended meeting, SRD emergency services staffer Sarah Rosen gave a presentation on emergency preparedness for individuals and households. As part of her presentation she reviewed potential emergencies in our local area.

Cortes Island is fortunate to be sheltered from tsunamis; earthquakes are rare in BC; the island has no rivers to flood or dams to burst (unlike Campbell River, where the hydro power dam is currently undergoing seismic safety renovations). The island has no hazardous chemical plants or huge fuel dumps. The one serious disaster-grade risk to the Cortes community is wildfire.

Continue reading Cortes Island’s greatest risk: wildfire →
Disaster

Be Prepared: are you ready for an emergency?

On May 3rd, Sarah Rosen from the Strathcona Regional District came to the Pioneer Room at Mansons Hall to talk about emergency preparedness… and there were about eight people in the room. As Sarah herself said, the biggest emergency preparedness risk on the island might just be that so few of us are thinking about it.

[I’ll admit that I’ve been procrastinating — not getting around to producing this story — and it might be because the subject is a little uncomfortable when you know that you yourself are not prepared. But avoidance and procrastination are exactly the problems that Sarah came to address, and she says being prepared might not be as daunting as you think.]

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Sarah Rosen speaks at the Pioneer Room, May 3rd 2026 — photo by Roy Hales

With just three questions: should I stay, should I go, how do I know? I’m gonna walk you through how you could prepare for everything.

Continue reading Be Prepared: are you ready for an emergency? →
Transportation

Residents Hope New Ferry Will Solve the “Truck Problem”

Lately, Cortes Islanders have been frustrated by the number of large trucks appearing in the ferry lineups in both directions on the Quadra/Cortes run. In particular, the number of gravel-hauling truck/trailer rigs has been the subject of comment and complaint.

Continue reading Residents Hope New Ferry Will Solve the “Truck Problem” →
Industry, Rivers & Oceans

Fishy Business: Cortes Streamkeepers opposed to quarry expansion plan

[Article by Christine and Cec Robinson, reprinted from Tideline; the audio version of this story includes not only the text of this article, but an interview with the authors about the history of Cortes Streamkeepers and the importance of watershed protection. The feature image is a cropped area from an original painting of James Creek by Desiree Bond, see end notes.]

Controversy continues to simmer over Island United’s application for an ambitious expansion of the Cortes Pit (a gravel and rock quarry in Whaletown). Cortes Currents has been covering the issue; this article is the third in a series.

Note: There has been some confusion over the deadlines for commenting on the permit application. There are two different deadlines for two different application processes.

  • One is strictly a mining application and is terse and minimalist. Its deadline is May 8th. BC government confirms that this means comments must be received before midnight on May 8th.
  • The other is an application for expansion and mining use of a Crown Land lease. It is more elaborate and includes the much-quoted “Aggregate and Quarry Management Plan” which contains many errors and misstatements. Its deadline is May 14th.
Continue reading Fishy Business: Cortes Streamkeepers opposed to quarry expansion plan →
Industry

Quarry Expansion Plan Numbers, Inaccuracies Questioned

Island United’s proposed expansion of the Whaletown quarry locally known as “The Pit” became public knowledge via minimalist notifications in local media outlets earlier this month. The application to quadruple the Pit’s current footprint seems to be sparking more local controversy as more residents become aware of it. While some residents welcome the quarry upgrade, others are questioning the scale of the proposed expansion and its impacts on environment and community.

A public meeting to discuss these issues is planned for the evening of May 7th, Thursday, at 7pm at Mansons Hall. Organisers say they hope that Mr Nielsen or someone else from Island United will attend to answer some of the many questions being raised.

This Cortes Currents special feature presents some background information on Island United, plus a closer look at some details of the application documents filed by Island United requesting government approval of the expansion project.

Continue reading Quarry Expansion Plan Numbers, Inaccuracies Questioned →