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.
Tourism

Imagining the Future of Tourism on Cortes

Over the last few months CCEDA has been working with a Canada-wide but Comox-based consulting company called Tourism Cafe, on proposals for the future of tourism on Cortes Island. The process is nearing its completion, but islanders have one more chance to participate and make their opinions and priorities known.

On January 31st at 4pm, CCEDA will sponsor a “virtual public meeting” — the last in a series that started in Fall 2023 — at which some preliminary findings will be presented and one final round of community input gathered. The end product will be a formal report with an analysis of the local “visitor economy” and recommendations for the future.

Currents interviewed Kate Maddigan from CCEDA, who has been coordinating this effort.

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Transportation

Temporary Blockage of Whaletown Road

Whaletown Road was completely blocked near Robertson Road on the afternoon of Friday January 19th, for almost an hour.

Snowy conditions were too much for a heavy tractor-trailer rig carrying earthmoving equipment and what appeared to be a large generator. The driver, travelling from the ferry to a destination on the south end, lost traction on the hill approaching Bodington.

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Arts, Community

Literary Afternoons at Linnaea

Seniors Helping Seniors, in collaboration with the Cortes Museum and Archives, is once again presenting a series of monthly Literary Afternoons this winter. These events, at which local authors read their work, will be held on the last Sunday of each month at 2pm in the Lakeview Room at Linnaea Farm. The last two Literary Afternoons for this winter will be on January 28th and February 25th.

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Forests

Fairy Creek: A Litigious Aftermath

In 2020, logging company Teal Jones was engaged in cutting irreplaceable, old-growth, temperate rainforest in the Fairy Creek area of their lease on Vancouver island. In response, substantial numbers of “forest defenders” gathered to protest and obstruct the old growth cut… and local history was made.

Protestors blocked the access road to Teal Cedar‘s cut blocks from 2020 through early 2021. The number of people arrested exceeded 1100 — which, according to CBC, made it “the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.”

Cortes Currents has followed the story of the Fairy Creek protest as it developed; many Cortes residents spent time at the protest encampment, or are closely connected to people who participated. We continue that coverage now, with an update on the highly litigious aftermath of the blockade action.

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Forests, Indigenous Nations

Klahoose First Nation Acquires Extensive Logging Tenure from Interfor

In late 2023, Klahoose First Nation completed a “landmark deal” to purchase a total tenure of 181,036 cubic metres of allowable annual cut (AAC), on forest lands located on the Sunshine Coast in the Nation’s traditional territory. This makes KFN the largest logging tenure holder within the Nation’s traditional landbase.

Klahoose already owned tenure of 115,000 cubic metres AAC, so this purchase brings their total allowable cut to 296 thousand cubic metres per year, or over 140 million board feet. Chief Steven Brown told reporters that “Klahoose Nation is a forestry nation. We see a bright future for forestry, and it is time for us to manage the resources in our territory so the benefits come to our members,”

Continue reading Klahoose First Nation Acquires Extensive Logging Tenure from Interfor →