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There were a couple of changes in the plan for the Rainbow Ridge Affordable Housing Development as the site was cleared. A small parcel of land along the northern border of the property was given to the Cortes Island Fire Department, to enable it to expand. Plans for a hedge of trees between Rainbow Ridge and the Cortes Island Senior’s Village were altered.
Continue reading Phase One At Rainbow Ridge: Boundaries With The Senior’s Village And Firehall
There’s a wildfire risk reduction underway in the Community Forest near Squirrel Cove.
“This is something that we’ve been working on since 2018. It was identified as a priority in the 2020 Community Wildfire Protection Plan. We received funding for a prescription, then we got funding to do an archaeological assessment, as required by law in the Tla’amin First Nation and then this year we obtained funding through the Forest Enhancement Society of BC to carry out the treatment.. I’m just really excited to see it happening because when you see an overgrown plantation like this, it feels really good to be able to reinvest in the land base to leave a better forest for the future generation and reduce the wildfire risk in this neighbourhood,” explained to Mark Lombard, General Manager of the Cortes Forestry General Partnership.
Continue reading Wildfire Risk Reduction in Squirrel Cove area
Public consultation around plans for the next five years of timber harvesting got back underway on Saturday, March 23, with a tour of the Larsen’s Meadow cut block led by Operations Manager Mark Lombard. Two more public tours are currently scheduled: March 30 in the Carrington/Coulter Bay area and April 20 in the Green Mountain area. These outdoor tours are part of the follow-up to an initial public meeting in the Spring of 2023, when maps and preliminary plans were presented.
Lombard works for the Cortes Forestry General Partnership (CFGP), which holds the tenure (right to log) for the Cortes Community Forest, comprising much of the Crown Land on Cortes Island. CFGP is a partnership between Klahoose First Nation (KFN) and Cortes Community Forest Co-operative (CCFC).
Continue reading Cortes Community Forest Five-Year Plan Update: Tour of the Larsen’s Meadow Cut Block
On Monday, May 15, Rami Rothkop and Oliver Scholfield unveiled their ‘Business Roadmap for Value-Added Forestry Products’ on Cortes Island at Mansons Hall.
Most of what they presented has been discussed before, the difference being that they were not just talking about ‘ideas.’ These were things they had already accomplished. That is why the Cortes Community Forest Cooperative hired them.
Continue reading Cortes Island’s Business Roadmap for Value-Added Forestry Products
By Mina Kerr-Lazenby, North Shore News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
When headaches plague Leigh Joseph, she doesn’t immediately reach for the Tylenol bottle. When winter’s flu strikes, cough medicines and throat soothers are acquired, but not from the pharmacy or the drug store aisle of her local supermarket.
Instead, Joseph, a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) ethnobotanist, looks to the great outdoors for remedy.
The natural world, she attests, can be a great source of healing and nourishment.
Continue reading Squamish Nation ethnobotanist touts medicinal benefits of native plants
