The SRD planning meeting in Mansons Hall did not go as planned. I don’t think the group was opposed to further densification, as much as people just wanted to talk. I think we need to hear insight from some of our respected community thought leaders before placing stickies on a map to indicate where we think development should happen.
Continue reading Op-ed: Reflections on the Cortes Bylaw update meetingA Federal Court ruled that Canada’s Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, failed to protect habitats of at-risk migratory birds in old growth logging areas. Chief Justice Paul Crampton stated the Minister’s decision to limit protection to areas where nests were found ‘was neither reasonable or tenable.’
Continue reading Fairy Creek: Federal Court Rules Canada Failed To Protect ‘At-Risk’ Birds In Old Growth Logging Areas
The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) summer programs have long been popular with tourists and summer. This year FOCI wanted to offer something for the year round community.
“ The inspiration is partly wanting to make sure that more members of the community know about FOCI. We do a lot of projects, but they’re not really shiny and we don’t really advertise them. They’re on our website, but if people don’t go there and read about them, they don’t know that they’re happening,” explained Soma Feldmar, the society’s Administrative Assistant.
Continue reading FOCI’s Create, Connect and Conserve seriesFOCI launched their new ‘Create, Connect and Conserve’ series on February 3rd at Linnaea Farm, with workshops on coexisting peacefully with wildlife. Bob Hansen of WildSafeBC explained the effectiveness and correct use of bear spray.
In the course of the presentation, he shared several interesting statistics and exploded a few common misconceptions. Bob showed a WildsafeBC video, and also gave a live demonstration; attendees learned the mechanics of ‘laying down a wall’ of spray to keep wildlife at a distance, or directly targeting the animal’s face. In a brief lecture on bear behaviour, he explained why bears attack, how often this happens, ways to avoid attacks, and what to do if a bear does attack you.
Continue reading How to Use Bear Spray: workshop at LinnaeaCortes Island’s wildlife coexistence programs can be traced back to human/wolf conflicts in 2009. Local biologist Sabina Leader Mense reached out to Bob Hansen, then wildlife-human conflict specialist with Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The Cortes Community Wolf Project is modelled on the Wild Coast program that Hansen had been running in the Pacific Rim for more than a decade. Hansen and Conservation Officer Ben York helped Sabina write ‘Learning to Live with Wolves on Cortes Island,’ a five-point primer which FOCI endorses and posts throughout the community.
Hansen returned to Cortes at Sabina’s invitation, for the first time since 2011, on February 3. He gave a workshop on electric fences and a demonstration on using bear spray at Linnaea Farm. There were also a lot of ‘wolf stories’ and new information.
Continue reading Wolf Tales from Cortes Island
