By Greg Osoba, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca
A garbage removal service at a Cortes Island dock is being suspended after this summer season due to boaters failing to follow conditions, rising costs and more.
It’s been challenging for the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island to keep up with waste removal from the five government docks it operates, manager Jenny Hartwick told CKTZ earlier this summer.
Continue reading Boat garbage removal service at local government dock ending
Cortes Kayaks bioluminescence tours have been setting out from Mansons Lagoon every Friday and Saturday for the past month.
There were about a dozen people in our group, which was mostly composed of off islanders from Vancouver, Victoria or the Cowichan Valley. The only experienced kayakers were our guides, Jolaine Boucher and Maria Francis. However most of the group had some experience and the only rookie was me.
Continue reading Experiencing Bioluminescence with Cortes Kayaks
A group of 10 Cortes Island residents set out from Gorge Harbour in a Zodiac.
“I loved it that we were all together on this boat, like tourists from Cortes out there hunting for a sighting of a whale. Everybody was in that together. Our only purpose today was to get out onto the water, look around and see what creatures we’d see. And it just seemed like community,” explained Jane Newman.
Continue reading A wild water adventure: seeking orca, seals and other marine lifeWhen a large volume of logs were dumped in Gorge Harbour, during the 1970s and 80s, they caused extensive damage to the underwater environment.
One of the questions raised at Mosaic’s Cortes Island ZOOM meeting, last January, revolved around the possibility that reactivating the log dump could also have negative impacts. Mike Moore dove beneath the log dump about fifteen years ago. At that time, he observed a thick layer of wood debris and sediments, covered by ‘bacterial mats.’ Moore was concerned about the possibility a new disturbance of the sediments could pollute nearby shellfish operations.
Continue reading Environmental concerns about the Gorge Harbour log dumpRecently the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island (HACI) decided to stop offering garbage disposal services on our docks. This news sparked a flurry of discussion on Cortes Island Facebook groups. Some people were upset at the HACI decision, while others supported it. Most people agreed that there is a “garbage problem” on our docks, but opinions varied about who is to blame and what should be done.
On Saturday, May 21st I visited the Gorge Harbour Government Dock to interview Billie Fleming, who has worked for HACI as a garbage collector. Billie is now offering her own garbage pickup service at the Gorge Harbour public dock from 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM, Wednesday through Saturday.
Continue reading Garbage is an Issue on Cortes Island Docks
