From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney
Hello,
It’s my sincere hope you’ve managed to stay warm and dry during the recent storms. The weather ‘bomb cyclone’ was certainly impactful! Along with the local power outages and ferry cancellations, the power went out at the Board office and roads to some of the smaller municipalities were closed, resulting in our regularly scheduled Board meeting of Wednesday November 20 being cancelled (and rescheduled for November 27).
The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) 2024 AGM is coming up at 5 PM on December 3rd. They are celebrating more than 30 years with their Marine Stewardship program. Sabina Leader Mense will be the guest speaker.
“That’s the second part of the AGM. For the first part, we will be talking about the work we’ve done in 2024. We’ve just produced our 2024 Annual Report and that’s bursting at the seams with amazing work that we’ve been doing over the last year,” explained Helen Hall. executive director of the Friends of Cortes Island.
Continue reading Only A Week From Now: FOCI’s 2024 AGMFrom the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney
Hello, This report shares news about pay phone advocacy and two upcoming virtual public hearings concerning the Desolation Sound Rural Land Use Bylaw.
Continue reading Area C Director’s Report: Village Bay Lake phone advocacy & upcoming Public HearingsFrom the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney
Hello, Happy Thanksgiving! As chanterelles flourish and apples abound, I’m grateful for the rain and our great community. This report invites you to engage on Active Transportation planning, and shares info on Area C’s Official Community Plan review.
Continue reading Area C Director’s Report: Active Transportation planning needs YOU (+ OCP review begins)
The final report on the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) Western Screech Owl Project will be unveiled at Mansons Hall on Friday. The two biologists who were hired to write it will be giving an hour long talk that starts at 7 PM.
“Western Screech Owls are a beautiful little owl. They used to be one of the most common owls in coastal BC, but they’ve declined hugely in the last 20 years,” explained Helen Hall, Executive Director of FOCI.
“They’re a species that need attention. In the last three years we’ve been running a project on Cortes, Read, Maurelle and Sonora Islands to look for Screech Owls and to do what we can to help conserve them. We started the project in 2021. In the spring of 2022, we conducted our first audio surveys, mainly on Cortes Island. Then in 2023, we expanded our surveys onto Read, Maurelle and Sonora Islands. We did pick up Screech Owls in the north of Cortes and one on Read Island. We also went out put up nest boxes around all the islands to try and provide nesting habitats for the owls.”
Continue reading Final Report on FOCI’s Western Screech Owl Project
