Three years have passed since the BC government promised to implement the Old Growth Strategic Review, but many feel very little has been done. On September 28 concerned citizens will be protesting in front of constituency offices across the province.
The local protest will be in front of MLA Michele Babchuk’s office at 908 Island Highway, in Campbell River, from 11:30 to 12:30.
Continue reading Sept 28: Day of Action for Old Growth in Campbell RiverVery little water is trickling through Basil Creek, where Cortes Island’s principal Chum run occurs in late October. There have been few days of rain on Cortes since May, and some of the area’s shallow wells stopped producing in July. Only about 10 Chum were seen in Basil Creek during the 2022 drought. Unless water levels rise, this may be the second year in a row when there is not a significant creek for the Chum return.
According to the Pacific Salmon Foundation, BC is going through ‘one of the most extreme periods of drought in recorded history.’
Continue reading Will the heavy rains come in time for this year’s Chum run in Basil Creek?Regional Director Mark Vonesch brought two Cortes Island motions before the SRD Board on Wednesday, September 13. Both were passed with no opposing votes. The first was to draw up an Open Burning Bylaw in the parts of Cortes Island within the South Cortes Fire Protection Area. However the electorate needs to approve the second item, a proposed Dog Control Service.
Vonesch was on the way home, waiting in the ferry line-up at Heriot Bay, when he spoke with Cortes Currents:
Continue reading Chart added – Proposed Open Fire Ban; Moving towards a Dog Control Service
Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
As a landscape architect specializing in wetland restoration, Bernie Amell knows how water moves across the landscape.
However, he has had a crash course in drought after Amell and his wife moved to their Quadra Island agricultural acreage on B.C.’s so-called “Wet Coast” three years ago.
“We arrived in 2021, in the ‘heat dome’ summer, and the shallow well dried up,” said Amell, a member of Quadra Island’s Climate Action Network (I-CAN).
Continue reading Small island community launches big effort to develop water securityIt has been about seven months since operations at Klahoose Gorge Harbour were scaled back due to a need for extensive renovations. While much of it is not visible to the public, QXMC, the Klahoose First Nation‘s development corporation, has been very busy since then.
On Wednesday Ron Buchhorn, Chairman of the Board of QXMC, and Marco Bedetti, who has been Resort Manager since April, gave Cortes Currents an overview of what they are doing.
Continue reading What’s been happening with the renovations at Gorge Harbour
