Tag Archives: Snowpacks

Food Security, Politics, Water

Who gets first dibs on water? BC Greens say farmers

Editor’s Note: Basil Creek dried up to a trickle and some of the shallow wells on Cortes Island stopped recharging during the 2022 and 2023 droughts. There have been similar reports from Quadra Island, where the ICAN Water Security Team and Wei Wai Kum are studying the situation. So far, these appear to be shallow aquifer issues and the deep aquifers on both islands appear to be healthy. The ICAN Team could have been speaking for both teams when it wrote, the ‘aquifers appear to be sufficient for current levels of human use, BUT we may be drawing down our aquifers.’ The level of uncertainty is higher on Cortes, where we not yet been able to raise the funding for the necessary water studies.

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The BC Green Party is calling for changes in the way the province deals with drought to ensure both farmers and the environment have access to enough water to flourish as climate change advances. 

Arzeena Hamir, the Green candidate for Courtenay-Comox, said the party aims to make it easier and cheaper for farmers to build dugouts on farms that capture and store rainwater, seek amnesty for farmers facing large fines for unlicensed water use, and ensure water for farming food and protecting nature takes precedence over clear-cut logging in watersheds, commercial bottling needs, or to frack for gas during droughts.

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Cost of Climate Change, Transportation

Quadra Project: The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal and the Suez Canal are both magnificent feats of engineering that allow marine shipping to move east and west across the mid-latitudes without having to make the long journey around the continents of South America and Africa, respectively. The Suez is mostly a big ditch that was dredged in the sand to connect the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. No locks are required because the two seas are at the same elevation. Building the Panama Canal, however, was a much more complicated engineering problem, solved with remarkable ingenuity.

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Fire

Province takes action earlier than ever for what could be a difficult wildfire season

Editor’s note: While there have been small fires on Quadra, Sonora and Read Islands in recent years, there have not been any significant wildfires in our area for decades. More than 330 acres went up in smoke during the Gorge Harbour Fire of 1932, but there has not been any Cortes Island fires more than 25 acres in extent since at least 1950. Half of Quadra Island was consumed in that island’s 1925 fire. Environmental scientist Ruth Waldick believes the great clearcuts in the Interior of BC made it possible for megafires to consume that area and they will not occur in the islands. Others fear that as droughts become more frequent and severe, our area may once again experience a megafire.

By Alexandra Mehl, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The province is preparing, earlier than ever, for what could be a challenging wildfire season with above-average fall and winter temperatures predicted to continue, leading to persistent drought and a lack of snowpack accumulation.

“It is no secret that we did not accumulate the snowpack that we were hoping for in main parts of the province,” said Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. “While we all hope to get more rain in the months ahead, we are taking action now to prepare for what could be a very challenging season.”

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Weather

Precipitation could still alter wildfire season severity: gov

Editor’s note: According to the provincial government’s March 8 Snow Conditions and Water Supply Bulletin, Vancouver Island has only 46% of its normal snowpack. Across the Salish Sea in the South Coast Basin, the snowpack is at 40%. While this does not sound good for Cortes and other Discovery Islands, which are just on the Vancouver Island side of these two areas, the following article states that Spring rains could make a big difference in what our summer looks like.  

By Abigail Popple, The Rocky Mountain Goat, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Despite the low snowpack that B.C. has seen this winter, it’s still too early in the year to determine whether drought will make the coming fire season more intense, experts say.

The Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship released its monthly Snow Survey and Water Supply Bulletin on Friday. While storms during the last week of February brought the heaviest snowfall B.C. has seen this season, snowpack in the Upper Fraser East region – which encompasses the Robson Valley area – fell from 61 per cent of normal to 52 per cent of normal.

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Weather

Bring on the snow! Dakota Ridge reopens March 2

Editor’s note: While the recent snowfall is welcome, snowpacks are still way below normal. As of March 1, the BC Government snow report states the snowpack was only increased to 69% of median (from 64% on Feb 15). The most significant gains (11%) were on Vancouver Island. Dakota Ridge is southeast of Cortes on the Sunshine Coast. While Cortes Island’s aquifers are not dependent on mountain fed streams, we tend to be drier than surrounding areas and have been in the midst of recent droughts.

By Jordan Copp, Coast Reporter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Sunshine Coast residents have another chance to enjoy some winter recreation such as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. 

With a favourable forecast on the horizon, Dakota Ridge recreational area is once again open to the public. 

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