The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) voted 7-6* that Quadra Island taxpayers should also pay for the Strathcona Gardens Recreation facility. The proposed amount has been reduced to 80% of their property’s assessed value, and amounts to about $446 for the average property owner. This decision is to be ratified by a referendum of all Campbell River, Area D and Quadra residents at the next election.
Continue reading Quadra is one step closer to paying for Strathcona Gardens
Originally published in the Bird’s Eye
On March 25, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) board voted 7–6 to move forward with drafting a bylaw that would add Quadra Island — not all of Area C — to the Strathcona Gardens recreation service area. Although that vote was a blow to many residents, it’s not the end of the road by any means. In our third article on the unfolding situation, we look at what options are legally on the table, how they can be navigated, who is involved, and how you can still have a say.
Continue reading Strathcona Gardens: Still in the Deep EndOriginally published in the Bird’s Eye
Did I set out to write a two-page article this week? Nope. Did I anyway? Yup. This is a big deal for our island — and it’s still early in the series. So yes, I’m running the longest two pages in Bird’s Eye history. Sorry, not sorry. Enjoy!
By Melissa McKinney, editor/owner of the Bird’s Eye.
On March 25, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) board voted on whether to add Quadra Island to the Strathcona Gardens recreation service area. Around 80 Area C residents showed up to watch — enough to fill the boardroom, spill out through the open double doors into the lobby, where even standing room was tight. The SRD livestreams their board meetings on YouTube, so small groups of residents huddled around phones watching their own local government meeting from the parking lot outside. Inside the lobby, the meeting’s audio played from multiple phones on a slight delay, making it difficult to follow unless you were actually in the boardroom.
Continue reading A $943,000 Question: Quadra and the Strathcona Gardens Vote
Mark Baker is once again acclaimed Chair and Mark Vonesch was selected as the new Vice Chair of the Strathcona Regional District Board.
These offices are yearly appointments and were made at the board’s inaugural meeting on Wednesday November 19, 2025.
Continue reading Baker acclaimed Chair, Vonesch elected Vice Chair of the SRD
It has been 85 years since the Truck Loggers Association was founded to give independent loggers a collective voice in society and the forest industry. Now they would like the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) to intervene on their behalf with BC’s Minister of Forests, Minister of State for Workforce Development and Chief Forester. This was disclosed during the discussion of a motion from the SRD’s Natural Resources Committee at the Wednesday December 11 Board Meeting.
Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney said she is not a member of the Natural Resources Committee, but the issue is a concern to her. The Forest Practises Board recently released a report that stated there was a deficit of old growth on Quadra Island and only about 1% of the trees were greater than 250 years old. Three companies were found to be out of compliance with some aspect of forest legislation. The reported added that “the bigger issue is that no one is responsible for monitoring or ensuring that Quadra Island’s old forests are conserved, or that enough mature forests are protected from logging so that they can develop into old forest in the future.”
Mawhinney had brought this matter to the SRD Board asking that “that the board write a letter to the Minister of Forests, the Minister of Water, Lands and Natural Resources, and BC’s Chief Forester, highlighting concerns with old forest management on Quadra Island.”
Continue reading Political maneuvers? SRD proposal to meet with province about the allowable cut and other forestry matters
