Open letter to the local Islands Trustees
Hello Sam and David,
We are contacting you in the hope that more action can be taken to redirect, and strengthen policies and protocols to protect Denman Island’s natural environment. Currently, one area of special concern is the clear-cutting and subsequent ecological damage at 7000 Point Road.
Many community members are calling for more proactive mandates to protect this island from further forest and habitat loss. A new advocacy group called The Friends of the Gulf Islands is pressuring the Islands Trust to implement stricter guardrails on development that impact the natural world. Private property owners across this Island, (and all the Gulf Islands) are “legally” clear cutting, and cutting trees on slopes close to sensitive riparian zones which eventually affect water tables, destroy essential wind and storm breaks, cause soil erosion, habitat loss and contribute to local climate instability.
We appreciate the energy and time that you give to your responsibilities as Trustees. With a strong committed community behind you, Denman Island can be an unflinching leader in environmental protection. We must act now to bring in stricter bylaws and regulations to protect forests and trees on private property, as well as send a clear message that Gulf Islands are not suitable venues for land speculators and developers
7000 Point Road is a case in point; 143 acres owned by a holding company, H.J.T. Agricultural Development Co. Ltd. We are told by people on site that more than half the trees have already been clear cut and the remaining are also on the chopping block. The soil has been reduced to sand and dust. A conversation with a contractor on site, in June of this year, revealed that they have no current plan for the many large slash piles leftover from the logging. Slash piles are a serious fire hazard, while burning them creates air pollution.
Complaints from months ago to the Islands Trust about 7000 Point Road have not garnered a response. Eartha’s follow-up call to Warren Dingman, IT Bylaw officer, on Tuesday, July 8, revealed that a Bylaw officer did go to the site. The owner has been notified that they must hire a private surveyor to establish if any work has been done inside development permit areas. If so, a permit must be applied for. I was told that the Islands Trust has no mandate to levy fines if private property owners do not apply for or get a permit. How tempting will it be to bribe the surveyor and where is the incentive for anyone to follow the rules?
What might you be able to do to help expedite our concerns to the Islands Trust? What can you do to tighten up policy and infraction rules around deforestation, cutting forests on sloped lands and threats to riparian zones? We are reminding the Islands Trust and our local trustees to apply the precautionary principle and consider the cumulative effects of development on local ecosystems.
Yours truly,
Eartha Muirhead, Deborah MacColl, Wendy Boothroyd, Cheryl Hurlburt, Steve Carballeira, Stefanie Wall, Mandy Negin, Steve Christensen, Howard Stewart, Frank Frketich, Mary Jane Stewart, Tara Parkinson, Paul Weyer, Cynthia Minden, Michael Rapati.
Note to readers: Any community members interested in signing this letter, let me know at <ejmuirhead4@gmail.com> and please join the next Islands Trust meeting on Tuesday, July 15, 10:00 am, at the Activity Centre.
