I felt this letter to the local paper was worth posting. The location is the Comox Valley, Vancouver Island, BC.
How would you like to be spanked by Ruth Masters' spoon?
Published: June 03, 2011 9:00 AM
Updated: June 03, 2011 9:25 AM
Dear editor,
Who is the guardian of our wild spaces and species?
Monday, May 9 I'm riding my bicycle home from work and at the Tsolum Bridge I encounter four biologists who are wrapping up an assessment of the river they've done with 48 School District Explore students.
We get talking about the state of our wild salmon stocks and one field biologist who sometimes sub-contracts to the DFO switches us from the Tsolum to the plight of the Puntledge chinook. Ironically, shortly after the chinook are given a route around the dam to get to their historic spawning grounds on the Cruikshank, TimberWest logs that whole watershed.
You might have thought the yellow iron gate they installed was for safety, My comment: this gate is located by Comox Lake, blocking off the logging road that was once used by many to access other lakesbut it appears it might have partially been to hide the fact that TimberWest didn't want anyone to see how close to the watershed and spawning grounds they got, or see the damage they'd done to the once-pristine Cruikshank. TimberWest could get away with this because there is no one left to inspect what they do. The DFO can't afford to inspect or enforce, so it is left to the company to decide if they want to protect the environment. If that interferes with profit margins we all know what decision these companies make.
Besides, they'll say, this is our private land. I wonder if Mr. McRae is aware this happened in his riding? Is his party even concerned? Are our politicians going to protect the wild species and lands?
Douglas Fir trees are really an agricultural crop that mature in about 80 years. Politicians work on four-year mandates...
While we were feeling somewhat helpless about what we can do for the salmon, a 60-something couple crossed the road in front of us biologists. They were carrying large bags of trilliums and other plants they had stolen from the parkland between the fairgrounds and the river.
When we questioned what they were doing they scurried to their car like the thieving rats they are. The woman did shout over her shoulder, 'We're propagating.' Somehow this couple thought it was OK to steal protected species from public lands. Shame on you! We took down your licence plate, but probably nothing will come of our report. You should be spanked by Ruth Masters' spoon!
If everyone did this what would our protected lands look like? Would there be any trilliums left? Or would they look like the land this lady crawled away from, with no wild lands or species left?
The sad part of this story is that these environmental thieves will get away with it. There is nobody to protect these species and lands even though our habitat needs wild salmon to maintain our biodiversity and trilliums are supposedly protected (I grew up thinking there was a $500 fine for picking them).
The ultimate sad part of the story is that the poor lady knows nothing about propagating the plants she stole because trilliums are very difficult to transplant and her stolen plants will die. The rest of us will no longer be able to enjoy those trilliums as we walk along the riverside trails.
Both these stories make me think of the Supertramp song Crime of the Century. 'Who are these men of lust, greed and glory...Look, it's you and me.'
Our government agencies and politicians aren't going to do it for us. So how do we stop the ignorant trillium thieves and the greedy logging companies? We better figure it out soon!
J.D. Carswell,
Courtenay
http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_north/comoxvalleyrecord/opinion/letters/123106563.html