Syd Haskell, President
Carmanah Forestry Society
1431 Richardson Street
Victoria, BC
V8S 1R1
250-381-1141
To the editor,
I am responding to Gillian Trumpers' recent letter, which states
the same fear based justifications for fixing what ain't broke
at Cathedral Grove. Recent interviews and a tour with Annette
Tanner have uncovered many facts, which as of yet have not appeared
in your or any other publication. I believe that his new information
should sway the public towards rejecting Trumpers' proposal
which BC Parks has approved in it's entirety.
A brief listing of fact would establish that Cathedral Grove
is unique, the trees are fabulous, representative of a heritage
that existed across the east coast of the Island, but has long
since been clear-cut. Unfortunately there is no other place
like it in Canada. Even if one had cut a road through Carmanahs'
wonderful Sitka Spruce, it would pale in comparison to the giant
Fir reaching into the heavens.
One of the wonders of Cathedral Grove is that one can impulsively
stop their car on the route to Alberni or Tofino and in a few
footsteps you are immersed into thousand-year-old Giants. This
convenient and valuable experience cannot be duplicated elsewhere
on the Island or Canada for that matter. That's about to change
if Trumper and her gang in BC Parks have their way. According
to BC Parks Bill Zinovich, all roadside parking will be eliminated.
What will this do to visitation? Bill expects nothing, and expects
that you will drive to the new parking lot, throw a few bucks
into parking and then hike an additional 45 minutes to see the
big trees. I differ and estimate that visitation will be reduced
by at least 50%. There are no studies so it's anybody's guess.
Maybe the paper should do a straw poll and find out if readers
will invest that extra time and money to see the big trees or
risk a tow for parking illegally. If there is a parking shortage,
it could easily be dealt with by trimming back the second growth
and expanding the parking between the large trees along the
highway.
Visitors who frequent the mixed Douglas Fir-Western Red Cedar
ecosystem to the West side of the park will also be shocked
to find that this side of the park is to be closed down completely.
The reason, according to Zinovich is that it would costs too
much to provide a wheelchair access overhead walkway. One ponders
whether all parks will need to raise their standards as such.
I doubt that his superiors are willing to shut down other parks
due to the absence of wheelchair access. Ironically, by removing
this public access to the West, the usable area of Cathedral
Grove will be reduced significantly.
But to deal more directly with Trumper's safety issue. There
isn't really a vehicle safety issue, as there is no evidence
of major accidents at this site, only professionals willing
to limit your rights and privileges. The only real safety issue
is the wet sloped wooden boardwalks that should be coated with
expanded steel mesh or some other material, as they remain slippery
and are treacherous most of the year.
Ironically, Trumpers'/Parks' plan increases this danger by creating
a mile long hike requiring many bridges and boardwalks. Carmanah
Forestry Society has officially volunteered our service to install
and maintain such material on the existing boardwalks, but BC
Parks has bigger issues to manage or imagine.
Ironically the highway around Cathedral Grove is accident free
because it is perceived as being dangerous. This phenomenon
of how humans subconsciously change their behaviour when confronted
with danger parallels an experience that MacMillan Bloedel experienced
when introducing Variable Retention Logging (selective) to the
coast. The managers expected more injuries and in fact they
had less! Studies revealed that most faller injuries took place
a third of the way into a clear-cut, when they thought it safe
to "speed up". When it seemed safe they became accident
prone or clumsy. This is why there haven't and won't be serious
accidents at this location. Simply put when everyone is extra
careful no-one gets hurt.
Gillian Trumper is a powerful orator, but don't take her words
at face value. She doesn't have anywhere near the widespread
support that she claims. In fact, after we called the community
and regional governments that her office provided, half of them
stated that there was no record or any recall of ever being
asked. And you, the public, haven't had an opportunity to see
the plans and be consulted, but Trumper assumes that you support
her half-baked plan, but has no interest in sharing the details
with you.
Trumpers' political safety may indeed require a new parking
area for her re-election, as Cathedral Grove is a phenomenal
place to secure a public works sign, spouting phrases about
safety and protecting your parks (by cutting them down?) According
to Ministry of Transport, there will be a few huge old growth
stumps on either side of the widened highway to provide a stable
base for these signs, not to mention the half dozen stumps along
the side road and within the proposed parking area.
All sarcasm aside, it is a sad reflection of our times that
the endangered elk herd will be significantly stressed, forced
to share more space with mankind or simply starve. But that
is the direction this province has taken. Whether Socred, NDP
or now Liberal, there is no safety or legal protection for endangered
species and none of us should be surprised when the only provincial
wildlife strategy is extinction. Readers should contact Bill.Barisoff@gems6.gov.bc.ca,
the new minister, pleading him to stop this insanity and provide
a full and open public process.
Syd Haskell is the president of Carmanah Forestry Society and
a resident of Victoria.
Respectfully yours,
Syd Haskell, President
Carmanah Forestry Society
