Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Mid-Island
Chapter
Box 442, Qualicum Beach, BC, V9K lS9, ph. 250 752-6585, fax:
250 752-7085
email: wcwcqb@shaw.ca
Press Release
Wednesday, January 20, 2004
Cathedral Grove Tour Results in calls for a Public Review
Qualicum Beach, BC - Public interest following last weekend’s
Cathedral Grove tour by the Western Canada Wilderness Committee
has resulted in calls for a public review of the revised plans
and designs for the government’s proposed 150-car, 20 bus/RV
parking lot, 400-500 metre two-way walkway and highway widening
in a sensitive area of tiny MacMillan Park. The Western Canada
Wilderness Committee is asking that full costs for the proposed
project and the revised design be disclosed and available for
public comment before any bids for tender are awarded for the
controversial proposal.
The tour of approximately 75 people from Victoria, Nanaimo,
Port Alberni, Parksville, Qualicum Beach and points north looked
at solutions and more suitable locations for the parking lot
away from the elk habitat, where higher, more stable ground
would protect not only the parking lot infrastructure, but the
park’s famous big trees as well.
“Walking through the elk habitat along the river was
a real eye-opener for most people who witnessed first hand the
proposed location and the solutions for an alternate site,”
commented Annette Tanner, WCWC chairperson and organizer of
the tour. “This tiny park, less than half the size of the
city of Vancouver’s Stanley Park, has one of the last remaining
critical elk winter habitat that can be protected because it
is in a provincial park,” Tanner explains. “The forested
elk habitat in turn protects the big trees in the park from
being blown down by the fierce winter storm winds from the west.”
Several visitors who stayed after the tour, presented Tanner
with a petition stating opposition to the provincial government’s
present plan for Cathedral Grove and stating support for solutions
presented by the Wilderness Committee. The submission of tenders
is due Thursday, January 22, 2:00 pm. Tanner has requested the
provincial government allow for public review and comment of
the revised plans and full costs for the proposal before any
bids for tender are awarded.
- for more information phone Annette Tanner 250 752-6585 -
