Please everyone, we need to get a letter writing campaign going. We only have 1 week. The public hearing is April 21st. Apparently all the letters have to be read at the meeting. After April 21st there is a law in place that nobody can contact in any directors etc on the CSRD.
Can you all write a letter? I know that this is last minute notice but it may be the last chance to actually voice an opinion or make an argument to save this river. The address for the CSRD is as follows:
Scott Beeching, Senior Planner,
Columbia Shuswap Regional District
781 Marine Park Drive - Box 978
Salmon Arm, B.C., V1E 4P1
Email: [email protected]
If you email the letter, please cc it to [email protected]
Please consider this request and though I know how busy you all are, I ask for your time as this is a very important river to me personally having grown up in the area and a very important river for BC and for the world as it is famous for the Sockeye runs. It is beautiful river that deserves far better care than what is offered by this proposal and by the stewardship of the CSRD.
If you want more information visit http://www.seas.ca for news items and impacts of development. This link outlines impacts and gives you all the contact information for the letter.
http://www.seas.ca/news.cfm?UUID=341DAB66-...B3DCE37F1E2458D
Laurie
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
April 10, 2008 at 4:46 AM EDT
VICTORIA - An expansive condominium and marina development proposed near the mouth of the Adams River will cause irreparable damage to one of B.C.'s most renowned salmon runs if approved, environmental groups warned this week.
"For them to even think of putting a development like this at the mouth of the Adams River is a tragedy and a travesty," said long-time B.C. environmentalist Vicky Husband, speaking on behalf of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
"That's one of the most famous salmon rivers in the world."
A company called New Recreation Ltd. has applied to build 218 condominiums, a 160-slip marina and 10,000 square feet of commercial space on a former campground at the mouth of the Adams River, about 40 kilometres south of Kamloops.
Dubbed West Beach Marina, the development is slated for 12-hectare patch of land between the river's mouth and the border of Roderick Haig-Brown Park, named after one of the province's most noted conservationists.
Ms. Husband said there's no way to develop the West Beach Marina without causing serious habitat damage.
"Any time you get boats and oil and gas and a lot of noise and construction in an sensitive area like that, you're going to have an impact on habitat," she said.
With up to three million salmon returning to spawn each fall, the Adams River run attracts thousands of visitors from around the world and is considered a mainstay of central B.C.'s tourism industry.
Directors with the Columbia Shuswap Regional District voted last month to send the West Beach proposal to a public hearing April 21 - a sign that elected officials are close to approving the project, said Shuswap Environmental Action Society spokesman Jim Cooperman.
"Once they get past the public hearing, there's no way we can influence the regional district," he said.
To try to spread the word, Mr. Cooperman has organized a rally that will be held at the mouth of the Adams River Saturday and is expected to draw hundreds of protesters.
The government body responsible for salmon habitat, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, has yet to conduct a full environmental assessment of the project.
In a letter June 1, 2007, federal habitat biologist Darryl Hussey informed regional district staff that DFO would not be reviewing the proposal in detail because of "resource constraints" and recent departmental policy changes.
However, department staff said yesterday that's not accurate and
promised a detailed review of the project once the developer's plans have
been finalized.
Retired fisheries biologist Otto Langer, who spent 32 years with the DFO, said staff are working under a new hands-off policy implemented by the Harper government.
"[DFO staff] are being told they're not supposed to oppose any developments," Mr. Langer said.
"They've quit doing field assessments and left it to industry to protect the fish."
Adams Lake Indian band member Dave Nordquist, a specialist in title and rights issues, said his chief and council have told federal officials the band opposes the development.
"We've met with DFO and we said we don't want it there. It's too close to the salmon and a lot of cultural heritage sites, but the CSRD seems to be pushing ahead," he said.
While there's no decision yet on what further action the band council might take, Mr. Nordquist said he and other band members will likely attend Saturday's protest.
Salmon Arm Mayor Marty Bootsma admitted that the development proposal is "highly sensitive" and has generated "a fair bit of controversy."
However, he rejected suggestions that the regional district board is preparing to rubber-stamp the application.
"There have been accusations that the CSRD is fast-tracking this thing, pushing this thing, and that's all a crock," Mr. Bootsma said. "The jury's out on this one until the final vote.
"Maybe it will be good to hear from both sides."
Here is the name of the Developer, and their address:
http://www.newfuturebuilding.com
239 Lansdowne Street
Kamloops BC
V2C 1X8
Phone: 250-372-3572
Fax: 250-372-3533
Mike Rink, President / Project Manager 250-819-0537
[email protected]
Ken Ellerbeck, Project Manager (worked for Gulf Oil and Texaco Oil W T F !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
[email protected]
Marnie McEachern - Principal
Kimron David Rink - BA Architecture, B.Sc., Project Architect
Michelle R. O’Morrow - C.M.A. Controller
Ruby MacLeod - Office Manager
Gary Klassen - Construction Manager
Ebeth Patenio - Senior Architectual Technologist (Also worked for Big Oil In Saudi Arabia)
Simeon Patenio - Senior Architectual Technologist (Also worked for Big Oil In Saudi Arabia)
Dennis Fontaine - Construction Supervisor
Christopher Sundquist - Building Designer
I'm going to keep digging, I'm going to try and find home addresses...
Are there any fast typers out there who can go on their website and lift out the text from the team profiles area of their site? They have made all their bios as images, so I can't copy and paste text.
Who is with me?
Nicole
Can you all write a letter? I know that this is last minute notice but it may be the last chance to actually voice an opinion or make an argument to save this river. The address for the CSRD is as follows:
Scott Beeching, Senior Planner,
Columbia Shuswap Regional District
781 Marine Park Drive - Box 978
Salmon Arm, B.C., V1E 4P1
Email: [email protected]
If you email the letter, please cc it to [email protected]
Please consider this request and though I know how busy you all are, I ask for your time as this is a very important river to me personally having grown up in the area and a very important river for BC and for the world as it is famous for the Sockeye runs. It is beautiful river that deserves far better care than what is offered by this proposal and by the stewardship of the CSRD.
If you want more information visit http://www.seas.ca for news items and impacts of development. This link outlines impacts and gives you all the contact information for the letter.
http://www.seas.ca/news.cfm?UUID=341DAB66-...B3DCE37F1E2458D
Laurie
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
April 10, 2008 at 4:46 AM EDT
VICTORIA - An expansive condominium and marina development proposed near the mouth of the Adams River will cause irreparable damage to one of B.C.'s most renowned salmon runs if approved, environmental groups warned this week.
"For them to even think of putting a development like this at the mouth of the Adams River is a tragedy and a travesty," said long-time B.C. environmentalist Vicky Husband, speaking on behalf of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
"That's one of the most famous salmon rivers in the world."
A company called New Recreation Ltd. has applied to build 218 condominiums, a 160-slip marina and 10,000 square feet of commercial space on a former campground at the mouth of the Adams River, about 40 kilometres south of Kamloops.
Dubbed West Beach Marina, the development is slated for 12-hectare patch of land between the river's mouth and the border of Roderick Haig-Brown Park, named after one of the province's most noted conservationists.
Ms. Husband said there's no way to develop the West Beach Marina without causing serious habitat damage.
"Any time you get boats and oil and gas and a lot of noise and construction in an sensitive area like that, you're going to have an impact on habitat," she said.
With up to three million salmon returning to spawn each fall, the Adams River run attracts thousands of visitors from around the world and is considered a mainstay of central B.C.'s tourism industry.
Directors with the Columbia Shuswap Regional District voted last month to send the West Beach proposal to a public hearing April 21 - a sign that elected officials are close to approving the project, said Shuswap Environmental Action Society spokesman Jim Cooperman.
"Once they get past the public hearing, there's no way we can influence the regional district," he said.
To try to spread the word, Mr. Cooperman has organized a rally that will be held at the mouth of the Adams River Saturday and is expected to draw hundreds of protesters.
The government body responsible for salmon habitat, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, has yet to conduct a full environmental assessment of the project.
In a letter June 1, 2007, federal habitat biologist Darryl Hussey informed regional district staff that DFO would not be reviewing the proposal in detail because of "resource constraints" and recent departmental policy changes.
However, department staff said yesterday that's not accurate and
promised a detailed review of the project once the developer's plans have
been finalized.
Retired fisheries biologist Otto Langer, who spent 32 years with the DFO, said staff are working under a new hands-off policy implemented by the Harper government.
"[DFO staff] are being told they're not supposed to oppose any developments," Mr. Langer said.
"They've quit doing field assessments and left it to industry to protect the fish."
Adams Lake Indian band member Dave Nordquist, a specialist in title and rights issues, said his chief and council have told federal officials the band opposes the development.
"We've met with DFO and we said we don't want it there. It's too close to the salmon and a lot of cultural heritage sites, but the CSRD seems to be pushing ahead," he said.
While there's no decision yet on what further action the band council might take, Mr. Nordquist said he and other band members will likely attend Saturday's protest.
Salmon Arm Mayor Marty Bootsma admitted that the development proposal is "highly sensitive" and has generated "a fair bit of controversy."
However, he rejected suggestions that the regional district board is preparing to rubber-stamp the application.
"There have been accusations that the CSRD is fast-tracking this thing, pushing this thing, and that's all a crock," Mr. Bootsma said. "The jury's out on this one until the final vote.
"Maybe it will be good to hear from both sides."
Here is the name of the Developer, and their address:
http://www.newfuturebuilding.com
239 Lansdowne Street
Kamloops BC
V2C 1X8
Phone: 250-372-3572
Fax: 250-372-3533
Mike Rink, President / Project Manager 250-819-0537
[email protected]
Ken Ellerbeck, Project Manager (worked for Gulf Oil and Texaco Oil W T F !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
[email protected]
Marnie McEachern - Principal
Kimron David Rink - BA Architecture, B.Sc., Project Architect
Michelle R. O’Morrow - C.M.A. Controller
Ruby MacLeod - Office Manager
Gary Klassen - Construction Manager
Ebeth Patenio - Senior Architectual Technologist (Also worked for Big Oil In Saudi Arabia)
Simeon Patenio - Senior Architectual Technologist (Also worked for Big Oil In Saudi Arabia)
Dennis Fontaine - Construction Supervisor
Christopher Sundquist - Building Designer
I'm going to keep digging, I'm going to try and find home addresses...
Are there any fast typers out there who can go on their website and lift out the text from the team profiles area of their site? They have made all their bios as images, so I can't copy and paste text.
Who is with me?
Nicole
