MARINE GATEWAY.. 2 HELL {updated}

This coulda been our nod to native roots, a Musqueam Memorial Park that honoured our 1st Nations' history with a proper 'GreenestCity' gateway.. as I discovered upon seeing a fascinating documentary on Channel 5 (Knowledge Network) aLL about the Musqueam Nation's efforts to honour their ancestors, whose remains were unearthed AT THIS VERY SITE -- THEIR VIGILS TOOK PLACE JUST DOWN THE ROAD, IN AN EMPTY PARKING-LOT!  The heartbreaking missed connection/opportunity to stop this wrongful development is tragic, looking back.. 

See original timeline via photos of my attempts to save this urban parkland: FLicKR.com/ParkInPeril/.

I'm revising this post's date to put it closer to the top:  Key lesson --that trying & failing is, still, FAiLing! Grr..

[Jan. 2012]  I've been away - head in the clouds (well, on the Island actually).  Which i regret.  Cuz meanwhile, Vancouver's City Council has APPROVED another massive concrete 'mixed-use' tower complex called 'MARINE GATEWAY' @ Cambie & SW Marine (the 'Marine Drive' Canada Line station).  I was there for the first time in months recently, & my heart froze @ signs showing what's in store for this gallant patch of green...

Situated smack on traffic-heavy S.W. Marine, in a rare relief of sloping parkland, at least 30 thriving old-growth trees - some towering 4-5 storeys tall - silently await their fate,  as advertised on giant billboards littering the park.  Their replacement is depicted as a glittering urban centre bustling with nightlife:  a  slap in the face for residents of Marpole, one of Vancouver's MOST TRAFFIC-CONGESTED spots where air quality is saved onLy by this tranquil urban park..

So THAT's what Vision Vancouver's future 'GREENEST CITY' is about?  'DE-greening' would more accurately describe what's been proposed here -- if not TOTAL DISREGARD FOR OUR 'PROTECTION OF TREES' BYLAW:
http://vancouver.ca/your-government/protection-of-trees-bylaw.aspx
This news article clarifies some facts:  
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/05/10/bc-vancouver-cambie-development.html 

I went back & photographed this pending death-zone so you could see the stately elders that have outlived their human counterparts (ie. our ancestors, @ least those of us from BC) & provided countless benefits -- including mitigating nearby industry pollution -- as Marpole's only park oasis..

 

A month or 2 after these were taken, this site had fast degraded to become a dumping-ground of advertising, billboards (more than what you see here), litter and random equipment such as excavators.

Here are PCI's heLLish plans for Marine Gateway:

http://pci-group.com/works/marine-gateway-on-canada-line/ 

& the City of Vancouver's Marine Gateway planning page: 

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/rezoning/applications/8430cambie/index.htm

[Nov. 16, 2012:  i cried my eyes out when, some months later, i drove past Cambie & Marine & looked to where those carbon-catching wonders had been bulldozed off the map as feared, along with every wild lifeform they'd supported, & replaced with the relentless snarling grind of construction --  our new concrete 'gateway' into a fictional 'Greenest City' -- CouveNiRs,  city of lost yesteryears.  My heart's still heavy with the weight of faiLing Mama NaTuRe (CRIES!) but I won't give up -- just need to find others who GET IT & work together to LEGiSLATE protection from govt. corruption/ heritage destruction..]

UPDATE:  City Hall enquiry underway -- click on FLICKR. com/ParkInPeril/7)

Act NOW on Site C - beFore it's too LATE!

Just got this important email from PVEA incuding info for sending letters to government - please send one soon + help impact BC's sustainable future!

                                                                  Photo:  Garth Lenz
Dear Sarah,

Our efforts to stop Site C dam are having a strong impact!

“Site C isn’t a fait accompli…we’ll only decide to recommend it to cabinet if it is the best way to respond to (electricity) need. “  BC Minister of Energy, Bill Bennett, September 10, 2014,Vancouver Sun.

Clearly Minister Bennett is starting to see the light when it comes to Site C due to the information he is being presented with by a multitude of sources including you.  Last week, a consortium of interests, representing industry, valley landowners as well as municipal, regional and First Nations governments held a press conference to inform government and British Columbians that Site C is NOT in their best interests!

“It’s going to have a legacy of wealth destruction…It’s going to sap the province’s ability to raise money and borrow money;  to do other things, such as infrastructure, hospitals, schools – all the things we need to do.”  Dan Potts, former executive director of the Association of Major Power Users of BC

Let’s build on this momentum!  Let’s ensure that both the provincial and federal governments reach the right conclusion on Site C before it’s too late!

A decision on the environmental assessment for Site C is expected this fall.  We need to make sure we’re heard NOW!

Please send a letter to Premier Christy Clark and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ensure their governments say “NO” to Site C...

Say “NO” to:

• Wasting taxpayers’ money on a project that isn’t needed
• Destroying over 30,000 acres of unique Peace River Valley agricultural land that can feed a million British Columbians and will replace traditional food producing lands, now drought-ridden
• Expropriating multi-generational farm families from their homes and way of life
• Flooding First Nations’ gravesites and significantly impacting their ability to carry out rights guaranteed in their treaty
• Destroying over 17,000 acres of boreal forest plus wetlands, home to wildlife and migratory birds, some of which are endangered species
• Causing the complete loss of three species of fish in the Peace River and its tributaries
• Leaving future generations with a legacy of environmental destruction and massive debt

Send your letters to:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
Email: stephen.harper@parl.gc.ca

Premier Christy Clark

PO Box 9041
Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC
V8W 9E1
Email: premier@gov.bc.ca

Thank you so much for your continuing support.  Please send your letter NOW before it’s too late! 

For the Peace,

Andrea Morison, Peace Valley Environment Association (PVEA)

Stop Site C http://www.stopsitec.org/

Letter from GREENPEACE re. Arctic drilling..

Dear Sarah, At last! Shell has left Canadian Arctic waters! Two months ago, I wrote to you with the news that Shell was trying to block the creation of a protected area in Lancaster Sound, Nunavut -- using oil exploration permits that expired in the 1970s. What’s worse, Shell said it wouldn’t give up its expired permits and allow the region to be protected, unless it could carry out seismic blasting there first. But today, I have good news: Shell has finally given up its dodgy oil permits in Lancaster Sound! Public controversy around Arctic oil and a lawsuit that was launched to force them to give up the permits have worked. Share the news and call on Trudeau to protect this region for good.  With Shell once again fleeing the Arctic with its tail between its legs, the way is finally cleared for this very important area to be protected. Lancaster Sound, located in the Northwest passage of the Canadian Arctic, is a stunningly beautiful landscape home to a spectacular array of wildlife including polar bears, seabirds and narwhals. Local Inuit - who depend on the region for their food, livelihoods and culture - have been fighting to protect this region for decades! It’s now up to the Trudeau government to protect Lancaster Sound permanently. Share the news and call on Prime Minister Trudeau stand up for Indigenous rights by protecting the Arctic.  Every day we’re seeing more indications that Arctic oil has no future. In order to fight climate change and safeguard the livelihood of millions around the planet, the Arctic must be protected. Working together I know we can secure permanent protection for this amazing region. In solidarity, Alex Speers-Roesch Arctic Campaigner, Greenpeace Canada P.S. Prime Minister Trudeau has pledged to protect the Arctic, defend Inuit rights and take leadership on climate change. Let's hold him to that promise.

We don't accept any money from companies or governments so we can be independent and challenge anyone who threatens the planet or peace. To help us keep fighting climate change, defending our oceans and protecting ancient forests, please make a regular donation. Thank you! Greenpeace Canada, 33 Cecil Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1N1

GATEWAY: BAD NEWS for BURNS BOG

Burns Bog (Maqwum) - also known as the "Lungs of the Lower Mainland" - is a huge (40 sq.km.) peat bog occupying about a quarter of Delta, BC, the largest domed peat bog on the west coast of North America. Maqwum is its indigenous name.

Burns Bog is globally unique on the basis of its chemistry, form, flora and size. Despite significant disturbances to the ecosystem - including development, extensive peat mining and fire - Burns Bog remains an important contributor to the region's ecology and sustains a wide variety of flora and fauna, including many rare species.  Its nickname 'the Lungs of the Lower Mainland' refers to the bog's role as a climate regulator, as well as its function as an effective carbon sink (absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and lowering C02 levels).  Numerous zoning codes have been enacted to protect the bog from development and retain its original state, in hopes of preservation for future generations.

According to Environment Canada and other groups, the bog ecosystem is under threat from the proposed South Fraser Perimeter Road, a new 4-lane expressway that is part of the BC Ministry of Transportation's Gateway Program currently under construction (expected to be completed by 2013).

One of the main objectives of the Gateway Program is to reduce congestion-related idling by freeing up the traffic movement south of the Fraser River.  Although the Province's environmental assessment projects that SFPR will reduce congestion-related pollution, overall pollution as well as truck traffic will be significantly increased. This is a deep concern for many citizens and local environmentalists pushing for a decrease in our greenhouse gas emissions.

While the SFPR does not go through the Burns Bog Ecological Conservancy Area, there is concern that it will adversely affect the Conservancy area and surrounding hydrology.  In response to the mitigation measures proposed by the SFPR Project, the Environmental Stewardship Branch of Environment Canada wrote that "... the changes are not sufficient to alleviate its concerns related to the impacts of the Project on Pacific Water Shrew (PWS), hydrology, aerial deposition, and ecological integrity of Burns Bog.".*

Burns Bog has been listed as threatened by the International Mire Conservation Group because of the impacts of the SFPR.

Burns Bog Conversation Society is working to protect this globally unique ecological wonder in Delta, BC

SIGN THIS PETITION:  Burns Bog UNESCO World Heritage Site designation - HERE:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/burnsbogunesco)

PUBLIC COMMENTS:Here's my signature:
Name: Sarah Chesterman on May 22, 2011
Comment: This precious ecosystem must be protected! Its importance as a carbon sink and the "lungs of the Lower Mainland" have already been recognized and established, and the detrimental effects of paving it over would be catastrophical - not only for the health of all Lower Mainland residents, but for the wildlife species at risk that rely on its riches. Restoring this bog ecosystem and preserving its integrity - keeping in line with the tenets outlined in www.smartgrowth.bc.ca - are the only actions that serve the public's best interests, along with addressing and shouldering our global responsibilities. Ignoring opportunities to respect the land that feeds us and become sustainable would be BC's greatest downfall of all... "We cannot change the past but we can shape the future by our actions."
 .
LINKS:
* Info from http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/
Burns Bog Conservation Society:  http://www.burnsbog.org/bog//
The Corporation of Delta's Burns Bog site:  http://www.burnsbog.ca/

[Pics from Flemming's Churchill Fellowship blog, http://flemmingulf.wordpress.com/]

[This article first posted same day 2011]