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For all the news of the Cowichan region as it happens, plus stories from around British Columbia, go to our website www.cowichannewsleader.com Your news leader since 1905
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Tsunami spreads invasive species
Car goes up in Åames
Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
I
Ashley Degraaf
News Leader Pictorial
A
Cowichan man found himself in a sticky situation Saturday evening when his car went up in Àames in the Glenora area. The driver of the 1999 Ford Taurus steered the vehicle to the corner of Glenora and Eagle Heights Roads when it ran out of gas. “He pulled off to the side of the road, he went and ¿lled up a gas can and put that in, and when he went to turn the engine
Duncan ÄreÄghters attended the scene of this car Äre Saturday evening. No injuries resulted from the blaze. over, the motor started on ¿re is what he said happened,” explained Duncan ¿re chief Mike McKinlay, whose crew attended
the dinner-time blaze. Unfortunately, the car’s owner forgot to grab his bike off the back of the car before it was
Andrew Leong
fully engulfed. McKinlay’s crew knocked it down fairly quickly upon their arrival at about 5:30 p.m.
Sod busted at forest museum for visitor centre Regional cooperation: Current infocentre to be vacated Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
C
owichan’s political and business brass did more than break ground for the region’s new $2-million visitor centre Tuesday at the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre. They also unearthed a whole new era of cooperation between ¿ve local chambers of commerce to attract tourists — and coaxed Cowichanians to explore their home turf. George Gates, Duncan-Cowichan chamber’s president, said the south-facing centre — fronting the highway opposite Cowichan Com-
Peter W. Rusland
B.C. Forest Discovery Centre president Steve Lorimer (left), North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure, Cowichan Bay director Lori Iannidinardo, Duncan Mayor Phil Kent, chamber president George Gates, and Cowichan Tribes’ Councillor Lester Joe break ground Tuesday for Cowichan’s $2-million visitor centre. mons mall — will “centralize” local chambers into visitor services, and hopefully herald regional visitor-services’ teamwork.
“One group should be running visitor services in the Cowichan Valley, not ¿ve. All areas of the valley have to work together to de-
velop a regional strategy for visitor services,” said Gates. “Explore the valley’ has been our tag lines,” he told a crowd in B.C. Forest Discovery Centre’s lobby before sod-turning with gold spades. “Get ‘em here, and keep ‘em here.” Cowichan Tribes elder Lester Joe agreed. “I hope Cowichan Tribes is a big part of this.” So did mayors Jon Lefebure and Phil Kent. “This centre’s an example of regional contribution to something of value to all of us,” said Lefebure. North Cowichan’s ratepayers rolled $325,000 into the wooden, barn-style centre. It’ll boast of¿ce space, totem poles, interactive displays, plus Cowichan maps and brochures, by the 2014 tourist season. more on page 5
nvasive species washing ashore on Japanese tsunami junk have Cowichan’s MP demanding a federal counterattack. “I’d like to see the federal government designate one go-to place, and for people to contact,” NDP member Jean Crowder said. She’s not impressed with action so far from Conservative environment minister Peter Kent regarding the debris affecting Nitinat Lake sitting in Crowder’s riding. “I want the feds to step up and work with the provincial government to identify what resources are required.” Those resources could help collect tons of seaborne garbage from Japan’s March 2011 earthquake tsunami. Aside from solid stuff, such as Styrofoam, some scientists fear invasives — such as native kelp-killing wakame kelp, aquaculture-fouling sea squirt tunicate, plus an oyster-killing parasite — are landing on West Coast shores. They could potentially cause ecological and economic catastrophe in B.C., and elsewhere in the Paci¿c Northwest. “The federal government’s not doing enough,” Crowder told the News Leader Pictorial Tuesday. “They’ve been working with coastal First Nations, so if they see any potential aquatic invaders, they’re supposed to report them to the Department of Fisheries & Oceans.” Enter cross-jurisdictional arguments. “The province is actually responsible for the shoreline, and intertidal zones, but the feds have responsibility for the marine environment, but not the shoreline. “They have a tsunami-debris coordination committee with the province, the feds, local governments and volunteers,” said Crowder, “but there isn’t a lot of money available for the cleanup.” She didn’t have federal cleanup-funding ¿gures “but it’s not enough.” Folks can report large debris to the Coast Guard “but they need a protocol for retrieval and disposal.” “It’s not like people didn’t know this problem was coming, and now the volume is being magni¿ed.” Add invasive Àora and fauna. “We already have that experience on the island with things like Scotch broom, and the damage that happens when invasive species take hold,” said Crowder. She’d like to debate the debris and invasive-species crises in Parliament when the House reopens Monday. “It’s been raised already. I’m not sure if I can get it on the agenda, but maybe someone else will raise it,” she said, discounting action from Kent. “They don’t let Peter Kent answer many questions — the Tories don’t answer the questions anyway.” Invasives and big debris can be reported to DisasterDebris@noaa.gov.
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