Oak Bay News, March 09, 2016

Page 1

Trying history

Local rugby player hits historic milestone Page A12

NEWS: OLiVe visits the local library /A5 COMMUNITY: The Bills support Syrian fundraiser /A10 ARTS: Phoenix showcases Summer and Smoke /A11

OAK BAYNEWS

Ian Lam & Zabrina Legault DENTURISTS

rjdc.ca

info@rjdc.ca

300-1964 FORT STREET

250.592.8338

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

oakbaynews.com

Emotions run high at sewage meeting Sewage committee reconvenes today to review options from CRD staff Dan Ebenal Black Press

Christine van Reeuwyk /Oak Bay News

Contractor Wylie Thomas (left) and Chris Hyde-Lay, manager of parks for Oak Bay, discuss the coming restoration season in Uplands Park, which include trail markings for the central meadow behind.

Park plays vital biodiversity role Christine van Reeuwyk Oak Bay News

More than just a pretty place, Uplands Park plays a key role in protecting natural heritage and biodiversity. Boasting one of the highest concentrations of rare and endangered plants in Canada, the park contains the remnants of a rare ecosystem complex of Garry oak meadows and woodlands, maritime meadows and vernal pools, which used to cover a much greater area in the region. More than 95 per cent of this habitat has been lost over the last century, said bota-

nist Wylie Thomas who leads the reclamation project for the 32-hectare park. Twenty-one rare and endangered plants are found in the open meadows and vernal pools of Uplands Park – some of which are found in only one or two other locations in Canada. “What’s left is quite compromised,” Thomas said. “These rare plants and ecosystems are under stress, and if we don’t address them now we risk losing an important part of what makes Uplands Park so special. In fact, we have lost at least five rare plant species in the last 20 years, and the pop-

ulations of several extant species are in decline. We have also lost three rare butterflies since the 1950s.” Invasive shrubs and trees prefer the same growing conditions as the rare plants, threatening their ability to grow. Notorious Scotch broom, gorse and carpet burweed are joined by invasive trees slowly crowding the Garry oak, encroaching on the meadows. PlEASE SEE: Volunteers crucial to park’s protection, Page A3

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When the core area liquid waste management committee looks at options for a site of the Capital Region’s sewage treatment plant today (Wednesday), a lone plant at McLoughlin Point will not be among the choices on the table. A motion from Victoria Coun. Geoff Young to consider an advanced wastewater plant at McLoughlin Point with a small plant on the West Shore was defeated in a tie 8-8 vote following an emotional debate around the board table last Wednesday. Young said he has “grave concerns” that the Rock Bay site will not receive the necessary zoning from Victoria council, and looking at a single plant at McLoughlin would give the board a better idea on costs to provide a more informed decision. Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins pleaded with the board to not move forward with consideration of McLoughlin as the primary option. “To have this come forward does not reflect the democratic decision making of council or respect the public who have come forward to speak against this,” she said. PlEASE SEE: Sewage disputes ‘political’, Page A2

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