bioblitz a blast
bear in town
Park Reserve hosts species survey.
Locals urged to secure all attractants.
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Mark Your Calendar!
2017 SEASON SATURD AY MAY 20th - OCTOBER th S 7
Westerly News
TOFINO-UCLUELET
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
WesterlyNews.ca
TOFINO VILLAGE GR EEN Saturdays 10am-2pm
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$1.25 (including tax)
CoNSERVATioN
Outdoor watering restricted
Stage 1 water restrictions announced in Tofino Andrew bAiley
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
Water restrictions are an annual rite of summer’s passage in Tofino and their arrival this month is a sign that the season is on its way. Stage 1 restrictions are officially in effect and that means residents with odd numbered civic addresses may only water their lawns and gardens on Mondays and Thursdays from 6-9 a.m. and 7-10 p.m. while residents with even numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays and Fridays during those same times. Tofino’s Chief Administrative Officer Bob MacPherson said enforcement will primarily be done on a complaint-driven basis, though local bylaw officers will have an eye out for infractions during their regular patrols. “Our first approach, especially with Stage 1, is going to be education; letting people know that there are rules around when water can be used outdoors,” said Tofino CAO Bob MacPherson. “Really, at the end of it, we’re asking the community to help us help them save money. They save money directly by having to buy less water, as well, if we use less water as a community, we can put off infrastructure improvements in the future, which will save people money on their tax bills in the longterm.” This is the first year Tofino has automatically implemented the restrictions. In past years, Stage 1 has only been activated if two weeks without rainfall occurred between May and October. Tofino’s municipal council updated its Water Conservation Bylaw last year to make the restrictions automatic each May. See dry page 9
andrew bailey photo
MAY WAVES: The West Coast headed to the beach on Monday to bask in scorching Victoria Day sunshine. Ukee local CJ Schmidt was thrilled to help 5-year-old son Sloan catch some Wick Beach waves at the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
Cardboard ban proposed at landfill Commercial disposal nears extinction for West Coast communities nOrA O’MAlley
nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca
The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District has proposed a ban on the disposal of recyclable corrugated commercial cardboard at the Tofino-Ucluelet West Coast Landfill. The change will save valuable landfill space for future generations, according to ACRD manager of environmental services Andrew McGifford. “If you didn’t have a landfill and you had to take this
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material elsewhere, you’d be shipping it out,” McGifford said adding the cardboard ban would extend the life of the West Coast Landfill by approximately 60 per cent or about 36 years. “We have this asset here that has 60 more years left and, if we use up this asset in the next 60 years, the generations after us won’t have that asset sitting there.” If approved by the West Coast committee and board in June, the commercial cardboard ban would take effect July 1, 2017. See Cardboard page 16