Dear Editor,
The Bowen Island Eco-Alliance is delighted that two of the island’s leading environmentalists have agreed to be guest speakers at our Annual General Meeting, which will be held at Collins Hall on Sunday, April 13, at 1:30 pm.
Former Bowen Island mayor, Bob Turner, and David Suzuki Foundation campaign lead for Howe Sound, Steven Foster, will speak about our island’s ecological setting and the numerous risks to the ecosystem from proposed industrial development. One immediate danger is posed by an application to ship liquid natural gas past Bowen Island from the old Woodfibre pulp mill site. Operations could commence as early as 2017. There is also a current application for a massive gravel quarry at McNab Creek that would cause several different types of pollution and be visible from the Sea to Sky highway.
Howe Sound’s future is at a turning point. These new unprecedented threats to our region’s natural integrity come precisely when the environment is beginning to heal from past abuses. Bowen Islanders have been thrilled in the last couple of years to see pods of Pacific white-sided dolphins feeding on schools of herring off our shores.
The recent recovery of Howe Sound’s former abundance is also demonstrated by sightings of Humpback whales. The Bowen Island Eco-Alliance is working with like-minded organizations and individuals to promote that recovery – (see www.bowenislandconservancy.org and www.futureofhowesound.org). Our island home shares its fate with all the neighbouring communities of Howe Sound. We believe that with unified effort we can hand on a better place to future generations.
Please come to our presentation and learn how you can contribute to the continued recovery of Howe Sound. Everyone is welcome. To learn more about our organization, visit our website at www.ecoalliance.ca
Sincerely,
Susanna Braund, Luz Budzinski, Pam Dicer, Jack Little, Eric Sherlock, Jack Silberman, Peter Williamson (Directors, Bowen Island Eco-Alliance)
