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Friends of Strathcona Park

Newsletter - Fall 2016Box 3404, Courtenay, B.C. V9N 5N5

www.friendsofstrathcona.org

Hero Spoon Award

A financial award with the NorthIsland College Foundation hasbeen established by the friendsof Ruth Masters to honour thework she has done throughouther life for the protection of theenvironment. This award willrecognize Ruth’s non-violentconcern for wildlife protection,her work in innumerablecampaigns, the advocating shedid for sustainableenvironmental practice and itwill honour her commitment towilderness stewardship.

The award will be known as the“Hero Spoon Award” tocontinue Ruth’s tradition ofpersonallyrecognizing “Stewards of theWilderness”. It will be awardedto a student entering North Island College with aneducation goal of environmental studies. Applicantsmust demonstrate they have actively participated inwildlife conservation and the protection of naturalhabitat of Vancouver Island. Special considerationwill be given to recent high school graduates ofSchool District 71 (Comox Valley).

There is a need for immediate action to raisesufficient funds so the Bursary can be awarded whileRuth is still with us. This will be Ruth’s finalcampaign for it will ensure that future generationswill recognize and continue her legacy. What betterway for all of us to say “Thank you Ruth formentoring us all” than to make a gift to grow thisendowment established in her honour.

The Friends of Strathcona Park are matching thedonations up to $1500 pledged by FOSP members.Personal donations of $25 and more are eligible toreceive charitable tax receipts through North IslandCollege Foundation (890505043RR0001). Acharitable tax receipt for 2016 tax year will bemailed to you at the address provided on/with yourcheque.

Cheques can be mailed to FOSP’s secretary John MilneBox 3404, Courtenay V9N 5N5. (Please reference the RuthMasters' Hero Spoon Award).

Donations by credit card can be made directly to the NICFoundation by phoning Erin Petersen at 250-334-5085.

For more information please visit foundation.nic.bc.ca oremail foundation@nic.bc.ca

Note: to support the awarding of a $500 annual bursarybeginning February 2017, FOSP's campaign has a goalto raise $5000 towards the Ruth Masters Hero SpoonAward endowment established through the North IslandCollege Foundation. The interest accrued annually will beawarded to a deserving student every year in perpetuity.

The Mine at Myra Falls – Answers and more Questions

Reading the consultant generated Closure Plans (2004 to2014 – available in the Campbell River Public Library)prepared on behalf of Nyrstar Myra Falls Mine to meet

Here’s a photo of Ruth with one of her “HeroSpoons”. Many readers will already be

familiar with them as recipients.

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requirements of permits held by the mine, raises morequestions than answers. It is like reading one third of aconversation. We do not have the government responseand certain issues (for example closure cost estimatedin the July 2014 report by Robertson Geo consultants)are dealt with in other “confidential” reports.

But on the basis of reading between the lines in thelast few years closure plans, and hearing NicolePesonen at the September 2016 SPPAC meeting thefollowing is known:

1) Nyrstar Myra Falls will not resume mining atMyra Falls; the mine will not open until they have abuyer.

2) Although there is not active mining there appearsto be an increasing scar on the landscape as they searchfor more valuable sources of minerals.

3) The government holds a bond in the amount of $71 million to ensure performance of final closureresponsibilities.

4) By September , 2011 the old Tailings DisposalFacility (old TDF) (at the mine) reached full capacityand closure of this facility was appropriate.

5) Failure to properly close and cover the old TDF(and associated waste rock dumps) continues to fail tohelp address the acid drainage from the site and theheightened levels of “contaminants of concern”: zincand cadmium as far down Buttle lake as the Gold Riverbridge.

6) A February 2012 report by OKane ConsultantsInc,, Amec Earth & Environmental Limited andMarsland Environmental Associated and MontaineEnvironmental Services on the Closure Plan for the OldTailings Disposal Facility set out a cost estimate of$14.3 million for this portion of Nyrstar Myra Fallsclosure; the report also set out a time-line which wouldhave seen closure of the Old Tailings Disposal Facilitycompleted by the end of 2015.

7) As of October 2016, very minor work has beendone towards closure of the old Tailings DisposalFacility, and there are Ministry of Mines penaltiestotaling 14.4 million which will apply by the end of nextyear. Apparently Nyrstar has provided some funds toits on-site staff to help avoid that penalty.

8) A mine of Nyrstar’s in Chile sold recently for $15.Million and we understand that the purchase price forNyrstar Myra Falls is in the same ballpark.

These facts lead to more questions:

1) As the anticipated buyer will not be covering the$70 million closure clean up bond, will they have anyinterest in doing closure properly?

2) As Nyrstar, an owner who has clearly benefitted frommining proceeds, seems to have no appetite to even domuch to meet obligations to clean up the old TailingsDisposal Facility, why would a buyer who has notreaped any benefit, have more interest (apart from doingwhat is necessary to avoid the penalty).

3) As the search for valuable minerals is continuing atthe site, and vegetated areas are giving way to newscarred mountainsides, clean-up is going to get moreexpensive and more difficult (new scars are on steepterrain). Has the government taken that into account insetting the amount of the final clean-up bond?

Here’s Ruth with one of her famous latrines. Shewas a master craftswoman when constructing andafterwards decommissioning and rehabilitating thearea. Some of you will remember the phrase, “Up

and in and down and out”.

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4) On being asked if new findings were in area coveredby the permit Ms. Pesonen said , “no we’d have to get apermit”. (it sounded as easy as buying groceries). Whyare permits in this mine in a park so easy to obtain?

5) What is the other side of the conversation? What isthe government saying? And are they adequatelyspeaking the concerns citizens must have, and exercisingour public power to address these concerns?

6) Can the government of BC assure us that properclosure and site rehabilitation will be performed and thecosts will not fall on the shoulders of the taxpayers ofB.C. ?

We need to get answers to these questions and to berecognized as stakeholders, entitled to not only witnessthe conversations between the mine and the Ministries ofboth Mines and Environment but play an active role inthese conversations.

submitted by Jennifer Pass

30 Years Friends of Strathcona celebration.

It was in the summer of 1986 that Rob Wood, Noel Lax ,

Steve and Marlene Smith jointly created the Friends of

Strathcona Park, based on the English model of the

Friends of the Lake District. A year later in 1987 the

group was incorporated as a Non Profit Society. The

spark that led to the formation was the concerns

expressed by the former Jim Boulding from Strathcona

Park Lodge that the future of the park was in jeopardy.

He had just attended a meeting (in Campbell River) of a

government appointed committee on how to deal with the

many conflicted interests in the BC Parks. It was Jim’s

opinion that the committee was heavily industry loaded

and favoured. Jim and Roderick Haig-Brown had been

fighting for the integrity of the park for many years.

It set me of on a research trip into the history of

Strathcona Park. How it was the first Provincial park to

be established in BC in 1911 , which then resulted in the

establishment of the BC Parks system and later the Park

Act. In the original document industrial development

such as mining and logging were banned; only a few

years later this ban was lifted, leaving the park wide open

to exploitation by industry (which promptly happened in

the following years). An article published in the

Vancouver Sun, written by Roderick Haig-Brown on

March 5 1966 titled “Buttle Lake. Rape of a Public

Park”, talks about how the park was mismanaged, how a

mine was established at the head waters of the lake, a

mining town was proposed at Ralph River (where the

campground now sits), how the lake had been flooded

and logged, how the Park Act provides clear direction

for the government as how to manage it, but the

government repeatedly seemed to bow down to

corporate and industrial pressure and opens the park up

for industrial development. Digging through the

Campbell River Archives during 1987 and 1988, I came

across a promise from the government (Ken Keirnan

was Minister of Parks, previously Minister of Mines)

and the Campbell River Water board that no more

mines would be allowed at the head waters of Buttle

Lake after the establishment of Western Mines. Within

weeks that promise was broken with permits handed out

to Cream Silver and other companies staking claims in

the same area. A young lawyer, Serage, who was

involved with this agreement later became a judge and

never forgot that broken promise!

The story continued, Buttle Lake, once a clear free

running and beautiful lake was dammed; the Heber was

diverted and attempts were made to interfere with the

outflow of Burman Lake. The virgin old growth timber

of the Bedwell Valley was “exchanged” to obtain other

parkland elsewhere in the province and so was the

timber on Big Den and other hillsides around Buttle

Lake. Western Mines was convicted of polluting the

Campbell River and Buttle Lake water system with their

tailings and run of from their mine site (they dumped

the tailings in the lake in those days) and large old

growth Douglas fir and cedars came down around the

mine site to make space for an open pit mine, roads,

processing plant and workers' accommodation.

So the findings of the committee, published in a

document titled “Wilderness Mosaic”, were devastating

not only for Strathcona Park, but for all the parks in

BC. So Jim was right; the park(s) needed “friends“

really badly otherwise they would soon die!

It was clear that we needed to update ourselves pretty

fast on the history of the parks; the workings of

government decisions, how to control anger, diffuse

conflict and what to do and not to do on a blockade.

Everyone was in high gear all over the province;

“Friends of” sprang up everywhere; Clayoquat Sound,

Valhalla etc. WCWC helped to publish a newsletter; the

famous blue paper, which was ready to be distributed to

the public the evening of the biggest public educational

meeting in the Comox Valley!

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Training sessions were started, funds were raised,

meetings were organized all over the province and

chapters of FOSP were formed all over the island. At

the final meeting with the then parks planner Mel

Turner in Nanaimo; it became clear that the gloves

were off and we committed ourselves to put our

bodies on the line to protect Strathcona and all the

other parks at risk in the province.

And that is what happened in the winter of 1988. It

was Karl Stevenson and his family who first stopped

the drilling rigs coming into the Thelwood Creek area

to explore for ore! He was soon followed and

supported by hundreds of people from all over the

province; including David Suzuki, Colleen MaCrory,

Vicky Husband, later Paul Watson and many other

people. It was Kel Kelly who became the first person

in the BC history to get arrested (together with

Gordon Cyr and Carol Latter) for defending a

Provincial Park!

Our strategic role model for the blockade was the

Franklin River Blockade in Tasmania. Their handbook

of what happened; the political insight of Bob Brown

(now leader and representative of the Green party in

the Australian parliament) was a great help and we

almost could predict what the government would do

next so we could be a step ahead of them! The media

played an incredible role, with CRTV Hugh Smith and

reporter Quenton Dodd doing amazing work! With

private funding FOSP obtained an alternate legal

opinion from the one the government used to justify

its decision to change the boundaries of the park to

enable mining and logging explorations. That legal

opinion stood and has been used since in the

formation of other parks later on in the province.

Eventually the Social Credit government lost the

elections and the NDP restored the park as class A

Park and nicely added the Megin River to the park

(THANK YOU!!!).

The Friends were very actively involved in the

creation of the Masterplan for the Park, participating

in countless meetings; and continuing to monitor

controversial activities in the park and keeping the

government’s following the BC Park Act. We have

been to court a few times, won some, lost some,; but

as Melda Buchanan and Ruth Masters would say;

without us the parks would have been a whole lot

worse off!

We remember Dan MacKinnon, who climbed the drill rig,

Pat Broadland (Bob Broadland’s wife) who laid in the

mud and got arrested and went to jail for trying to stop the

destruction of our park, Gail Magee, whose memorial

funds helped to build the Gail Magee suspension bridge in

the Bedwell, The Doran brothers, Stan and George who

showed up at an advanced age at every trail building

event, and are now remembered at Doran Falls on the

Bedwell River, Melda Buchanon who was there

whispering in our ears “Never Ever Give Up!” and she

seemed to have a great path into government and media

affairs and of course Jim Boulding who provided the

spark for this all!! The 64 people who risked their

freedom and got arrested. Steve Lawson who provided

endless boat support for the Bedwell trailbuilders and

exploration trips, Joan Cartwright and Chris Pielou, Ino

Schaefer from Courtenay bakery, who brought fresh buns

and cinnamon buns to the blockade side in all sort of

weather conditions. And several others who have

meanwhile passed supporting us in body, spirit or through

bequest.

It has been quit the journey; next year (2017) will be the

official 30 years of FOSP as a registered society. We all

should be proud of what we have done in leaving a

beautiful legacy for future generations! Let’s celebrate us

next year!

submitted by Marlene Smith

SPPAC Update

The last Strathcona Park Public Advisory Committee(SPPAC) meeting was held on September 29, 2016. Thefirst part of the meeting was a presentation by NicolePesonen, the Environmental Manager at Nyrstar Mine.Jennifer Pass has reviewed much of what was said in aprevious article above so there's not much more to add.

Perhaps the most important topic being discussed was theneed for more SPPAC members. A few years ago 7committee members' terms were up and all of them werereplaced except Philip Stone who has stayed on as chairto provide some continuity. Recently a few of these newmembers have had to leave the committee for variousreasons so there is a need for some new ones.

The SPPAC meets usually 4 times a year, most often atthe Miracle Beach Parks office, although previously whenthere were more members from further south on the Island

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meetings were held at the Rathtrevor Beach Parks office.Terms of reference for members are available on BCParks' website at

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/strath/SPPAC/terms_of_reference.pdf

SPPAC looks for a variety of skills when appointingmembers, but the main qualification is a passion for thePark.

SPPAC was created as part of the recommendations ofthe Larkin Report in June 1988. It's mandate is to reflectpublic opinion in the decision making processesregarding Strathcona Park. Over the years it has beenmostly successful in doing so and Park staff have usuallytaken SPPAC's advice in making their decisions.

If you are interested in serving you can contact AndySmith at andy.smith@gov.bc.ca or Philip Stone atpstone@quadraisland.ca and offer your services.

Some other park news.

A bridge over Butterwort Creek on the Elk River trail isto be updated. B.C. Hydro is paying to upgrade boatlaunching ramps at Karst Creek and Buttle Campground.

Some campsites at Ralph River campground will beclosed as the campground operates at less than capacityand this will save money. The sites will be kept availablefor overflow camping if needed.

The proposed new group campground at Croteau Lake isdelayed while some plans and agreements are sorted out.Some of the funding for this is coming from NyrstarMines and some more is still being sought.

The Century Sam Lake hike has become very populardue to social media postings. The logging road has beenupgraded in order for more logging to be done outsidethe part making this area more accessible. When loggingceases the roads will be deactivated cutting off easyaccess once more.

A new viewing platform at Battleship Lake has beenconstructed. Access to deep water will be provided byfurther extension, this being financed by the FreshwaterFishing Association.

Three composting toilets have been installed atBattleship Lake, Bedwell Lake and Croteau Lake.Worms will likely be added to the toilets in the future to

speed up decomposition. These facilities will savemany helicopter flights ferrying sewage out of the park.

Volunteerism by Compulsionby Jack Welsh

The paper floodwaters of B.C.'s bureaucracy are

claiming victims; literally scouring them from the

vertical rock walls of Strathcona Provincial Park.

As all good citizens of B.C. know, one can't simply go

out on a weekend and remove a log from a park's trail,

or even cut back some salmon berry branches. At least

not until you have signed a B.C. Volunteers Services

Agreement, ("Volunteer Agreement"), and some parks

official has approved same.

The Heathens' Mountaineering Club, ("the Heathens"),

has devoted decades of volunteer work to the climbing

community, and to park visitors in general. They have

created trails to climbing routes, and created routes

themselves, as well as maintaining the trails and routes

over the years. This work had been done safely, and to

a standard that drew praise from park rangers and

administrators. Sadly, neither the Heathens, nor Parks

officials could compromise enough to reach agreement

on the wording they were wrestling with in negotiating

the terms of the Volunteer Agreement Parks wanted

signed.

The situation culminated this past summer with several

of the the Heathens' key people ordered out of the park

and given tickets with price tags up to $1,500 per

charge. I have been informed by Heathens' spokesman,

Chris Barner, of Campbell River, that all the members

charged by Parks are disputing their tickets to the court.

The purpose of this article is not to comment upon thecourt cases, but rather examine some of the argumentsexchanged by the parties long before anything had beendone to bring the dispute to the Court's attention. Ihave selected a pair of clauses all of us would beexpected to agree to in order to obtain an approvedvolunteer agreement for ourselves, and have brieflyquoted the words of the negotiators about these clauses.

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The NEGOTIATORS:

A. Chris Barner of the Heathens:

Chris is a man one wants "on side" if you're taking

parks administration to task over some issue. He

and his fellow Heathens supported the Friends of

Strathcona Park throughout our battle against Park's

granting a permit to allow Clayoquot Wilderness

Resort to take horses into Strathcona Park.

Barner's bright, clearly thought out arguments made

in public forums were impressive.

His arguments made during the negotiations he had

with parks over the terms of the volunteer

agreement Parks wanted were also impressive.

These arguments have survived in written form and

continue to be relevant to anyone wanting to

voluntarily take part in servicing Strathcona Park. I

have extracted his comments from his letter of

October 2015 to Cadden.

B. Don Cadden of Parks:

I do not know Don Cadden except that he is a

Reginal Director for Parks and was the

spokesperson for Parks in dealings with the

Heathens during the negotiations.

PROBLEM Clauses: (there were many items in

issue but these are the most illustrative)

A: CONFIDENTIALITY: The clause inthe agreement put to the Heathens reads, "I agreethat I will at all times maintain the confidentiality ofinformation received in the course of my servicesunder this Agreement."

1. Cadden's Proposal:

"With respect to the confidentiality clause that

forms part of the individual volunteer agreement,

this clause relates to any confidential information

that a volunteer may receive from B.C. Parks during

their work as a volunteer. It is not meant as a "gag

order" or a tool that prevents volunteer groups from

speaking about and promoting their projects. It is

meant to protect confidential information that a

volunteer may be provided as part of their relationship

with BC Parks. In practical terms, I am not aware of

any confidential information that would relate to the

activities that HMC (Heathens' Mountaineering Club) is

proposing..."

2. Barner's Answer:

"· The confidentiality clause is counter to the Charterof Rights and Freedoms and should be offensive to allCanadians. To date the Ministry has demonstrated littleintegrity so its assurances that the clause is not intendedas a ‘gag order’ offer no solace. The reality is that theclause can be exploited to do exactly that. The clubreserves the right as Canadian citizens to discussmatters related to our agreements with anybody at anytime.

· Since there is no provision in this proposal fordispute resolution the ability to subject the behavior ofthe Ministry to public scrutiny is critical for achievingfair treatment for the club. We will never relinquish theright to employ this strategy during the signing of avolunteer agreement.

· Does the Ministry plan on treating the club in a waythat they don’t want anyone else to know about? Thisclause definitely sends the wrong message to potentialvolunteers! Alternatively, we suggest that the Ministrykeep sensitive information to itself and refrain fromleaking it to volunteers. If sensitive information doessomehow get passed on to volunteers, the Ministryneeds only appeal to the club’s sense of discretion. Theclub is curious about two things:

· Important information? Don’t you guys think you’retaking yourselves a little too seriously?

· When would Ministry employees have a chance toleak information to club volunteers? We hardly eversee one!

Mr. Cadden implies that use of this clause would bevery unlikely. Good! Then strike this unnecessarylanguage from the agreement.

B: CONFLICT of INTEREST: The clauseas put to the Heathens reads, "I agree to disclose to theProvince any interest I have that might be construed asbeing in real, potential, or apparent conflict with theProvince’s interest, responsibilities and duties in the

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project for which I am providing the volunteerservices."

1. Cadden's Proposal:"Similar to the confidentiality clause, the conflict ofinterest clause in the individual volunteer agreementis meant to ensure that there are no conflicts that couldarise from volunteer projects. The clause is not meantto take away from a volunteer's right to have opinionsand express them; it is included so that the Province isprotected should a conflict arise. This clause asks thatvolunteers disclose to the Province any interest thevolunteer may have that may be construed as being inreal, potential or apparent conflict with the Province'sinterest, responsibilities and duties in the project. Itpertains to the project. If a volunteer is uncertain as towhether or not an interest she or he has falls under theclause the best approach is to let BC Parks know whatthe conflict may be. In all situations it will depend onthe project and the volunteer's interest at issue."

2. Barner's Answer:

"The Conflict of Interest Clause is over-reaching and the language is far too broad. The only legitimate conflict of interestconcern the Province should have is if a volunteer hasa business interest in the area.

The club is not comfortable with the terms‘construed’, ‘potential’ and ‘apparent’. As with theConfidentiality Clause the potential for the Ministry toexploit this clause for purposes other than thoseintended is too great. The club realizes that any realconflict of interest between the club and the Ministryis extremely unlikely. Our concern is that the Ministrycould exploit these broad terms to terminateagreements citing some ‘perceived’ or ‘construed’conflict of interest...".

Conclusion by Jack Welsh

It is obvious that with the passage of Bill 4, theresearch permit policy, and the volunteer agreementstrictures upon the community of users, our parksdepartment, at the instigation of the provincialgovernment, threatens to turn our parks into resourcebased PROFIT CENTERS.

As with the Heathens, use of the volunteer agreementrequirement can be brutal and seemingly contrary tothe goals of parks' improvement, and preservation.

In conclusion let me simply ask that those of you

familiar with the work done by the Heathens, will

recognize their plight and the expense of litigation and

consider making a donation to them. Charitable receipts

will not be available for these donations. Please contact

FOSP for the method of delivering these funds by emailing

John Milne at jsmilne64@shaw.ca

Comox Valley Vital Signs, 2016 — Parks andtrails a priority

A new survey of the signs of community life in theComox Valley was recently completed and published bythe Comox Valley Community Foundation. Their websitecan be found at www.cvcfoundation.org/vital-signs/It notes the importance of parks and trails to communitysurvey respondents. Under the heading "Arts, Culture &Recreation" , Strathcona Park, and two other local parkswere identified as one of the four recreational "facilitiesand Spaces most commonly accessed" in the ComoxValley and of the top priorities for "Arts, Culture andRecreation" number one is "expansion of parks and trails."Listen up, provincial government, the people have

spoken.

Chris Pielou 1924 - 2016

Sadly we lost Dr. Chris Pielou last summer. Chris was anaccomplished scientist who specialized in mathematicalecology (the mathematical modeling of natural systems)and published six books and numerous articles. She won anumber of academic awards and was well known in thescientific community.

We first met Chris when she joined the FOSP in the earlydays. She attended many meetings and was known toskewer the other side with her razor sharp wit. She wasfiesty and always involved in progressive public affairs.

She lived on Denman Island with her husband and movedto Comox after he passed away. In meeting her at ademonstration a few years ago, I asked how she was doing.She told me about getting her letter to keep on driving. Shesaid, “You’ve got to watch those guys. They ask you whatday of the week it is, and if you don’t know, they think youhave dementia.” Then she added with a sly grin, “I thinkI’ve had a small stroke, but I’m not telling them.”

She will be missed.

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FOSP Membership FormThank you for renewing.

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Address ____________________________________________________________________

City________________________________________Postal Code______________________

Phone __________________________ alternate phone (cell) ________________________

e-mail _____________________________________________________________________

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send to: Friends of Strathcona Park, P.O. Box 3404, Courtenay, B.C. V9N 5N5

From the Archives

Back in 1988 the Friends entered a float inCourtenay’s July 1st parade. The whole thing wasstreet theatre. Karl Stevenson’s sister painted apicture of Strathcona Park. Karl and Craig Sealepoured filthy buckets of mine waste over the pictureof the Park.. Tacky tourists gave out information tothe crowd. More people dressed as “Hear no evil,see no evil, speak no evil” monkeys were thebureaucrats. A rich banker carried a suitcase stuffedfull of money.

The float won first prize. A short time later theprocess was repeated in Campbell River at one oftheir events. Again, a prize was won.