If it Sounds Too Good to be True …
The development proposal is still on the table although it is “on hold” pending further review. This is the latest official word received by the executive. The latest update came from Charlie Wyse, the elected MLA for Cariboo South. Charlie attended our November general meeting. Following this, on December 13, he met with Robin Levesque and Peter Walters from Integrated Land Management Bureau (ILMB), (formerly Land and Water BC) to share our concerns. The key points from this meeting were;
- The project is on hold and under review,
- Charlie relayed his feelings about the project after meeting with us,
- Charlie’s comments will be taken back to ILMB for further review and a decision to be made,
- If the project “is not shelved”, Charlie will be sure to notify us of all future meetings.
Profiling our Lakes
Our lake monitors have submitted their 2005 data to the BC Lake Stewardship Society. The readings from Lac des Roches and Birch Lake, will be analyzed and resulting lake profiles will be summarized in a future newsletter and posted on our website. Thanks again to our monitors, Ralph Watson, Heidi Ruegg, Al Wallewein, Marie Wallewein and Gordon Marshall for their continued hard work! Ice on dates for 2005 were;
- Little Lac des Roches – November 27
- Big Lac des Roches – December 3
Locals are skiing, skating and sledding on the “little” lake and the shoreline of the “big” lake.
More let-t-ters
Members please keep writing those letters, especially in light of the new members of parliament and the restructuring of the Government since the May election. See our website for the new contact list with mailing addresses, or contact us.
Change is Good – Regional Boundary
Our request to the Cariboo Regional District (CRD), about changing the CRD boundary has started discussions between the two affected districts. As reported by our elected CRD Area Director, Maureen Pinkney, meetings are underway with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, which could move the existing boundary eastward, to include the Lac des Roches, Birch Lake and Phinetta Lake shared watershed. Charlie Wyse, our elected MLA has also written a letter to the Minister overseeing boundaries, indicating his support of our request. Ultimately, the change of the regional boundary, to put our entire watershed in the hands of the CRD, would result in many benefits to our lakes. The CRD designates Lac des Roches as a “highly sensitive” lake and restricts further development, which could significantly change the proposal for the east end of the lake. Recognizing that the boundary change is a property owner issue, we contacted users of the lake, not just those who are members of Friends of Lac des Roches and Birch Lake. Of those we were able to contact in August and September, the support for this boundary change was overwhelming. More than 95% of property owners contacted have signed our letter. We will continue to obtain signatures over the holidays and into the new year.
Keeping it Together!
A recent email received from Maureen Pinkney congratulated our group for our hard work during the past year. Maureen went on to say that in her experience, united groups like ours, have a much stronger voice than we have as individuals, and encouraged us to continue our work safeguarding the future of our lakes. Our mission statement was not restricted to the development alone, and we are seeing a growing interest among our members to pursue lake stewardship, historical preservation and recycling initiatives.
Intercontinental Membership
Since our inception, we have had an international membership, with several members (including executive) from the USA. In November, our membership expanded to England and is now 141 strong – and continually growing!