Save Craigflower Creek
Donation protected
**UPDATE**
I am happy to announce that West Coast Environmental Law has awarded us the grant from their Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund to investigate. Our Lawyer is getting started however need to raise more funds. With what has been donated to date, we are still at a $1200 shortfall. Every little bit counts, a $5 donation still goes a long way!! Many thanks :)
Why Is Craigflower Creek and Salmon So Important?
Quotes from the Wild Salmon Centre - "Their annual migrations are a miracle of nature. They feed us and their presence tells us that our rivers are still healthy. From grizzly bears to orca whales, at least 137 different species depend on the marine-rich nutrients that wild salmon provide. The last intact salmon watersheds around the North Pacific are composed of free-flowing rivers and dense forests, which provide clean drinking water and absorb carbon to slow climate change."
"In short, salmon are the key to protecting a way of life rooted in the North Pacific environment: protect salmon and you protect forests, food, water, communities, and economies."
Our Story
BC Transit submitted a rezoning application to the Town of View Royal in 2018. Their goal was to build a Fleet Maintenance Facility hosting 90 HandyDart buses, 112 Employees with maintenance and vehicle washing bays. The land is greenspace, designated as park, with Salmon and Cutthroat Trout bearing Craigflower Creek running through it. You can see the creek on the photo; it’s the squiggly line that runs from the bottom out to the right of the site map. Very close by the Galloping Goose and Eagle View Elementary School.
Spring 2018 residents opposed this proposal for many, many reasons. Town Council agreed and said ‘No’ to the rezoning.
Last September, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena, in an egregious abuse of power, conveniently amending zoning from Park to “Arterial Highway”. This move by the province removes all power from the municipality for any say in land use; Unprecedented and Undemocratic.
Our Province seems to think that a responsible Climate Action strategy is by not putting a bus depot in an Industrial Park, rather in a park on a Salmon Bearing creek. Considering the current stresses on the creek and extreme weather events which are becoming the norm, no amount of mitigation will protect Craigflower Creek. Even if functional mitigation were possible, the project would be cost prohibitive. This land does a lot of heavy lifting for Craigflower Creek and, in turn, our oceans and us.
Our Goal
Our group has sought legal advice, and potentially take legal action against the Province of British Columbia to protect our vital waterway from continued short sighted decisions. We need your help. Any donation is greatly appreciated.
Beneficiaries of Unused Funds
Any unused donations will go to the following groups to help in all their continued efforts to protect and restore these critical habitats. These folks are our unsung heroes both in stream stewardship and habitat restoration;
World Fisheries Trust
Peninsula Streams Society
Esquimalt Anglers
Thank you so much.
With respect,
Save Craigflower Creek Group
Sign the Petition: Save Craigflower Creek at Change.org
Follow us;
Website: savecraigflowercreek.org
Facebook: Save Craigflower Creek
Instagram: @save_craigflowercreek
Twitter: @savecraigflowe2
I am happy to announce that West Coast Environmental Law has awarded us the grant from their Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund to investigate. Our Lawyer is getting started however need to raise more funds. With what has been donated to date, we are still at a $1200 shortfall. Every little bit counts, a $5 donation still goes a long way!! Many thanks :)
Why Is Craigflower Creek and Salmon So Important?
Quotes from the Wild Salmon Centre - "Their annual migrations are a miracle of nature. They feed us and their presence tells us that our rivers are still healthy. From grizzly bears to orca whales, at least 137 different species depend on the marine-rich nutrients that wild salmon provide. The last intact salmon watersheds around the North Pacific are composed of free-flowing rivers and dense forests, which provide clean drinking water and absorb carbon to slow climate change."
"In short, salmon are the key to protecting a way of life rooted in the North Pacific environment: protect salmon and you protect forests, food, water, communities, and economies."
Our Story
BC Transit submitted a rezoning application to the Town of View Royal in 2018. Their goal was to build a Fleet Maintenance Facility hosting 90 HandyDart buses, 112 Employees with maintenance and vehicle washing bays. The land is greenspace, designated as park, with Salmon and Cutthroat Trout bearing Craigflower Creek running through it. You can see the creek on the photo; it’s the squiggly line that runs from the bottom out to the right of the site map. Very close by the Galloping Goose and Eagle View Elementary School.
Spring 2018 residents opposed this proposal for many, many reasons. Town Council agreed and said ‘No’ to the rezoning.
Last September, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena, in an egregious abuse of power, conveniently amending zoning from Park to “Arterial Highway”. This move by the province removes all power from the municipality for any say in land use; Unprecedented and Undemocratic.
Our Province seems to think that a responsible Climate Action strategy is by not putting a bus depot in an Industrial Park, rather in a park on a Salmon Bearing creek. Considering the current stresses on the creek and extreme weather events which are becoming the norm, no amount of mitigation will protect Craigflower Creek. Even if functional mitigation were possible, the project would be cost prohibitive. This land does a lot of heavy lifting for Craigflower Creek and, in turn, our oceans and us.
Our Goal
Our group has sought legal advice, and potentially take legal action against the Province of British Columbia to protect our vital waterway from continued short sighted decisions. We need your help. Any donation is greatly appreciated.
Beneficiaries of Unused Funds
Any unused donations will go to the following groups to help in all their continued efforts to protect and restore these critical habitats. These folks are our unsung heroes both in stream stewardship and habitat restoration;
World Fisheries Trust
Peninsula Streams Society
Esquimalt Anglers
Thank you so much.
With respect,
Save Craigflower Creek Group
Sign the Petition: Save Craigflower Creek at Change.org
Follow us;
Website: savecraigflowercreek.org
Facebook: Save Craigflower Creek
Instagram: @save_craigflowercreek
Twitter: @savecraigflowe2
Organizer
Angela H
Organizer
Victoria, BC
