Dear Gibsons Mayor and Council:
Regarding “Goosebird Creek plan faces opposition” (Coast Reporter, June 24) about the Town’s plan to realign and naturalize the creek, and the opposition to this plan by a local resident. Apparently an adjacent property owner objected to the naming of this stream as a “creek,” preferring to categorize it as a “ditch,” and plans to develop their property, as well as cover a portion of this watercourse, objecting to any “naturalization” project by the town.
In May of this year, while working on a documentary film project (This Living Salish Sea – www.livingsalishsea.ca), I had occasion to film Goosebird Creek. To my surprise and delight, I observed and documented numerous salmon fry swimming and feeding in this stream, both to the north of Bay Road and to the south. This observation was totally unexpected, and I was encouraged to see such a healthy and vibrant population of salmon starting out their lives in this lovely quiet little stream. Covering it over will degrade its potential as salmon habitat. As you know, salmon are already under extreme stress in our profoundly changing world.
In our penchant for naming everything, naming has power. This stream, with its vibrant life, is suitably called a creek and a riparian zone, rather than a drainage ditch. Regardless of our semantics, the indisputable fact is that salmon are living there, and thriving, and therefore must be protected.
Please remain firm in your plans to protect this and other natural features, so as to preserve habitat that is critical to future generations.
Sarama, Gibsons Landing
