WTF?
Someone's been busy printing up bumper stickers. And we have to say we totally agree with them. We feel that the 10 or so surf kayakers that come to Tofino every year have no place in our water. It's much too crowded. Just head out to the beaches and you'll see that there is not an inch left for a kayaker. Only surfboards should be allowed and we're not even sure if there's enough room for the trendy paddle boards - have you seen them? they are huge! - and we need all the space for real surfboards. So first they come for the surf kayakers...
First, they came for the surf kayakers,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a surf kayaker.
Then they came for the paddle boarders,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a paddle boarder.
Then they came for the long boarders,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a long boarder.
Then they came for the hippies,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a hippy.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
Yes, we know we bastardized Martin Niemöller's famous saying.
Will Someone Please Buy This House!
http://landquest.com/detailmain.asp?prop=09190&curpage=2&search=newlist
Then tear it down.
Of course we'd rather have no house there, but if there had to be one, did it have to be so ugly? Talk about spoiling the landscape. Of course that's just our opinion and everyone's we've asked. So please rich person, show us you care; Buy it, tear it down and if you have to build something, please remember it's the west coast not Surrey.
Tourism Tofino
Has Spent $60,000+ a Website?
And That Money Has Gone Right Out of The Community?
We're hearing $60,000+ to start and then big chunks have followed pushing the total up past $80,000?
Don't get us wrong, we're all for Tourism Tofino to spent it's huge wad, but let's take a look at what they could have accomplished.
1) Put that Big Money in The Community and It Circulates
Spend that money in the community that in turn gets put back into the community by people buying groceries, bikes, surfboards, rent, clothing, other living expenses and recreation.
2) Hire Local Talent, Local Young People, Build a Tofino Web Industry
For that kind of dough, they could have hired lots of local talent and even started to create a web industry here. Young people could have been employed and who knows the ins and outs of computers better than they do? Tourism Tofino could have used that money to create a local website that really reflects local talent, not just photographery talent. Pay locals to create site, get young people involved so they can stay here in the community and work high-tech, and afford to live here.
3) Use The Wick Inn Designers in Vancouver?
Do we have to so everything The Wick does? Even use their web designers at 606 - 55 Water Street,
Vancouver, BC V6B 1A1? Did Tourism Tofino consult with any local designers before going into Vancouver? Did they even investigate what could be done with that money in and for the community? Did they talk with accommodation providers, activity providers, writiers, artistis, web experts, muli-media people to get an idea of what the community needs and can provide?
And, we don't know what The Chamber spent on their website, but we know that they didn't bother with locals either.
Idling? - Just don't
do it
Let's make Tofino an Idle-Free Zone
Idle for 6 seconds? Turn It Off!
Think about it - you're making a quick stop in at the laundry or the surf
shop or the market just for a second to pick up ________. You leave your vehicle
running because it's just a second. Well, if that's you, and you know who you
are, count to 6 as you're doing that errand because after that you're polluting
the earth for no reason whatsoever. (1)
 But
I'm using bio-diesel so I'm not polluting when I idle my vehicle. Think
again. Just because you're using bio-diesel doesn't mean that there is no cost
to that fuel. How do you think that bio-diesel gets to Tofino - by a fuel driven
truck. Are you using 100% bio-diesel or a mixture? Where do you think bio-diesel
comes from and how much fuel driven farm machinery and pesticides are used on
those crops? Who do you think grows those crops for bio-diesel - agra-business,
who are just as nice and friendly and caring about the environment as the oil
companies. So do you really think you're not harming the planet letting your vehicle
run because it's bio-diesel?
Think you need to idle your car? Read
these idling myths from the City of Burnaby, BC
In 2003, the British Columbia Provincial Health Officer’s Report estimated
the number of emergency room visits per year attributable to air pollution in
B.C. at approximately 1000. (2)
The above has been up on this site for the last two years and now we are somewhat proud to see that Tofino Council has come out with an anti-Idling Bylaw...
New Tofino Anti-Idling Bylaw
Okay, we're happy to see this bylaw since we've been trying to educate people on our own and getting the brush-off each time, and while we don't like the 60 seconds, it does beat the five minutes that Toronto allows. What we would ike to know is how is this bylaw going to be enforced? But small cudo's to council for even bringing it in and we'll see how it goes.
Read the Tofino Anti-Idling Bylaw Press Release.
Hey Warriors!
Saw your mess on the North Chesterman Bulletin board scrawled over
the map information. Also saw it on the bike path. Here's a tip - take some graffiti
painting lessons and practice. What you're doing is called vandalism,
not social action.
No Traffic Circle But How About Low Flush Toilets?
We think it's a great idea to spruce up the entrance to The Wick with a handy
dandy traffic circle. There's so much traffic there: how can all those city people
in their fancy cars quickly get to The Wick when they have to stop - it's soooo
confusing...
So the Wick really needs our help and we think that the Town should support them
- what's that you say?
Oh, right, I forgot, we already do everything they say. Well this is just one
more thing that we can do for The Wick.
Doesn't it feel good to give and to feel needed by our local elites?
We say only $360,000+?
Can't we give more to The Wick?
Drop in to the next council meeting and ask council - Can't we give more?
You're doing a pretty good job making things smooth for The Wick, but can't we
do more?
Update: The Traffic Circle was stopped by citizen turn-out to a meeting that let the council know that citizens wouldn't stand for it and fight it all the way. Yes, we are disappointed, but we're sure that there will be other ways we, as a district, can assist The Wick. How about donating low flush toilets to the famous inn?
How Much Did Tourism Tofino
Spend on a Website?
OMG - We're hearing +60,000 to start and then big chunks that have followed.
There are some wild numbers floating around. How to get to the facts? We're
trying to find out. But some big questions are needing answers:
Why
is Tourism Tofino and The Tofino Chamber Not Hiring Local Talent?
Why are they not spending their/our big bucks locally,
which then goes into other businesses in our local economy?
Why don't they take some of that money and make the
MUP by their highway office safe? See story below.
Tourism Tofino Hates Bikes!
Tofino Chamber Hates the MUP!
Yes, it's true, Tourism Tofino or The Tofino Chamber or whatever it's called
doesn't want you to bike past them on Tofino's bike path. How do we know this
- well, we are bikers (pedal-bikers not the other kind) and when we ride out
the MUP to Cox Beach or beyond a funny thing happens at the Tourism Tofino/Tofino
Chamber office.
At the Tourism Tofino/Tofino
Chamber office grounds,
the MUP bike path ends
in boulders on the path and loose gravel
and then continues after the office grounds.
When you reach the spot where the Tourism Tofino/Tofino
Chamber land is you have to dodge cars, motor homes and trucks turning in and
out of the gravel lot. Hang on to your handlebars because the paved pathway turns
to loose gravel and that's after you negotiate past the two big boulders installed
at the end of the pavement.
Much better to have bicycles wipe out than to control
the
Tourism Tofino/Tofino
Chamber traffic.
If you make it past the boulders onto the gravel and don't get hit by a vehicle,
a cyclist then has to go around the stupid grass obstacle, whoops we mean the
lovely garden feature the Tourism Tofino/Tofino Chamber has installed right where
the MUP should continue! Either you veer into the parking lot traffic area or
out by the highway to get past that grassy built-up area. Then make sure you
don't get hit again by a vehicle at this end where traffic is coming and going,
make your way past the other boulders and you've made it back to the safety of
the MUP. Whew!
At a time when more people than ever are using the MUP, you'd think that Tourism
Tofino/Tofino Chamber would lose it's arrogance and be respectful to the MUP
and it's users and be a responsible corporate citizen. Why would we use the word
arrogant with respect to Tourism Tofino/Tofino Chamber? Because we know that
years ago this issue was brought up to Tourism Tofino/Tofino
Chamber and they refused to deal with it.
And we all know they certainly have the cash on hand.
But wait you say, staff at Tourism Tofino/Tofino
Chamber ride their bikes to work. Yes, but seems they're not interested in having
anyone go past their land.
The MUP doesn't end at Tourism Tofino/Tofino
Chamber,
so why do they think they can act like it does?
What's the solution? Well Tourism Tofino/Tofino
Chamber, and Live To Surf and Tofino Botanical Gardens for that matter (even
though TBG we know you've tried a little bit to make life at your driveway safer
for MUP users), check out Clayoquot-Orca Resort. They have gone a long way to
making the entrance at their driveway safe for MUP users. No, you don't have
to pave your entire lot, just support the MUP and be a good community citizen.
Check the Tourism Tofino/Tofino
Chamber bike path, MUP photos and see for yourself.
Remember this is our opinion and we'd like to hear yours.
Feedback about the Bike Path at the Tourism Tofino
Office
09/07/13
We Believe The Chamber Can Make the Bike Path/Walking Path/MUP Safe But Doesn't For Some Reason
TTN: So what we would like to see is the Tofino Chamber/Tourism Tofino remove the big rhodos, the flag poles, and the big sign out of that biult-up green area. Put up some Stop/Watch For Bikes and Pedestrians signs in the entry/exit areas of the ubër busy parking lot. Create a path that is safe for bikers, skaters, walkers, runners, kids, dogs, surfers, etc. to use to get past your office area.
The Chamber and Tofino tourism have more money than you know what to do with (see the website) so, why won't you make a safe crossing for anything other than cars, trucks, and campers? Because it's up to the Town? Well, you're using the area and would the Town mind if you created a safe place for people to cross that area? Even the Gardens tried to clean up their area to be more safe. But you're not.
2009/04/15
You have taken the chamber to task on issues that we have no control over. We
don't "hate' the MUP, and aren't responsible for the large rocks on the
path, the municipality is. The rocks were placed on the path to keep cars from
driving down the MUP; in other words, to protect cyclists.
Same for the gravel parking lot, the property is not owned by the chamber or
Tourism Tofino, but by the municipality.
Best,
Michael Tilitzky
Executive Director
Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce
TTN: We would like to say we are happy to see your email
and the chance for a dialogue. Our wish is to rectify this siutation and if that's
your wish, then let's make it happen. Can money make this happen? You do have
a fair chunk of change don't you and wouldn't this be a good place to put some
of it?
Basically we're not buying it, sounds like a
pass the buck to us.
And while we're taking another look around this issue,
perhaps Mr Tilitzky, you would be so kind as to send us the figures
for the new websites for the Chamber and Tourism Tofino - or what
we'd really like would be a list of your big ticket items and see how much you
are actually supporting our local small businesses.
2009/04/15
Why is the bike path not paved through the Tourism Tofino site? Do you
know who made that decision?
Who actually put the boulders on the path?
Is the path public property? Can you simply push the boulders off the
path?
Email from TTN visitor.
TTN: See Mr Tilitzky's email above for some information.
Have you seen those boulders? Yes, we admit, we have tried, but they're too big
for us.
Tourism Tofino/Tofino Chamber believes the Tofino Bike
Path/MUP ends at their land.
If you don't - be prepared to weave through boulders, ride in loose gravel, negotiate
through car, motor home and truck traffic, veer around their grassy, rhododendron
obstacle either into traffic in the parking lot or on the other side by the
highway, negotiate again through more car, motor home and truck traffic, make
your way between more boulders and you've made it.
The Clayoquot-Orca Resorts likes Tofino bikers and Tofino MUP users.
Check
the Tourism Tofino/Tofino Chamber bike path, MUP photos and see for yourself.
Copper Mine in Clayoquot Sound Update
Let the exploratory games begin! Congratulations to Selkirk Mining and The
Tofino Council for the exploratory drilling permit for Catface Mountain. Beautiful
Tofino - Land of Sea, Surf and Dangerous Copper Mining! That's some protection
for a UN Biosphere. We are so proud of Mayor John Fraser, the Tofino Council
and all residents who did nothing to oppose this mining permit.
We
got gold baby!
Hey Miners! Leave Clayoquot Alone!
Will the Chemical Suit shown here soon replace the
familiar orange whale watching suits on tourists and residents in Tofino?
And
how will we fit them on all the eagles, herons, bears, whales, otters,
salmon, crabs, sea urchin, star fish, halibut and all the other birds, fish and
animals who live here?
Stop
Exploratory Drilling for Copper in Clayoquot Sound!
Vancouver-based Selkirk Metals Corporation has applied to the BC Ministry of
Mines for a permit to do exploratory drilling for copper on Catface Mountain
in Clayoquot Sound.
The potential
mine
would remove the top third of Catface Mountain. It would be located in the middle
of the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with the potential to leach toxic
chemicals into groundwater and streams, but on the other hand it will create
a beautiful industrial view for Tofino.
Exploratory drilling will be damaging, it would involve re-building/building
roads to bring in drill rigs - and once that machinery is brought in do you think
the mining company wants to remove it? or do they leave it there ready for when
the real mining kicks in?, and drill holes could leach toxic levels of heavy
metals and chemicals into groundwater and surrounding salmon streams - just one
more thing that Tofino can be proud of - we let a mining company come into a
UN Biosphere Reserve and leach heavy metals and chemicals into the streams and
groundwater. Way to go Tofino! That's where we want to spend my tourism dollars
- in a wilderness biosphere that is polluted.
What You Can Do!
It's simple - governments listen to
you if you show up in numbers. And all you have to do is send a postcard, a letter,
fax, email or phone call. Be short and to the point. Use the addresses listed
below or complete this online form and send it to all the email addresses below.
Why You Should Help. If we have to tell
you... but anyway
Tofinoites - because
you live here and it's on your watch. Are you going to let down one of the most
beautiful places in the world, the place that gives you peace and joy, the home
you love, the wilderness that brings you big bucks?
Visitors -
because Clayoquot Sound needs you and you are the paying customers who tourism
dollars can drive politicians, business owners and residents to do the right
thing. Sometimes being too close is a blinder and we need your perspective to
help us see the light.
Natives - just
because the official Ahousaht First Nation has entered into a MOU with
the mining company don't think that your voice will not be heard. We all have
representatives that do things we disagree with and TTN can't imagine that it's
in your best interest to tear away Catface for a bit of copper. How do you explain
that to future generations saying, 'at the time we got money for it and a few
jobs and today you kids get toxic waste, leaching chemicals, and a landscape
forever changed - sorry about that'.
You may alter any of the text below to suit your concerns. The text given
is only a guideline.
No one but the above politicians receive your
message. It is between you and them. True Tofino is making this form available
for you: we do not receive a copy of your email or extract any information from it.
Of course, You can always send us your thoughts, we welcome them! ohyeah@truetofinonews.com
Send your message another way
I do not want any mining or exploratory drilling on Catface Mountain in Clayoquot
Sound. I insist that Selkirk Metals application for exploratory drilling be
denied. Please reply and inform me how you are dealing with Selkirks drilling
application for Catface.
Write to:
Premier Gordon Campbell, PO Box 9041, Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC, V8W 9E1 premier@gov.bc.ca
Tel:
250-387-1715 Fax:
250-387-0087
Barry Penner, Minister of Environment, PO Box 9047, Stn Prov Govt, Victoria,
BC, V8W 9E2
env.minister@gov.bc.ca Tel:
250-387-1187 Fax:
250-387-1356
Richard Neufeld, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, PO Box 9060,
Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC, V8W 9E3 empr.minister@gov.bc.ca Tel:
250-387-5896 Fax:
250-356-2965
Kevin Krueger, Minister of State for Mining, PO Box 9070, Stn Prov Govt, Victoria,
BC, V8W 9E2
smin.minister@gov.bc.ca Tel:
250-953-4100 Fax:
250-387-1803
Mining in Clayoquot - Not a Bad Dream
When
Copper Mines used up and abandoned and still pollute - Who Pays For Clean
Up - You Do!
Province announces cleanup of abandoned open pit copper mine in Courtenay, BC
The B.C. government says an abandoned open pit copper mine in Courtenay will
be cleaned up to support the recovery of Vancouver Island fish stocks. The Mount
Washington mine operated for three years in the 1960s before it was abandoned.
By the 1980s, toxic copper leaching from the site had virtually eliminated the
salmon, trout and steelhead resource in the Tsolum River watershed.
The Tsolum River on Vancouver Island provided rich runs of coho, pink, chum
and cutthroat salmon and steelhead trout for thousands of years. The river was
rich in invertebrate life, free from silt.
... In 1964, Mt. Washington Copper moved into the upper watershed
and built an open pit mine. It went into receivership in 1966, leaving
unreclaimed pits and waste rock piles where pyrite ores lay exposed to water
and oxygen. This ore, with a high content of sulfur, quickly formed sulfuric
acid by coming
in contact with oxygen and water. A copper leachate formed
and reached the Tsolum River and from there, the Courtenay Estuary. By
1985, the River was as good as dead.
Attempts to deal with the disaster, including piling all the waste rock in
one pile and mixing it with lime, have not worked.
The copper has destroyed the fishery which used to generate $2 million per
year. It has been estimated that the cost to residents and taxpayers so far of
this environmental disaster is over $60 million.
The solution is to research and monitor water flowing from the mine to determine
all the sources of contamination, to pipe the leachate from these sources to
a water treatment plant, and to monitor and treat the problem in perpetuity.
Despite pressure from citizens groups, this has not yet happened. The estimate
to build the treatment plant is $6 million.
(from Saving the Tsolum River,by Father Charles A.E. Brandt, and Acid Mine
Drainage, by the Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia)
Wilderness
Committee predicts massive fight over plans for copper mine in Clayoquot Sound
“I could scarcely think of a more environmentally damaging project than
an open pit copper mine smack in the middle of the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere
Reserve. If the Selkirk Metals actually believes this open pit mine project will
ever see the light of day – then I think they must have rocks in their
head,” said Foy “Opposition to this project will be local, national,
global and massive,” he predicted.
Environmentalists
Vow to Fight Copper Mine in Clayoquot Sound
If mining takes place, plans include the development of a new port for container
ships, several giant open pit mines, new dams and lakes to contain the most toxic
waste products, kilometers of conveyor belts that can emit toxic dust, diesel
generator power stations, and roads - all visible from the town of Tofino and
from Ahousaht.
Some
of the World’s Richest Marine Life Threatened by Copper Mining
Copper mines similar to that proposed at Catface have horrible environmental
records. The Copper Mines at Butte Montana, for example, are the site of the
largest and most expensive toxic waste cleanup in United States history, and
cancer rates are off the charts.
The copper mine at nearby Mt. Washington, BC wiped out all five species of salmon
in the Tsolum River.
Logging in Clayoquot Sound
This information about Clayoquot Sound logging was sent to us by a reader.
Thank you very much for keeping us informed about what goes on in the depths
of Clayoquot Sound. If devastating logging happens in Clayoquot Sound but no
one's there to see it, is it really happening?
This is "Ecotrust" logging.....this
is "highgrading" old growth
cedar forests of Clayoquot Sound, this is FSC "certified". These
forests will never exist again and these ancient trees are falling
here daily. Logging is taking place by Ecotrust, Triumph Logging
out of Campbell River and Coulson out of Port Alberni. Their plans are
to log what is profitable this year, be into pristine areas next year and
then into parks, (Megin and Moyeha, etc.). Watershed management logging plans
for these areas of Clayoquot are all going ahead now. These cedars are also
what won the Meares Island court case in proving "continual use" through
culturally modified trees, the story is in the cedars.
Please
visit our sponsor for this article - Mila, Makin and Rankin Coves, Clayoquot
Sound
Challenge to All Media
Citizens, shops and restaurants are doing their part in public awareness of
the dangers of fish farms. They have done their homework and realized that fish
farms are not sustainable, healthy for or kind to Clayoquot Sound
and have stopped eating, selling or serving farmed fish. TTN has done research
and we believe that these people, shops and restaurants are correct in their
assessment.
Our
challenge to all Tofino and Ucluelet media - it's time
that you stepped up to the plate and declared your allegience. If you believe
in fish farms, keep on taking their advertising dollars and putting ads front
and center on your pages.
If you do not believe in fish farms refuse to take
their blood money and do not run their ads. And don't talk to us about censorship
- media censors advertisers all the time.
So, Westcoaster, Tofino Time and The Westerly - what
do you say?
Show a Little Respect
Respect Tip #1 - Beaches
When you take a walk on the beach pick up one piece of garbage. If we all picked
up just one piece each time we visited the beach, say a battered water bottle,
it would go a long way to keeping our beaches clean.
Why should I pick up someone else's garbage?
Because someone else may be picking up yours. None of us knows how much stuff
may fall out of our pocket, or when our dog may pooh and we don't see it, or when
something drops off our boat and we can't pick it up at the time. So, consider
that and pick up one thing next time you're walking the beach.
And surfers, if you take your dog to the beach think about it - they may pooh
and you sure won't see it, so pick up a dog pooh sometime even if it isn't your
dog's. Oh too icky! Well, get over it and do your part.
Having a picnic or bonfire - great. Just remember if you carried it in full
you can certainly carry it out empty.
Please visit our sponsor
of this article.
Keep
Going...There's More >>>
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