Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Last April, Cortes Island became part of an international monitoring project for Dungeness crab larvae. There were 20 light trap stations stations in the Salish Sea and 17 in the Puget Sound. Three of these traps were within our listening area. Surge Narrows School had a trap on Read Island. The Hakai Institute and Quadra Island community had another on Quadra Island. Kate Maddigan and Mike Moore coordinated volunteers looking after the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) trap in Cortes Bay.

“Hakai and the Pacific Northwest Crab Monitoring Group are working in concert with each other to provide data as to what is happening to the larval Dungeons Crab populations. It's been happening in Puget Sound for a few years. They have about five years of data down. Dungeness Crab fishing is one of the most lucrative and important crab fisheries on the coast. Catches have been diminishing, this is an effort to find out why,” explained Moore.

He added that the first phase of this project came to an end in August.

“Our Cortes Bay trap had very promising results to start with, then the warm fresh water layer moved in. That warm fresh water layer is what makes Desolation Sound so famous and warm for swimming in, but it doesn't support marine life very well. In fact, if you jump into the water, in say July, and swim down sometimes 7 meters that's where you're going to find the moon jelly fish. They're not up in the warm, fresh water. Our trap that floats at the surface was encapsulated by this warm fresh water and our results really diminished.”

They only caught a handful of ‘statistically valuable’ megalope (the stage the young Dungeness Crabs become recognizable as crabs).

“The day we caught the most didn't count. We had pulled the trap, I'd taken off the bottom and emptied it into our container to count. We're looking at the Pipefish and the big Polychaete Worms and all that sort of thing, looking for crab larva,” said Moore

“We didn't find any and then (my son) Fergus Walker, who was with me that day, goes, ‘What's that?’ and I look on the outside of the trap and we counted, I think it was 44 Dungeness Crab megalope. Those are the first ones we caught, but they didn't count because they weren't inside the trap. It's not statistically significant because it weren't inside the trap, but for us it was pretty significant.”

According to the Light Trap Station map, on Hakai’s Sentinels of Change website, 11 Dungeness Crab megalope were caught on Quadra, 20 on Read and 74 on Cortes Island.

The teams posted pictures of other larvae they captured on the Hakai website.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents -A number of Cortes Island residents recognized a familiar face directing traffic at the Whaletown Ferry terminal last month. Mind you, Mike Moore is better known from the days he sailed the Misty Isles than as the Mate on a BC Ferry. He was in Alert Bay when Cortes Currents caught up to him, but let's go back to the beginning.

“I was waiting in line in Campbell River on a hot May or April day, when I saw in the media how BC fairies was struggling. I was looking over at Quathiaski Cove, seeing the two ferries there, one of which was not running. It's promised to be running, but it wasn't yet and the reason why it isn't is partially because of staffing problems. I just went, ‘Ah man, this is a good form of community service that I can step up to,’” explained Moore.

“I was professionally trained as a Mariner at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney, Nova Scotia after quite a few years of fishing experience here on the West Coast. I did the four year officer Cadet program from 1986 and graduated in1990 and then worked as navigation officer on the Coast Guard ships out of Victoria until 1997, which is when I got out of the Coast Guard and picked up Misty Isles. I believe I received one of the finest educations in maritime science and navigation that you can get and I continue to use it. Celestial navigation just went into star talks for me, and in just navigating Misty Isles and other vessels. I've always had that ticket in my back pocket.”

There have been a lot of technological and even operational changes since Moore worked on a ship, but he still has a chief mate certificate and a 500 ton master certificate.

“Those are valuable, and ferries recognize that. It's been a very steep learning curve for me, but at this stage in my life, having let go of Misty Isles, having let go of a lot of things, I am in a position where I could just step up and go, 'All right, let's do this.’"

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Contrary to what a lot of people believe, Mark Vonesch is not yet the Regional Director for Cortes Island. That will happen on November 9, when he and the other Directors are all sworn in at the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) building in Campbell River. In today’s interview Vonesch talks about some of the preparations, the first things he hopes to accomplish as our director and his new Alternate Director.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A great deal has transpired in the decade since the city of Campbell River adopted its current transportation plan. Last Februray, Transportation Specialist Melissa Heidema informed Cortes Currents that they were drawing up a new plan. Phase one is now complete.

In today’s interview, Heidema and Long Range Planning and Sustainability Manager Jason Locke give us a peek into what they accomplioshed.

“It's obviously an exciting time to be looking at transportation in Campbell River and planning ahead for the future for 25 years and of course there's so much more of an emphasis on climate change and being better for the environment,” said Heidema.

“We're putting a lot more emphasis on how do we get people more people to walk, bike and bus. How do we build that safe and comfortable infrastructure to try to encourage that. Also recognizing that in Campbell River we still have a lot of people that either want to drive or need to drive. So how do we accommodate that as well?“

Locke added, “I think the primary goal for the review and update of the master transportation plan is to review, as residents, how do we move around the city, whether by walking, cycling, transit, or by vehicle? Making it safe and comfortable for people to move around the city. Continuing to address traffic flow, so we have efficient traffic flow and efficient movement of goods and services, but continuing to prioritize pedestrian movement and the safety of pedestrians.”

The city hired the WATT Consulting Group out of Victoria to do a study. Phase one consisted of reviewing existing conditions, and collecting data from the public. 404 people filled out a survey, which both online and at a booth in Campbell River’s Farmers Market. Another 45 came through the Ideas Fair at Campbell River Commuity Centre (July 6 - Aug 6).

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - According to Lisa Ferentinos, people were leaving their small boats along the beach in Manson's Landing Provincial Park before there was a park.

“I can't imagine there's ever been a time when people weren't putting their boats on that beach. It's been generations, and I can only assume pre-European contact there were many boats on that beach. I know, since the settlers have been here, it's been a very popular beach for many people,” she said.

Suddenly on Monday, October 17, a red sticker was put on every boat along the beach. The accompanying notices stated, “This item/vessel is being stored in contravention of Section 17(1) of the Park, Conservancy and Recreation Area Regulation. It is required that this item/vessel be removed from Mansons Landing Provincial Park within 30 days of the date of issuance noted below. Failure to comply with this order will result in the removal and destruction of the item/vessel as described in Section 3 (3) of the Park, Conservancy and Recreation Area Regulation.”

Cortes Currents contacted the BC Parks Area Supervisor, who asked that any media questions regarding the storage of boats at Manson’s Landing be forwarded to their Media Contact. Unfortunately, he was not able to respond in time for this broadcast.

However a possible explanation for Park’s attitude may be found in a report and largely forgotten public meeting at Mansons Hall just prior to COVID.

A boat owner, who does not wish to speak publicly at this time, emailed Cortes Currents, “Parks have their hands full. We need to build a good relationship with them.”

Another boat owner, who also wishes to remain anonymous, said he found the manner in which boats are being barred from the beach disturbing and stressed the need for more community input in these matters.

“There was no public notice given. I'm especially concerned about people that aren't here right now. Some are residents. A lot of ‘water access only’ people keep their boats on the beach, and they're gone for the season. They have no idea there's a sticker on their boat and I don't know how to contact them. That's why we put the notice on the Tideline to say, ‘Hey, if you've got a boat down there, you probably now have a sticker on it and you might wan to figure out what's going on,’” explained Ferentinos.

“The Rangers have been absent from the park for a while. I don't know if that's due to covid or staff shortages or both, but they seem to have just showed up back on the scene and are understandably concerned about a lot of the mess along the beach front. I'm all for cleaning up derelict and abandoned stuff and trash that's left along the beach, and would love to help out with that as long as we can have a dialogue about where to keep boats.”

“I just find that the way it was done was inadequate. There needs to be some public discussion about the park in general and how we can better care for the park. I think most people that keep their boats down there really love that place and want to repair any environmental damage that's happening there, but also want to be able to continue to enjoy it. We just need to figure out how, what's the balance there? How do we make this work?”

Ferentinos concluded, “That is going to require conversation with BC Parks about it. They didn't start off in the friendliest way, so there's people that are angry about it. I'm hoping that we can turn that into action and have a constructive dialogue with the parks folks.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - According to Linda Bernicki, Director of Rural Health and Wellness at the  Rural Development Network, “Housing is a human right and just not housing, safe and stable housing is a human right. So if I'm in housing that doesn't have any heat or running water, then I'm denied a basic human right, and it takes all levels of government and all levels of society to work together to start to develop responses that is going to limit and homelessness.”

In the concluding episode of a series about the recent housing needs survey, Bernicki and her colleague Emma Wallace spoke about solutions.

Bernicki does not believe the housing crisis can be blamed on the government’s decision to stop building affordable housing back in the 1970s.

“That conversation continues to be had in 2022 and homelessness is increasing. So it looks to me like all levels of government, and society in general, haven't been doing a very good job at working together,” she said.

Wallace added, “Rural communities across Canada are struggling with issues of housing and homelessness. We actually were really thrilled and we really commend Strathcona Regional District (SRD) for taking the opportunity to do this assessment to get a better sense of the picture of homelessness in their area and really start to work to implement that. We're really thankful to the  Campbell River & District Coalition to End Homelessness and the Urban Indigenous Housing and Wellness Coalition for their support in the project. To everyone who responded to the survey, the community members and residents in the SRD are entirely what made this project possible. Without their help and their information, we wouldn't be able to do a project like this.”

427 surveys were completed in the SRD. More than a quarter came from Cortes Island and there was a significant number from Quadra Island.

A number of Cortes land owners said they would need zoning changes and/or financial support for a secondary dwelling or rental unit on their property.

“Several people also noted that they would be willing if the tenant had their own tiny home,” explained Wallace. “Also high on the list, a lot of folks believe that more education around what a secondary dwelling would look like on their property.”

Most Quadra respondents felt more creative housing options were needed.

“That's tiny homes, carriage houses, dock homes and income based affordable rental units,” said Wallace. “Additionally, folks suggested an empty homes tax.”

These two answers — making it easier to have a rental unit and an empty homes tax — were mentioned throughout the SRD.

Wallace added, “We don't have an exact number of the people who stayed in transitional housing, but what we do know is that 49 people in Cortes and 13 in Quadra were either emergency sheltered or provisionally accommodated.”

This means anything from couch surfing, to staying in an abandoned building or some kind of shelter.

“There are not many transitional housing units open right now in the Strathcona Regional District. So I think it's fair to say that very few of those folks are staying in transitional housing. One of the goals of this project was to get a better sense of whether folks would be interested in staying in transitional housing. Once we have that information, service providers across the region can use that information to advocate for housing support,” said Wallace.

“One of the big things when we look at housing is actually also the services that we provide to folks who are struggling with housing. They go hand in hand. One of the things that we've recommended is to advocate for accessible and affordable community services.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The outgoing Strathcona Regional District Board held its final meeting on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. This is the first time that most of the Directors have met around the table since the pandemic began. They shared their thoughts about the election and the preceding term, at a Directors Roundtable.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -More than 11,000 Pink Salmon are said to have returned to the Ahta River this September. This is more fish than the river has seen for many years and Alexandra Morton believes this is because Glacier Falls and Burdwood salmon farms were removed from their migration route.

She is not the only one suggesting that this year’s numbers are a result of removing salmon farms from the Broughton Archipelago. In August, Chief Bob Chamberlain of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance told the Vancouver Sun they haven’t seen these numbers in decades.

Ruth Salmon, Interim Executive Director at the BC Salmon Farmers Association, calls this statement a mixture of ‘misrepresentation’ and ‘speculation.’

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - In the concluding episode from Noba Anderson's Exit Interview, she talks about 14 Years of Change on Cortes Island

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Cortes Housing Society has made some important steps towards making the Rainbow Ridge affordable housing project shovel ready. They received a $99,000 grant for the associated trail network and are close to closing the sale of their Gregg Road property. They have applied for two more grants, the final report on housing insecurity in our area is now available and the new plans for the Rainbow Ridge affordable housing project are about to be unveiled.

“I'll keep you posted as far as our town hall meeting for around the middle of November, when we want to share the new site plans, the dwelling plans, and the landscape plan,” said Executive Director Sandra Wood.

The Cortes Housing Society, Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) and Southern Cortes Community Association (SCCA) jointly received a $99,000 grant from the Community Foundations of Canada Healthy Communities Initiative.

“The plan is to connect those three properties more efficiently and beautifully so that people can walk from the Health Centre through the Rainbow Ridge property into the CCEDA property next door and ultimately to and from Mansons Hall. It's an east west corridor connection that doesn't exist right now and is a way to keep people off of Beasley Road if they want to have a more pleasant forest experience. We'll create a more vibrant village core and have more connection between our three adjacent properties,” explained Wood.

Some of the money will be used to renovate the old deck on Manson's Hall, which is starting to show signs of wear and doesn't have ramp access for people with mobility challenges. The SCCA is going to make improvements to their outdoor spaces.

Wood added, “We’re hoping that there'll be enough money, as well, to make improvements on the cemetery road end of the existing trail at the South end of the Rainbow Ridge property. We'd really like to reroute that to higher ground so that it's not so wet in the winter and to better connect with the Siskin Forest Trail head, so that people don't get lost when they're trying to get from Siskin Forest into Rainbow Ridge.”

The contract for this work has not yet been awarded, but Wood said there were a number of qualified contractors on Cortes Island.

They may use gravel in sections that have drainage issues, but it is an expensive resource and most of the trail will be finished with wood chips.

Wood said a lot of this will come from the trees and tree limbs that will be removed.

“The timing of that healthy community's initiative couldn't be better in that finally the rains have arrived on Cortes. That's going to reduce the fire risk, as far as dropping trees for the new trail route. It also means that the bird migration is almost over, as far as them heading south for the winter. Our plan always was to do the trail work through the winter months, so that we would not impact the bird nesting. Our plan is to have that finished by April 1, 2023, before they come back looking to build their new nests,” explained Wood.

Earlier this year, she informed Cortes Currents the Cortes Housing Society had been given a property on the corner of Gregg and Sutil Point Roads. They intend to sell this plot to raise capital for the Rainbow Ridge project. A prospective buyer has come forward and agreed to pay the $200,000 asking price.

“We are hoping that the sale is going to close this week. It's between the lawyers right now, and the paperwork is hopefully being completed. I should be able to tell you who the new owner is next week,” said Wood.