The Rock Report - June 2008 

SUN's president was invited to and attended the Lily Point Conservation Ceremony in Point Roberts, Washington, directly across Boundary Bay from the western shores of Crescent Rock beach on June 4th.  The Whatcom Land Trust, using private money and government grants to buy and preserve environmentally and historically important properties for long-term preservation spent $3.5 million to purchase Lily Point at the southeast corner of the peninsula. The property includes 90 acres of undeveloped shoreline forest and 40 acres of tidelands, all of which will be preserved from future development.  This ceremony prominently featured the Lummi Nation who have historically used these rich fishing grounds for generations and who were extremely thankful for the community support on both sides of the border that made it all possible.   

 Members of Lummi Nation at Lily Point ceremony

 

Being excluded from being a participant in World Ocean's Day didn't stop SUN executives from attending this festival billed by Surrey as an 'environmental extravaganza.'  Of all of the environmental and community groups allowed to present their material, not one of SUN's environmental concerns were addressed by anyone in attendance.  This included Friends of Semiahmoo Bay who are supposed to be focused on protecting the waters offshore from the south Surrey/White Rock peninsula.  SUN will instead be showcasing our resume of environmental credits and concerns on Crescent Rock Beach Day (see Events) that can also be viewed by perusing the archived copies of the monthly Rock Report. 

On leaving Blackie Spit and Crescent Beach in search of more accepting and tolerant folks, we found the road leaving this hamlet blocked by a Union Pacific freight train heading south into the United States on the BNSF line with empty coal cars.  Since the first test run of U.S. coal coming north from Utah there has been a steady increase in coal traffic across Crescent Rock beach.  Westshore Terminals, the coal loading facility located at Roberts Bank, has informed SUN that there are now 8-12 movements per month which of course means 16-24 extra trains on these tracks.  This is in addition to the 60 extra Amtrak passings per month that are scheduled to start this summer.  With increasing world-wide demand for this energy product, SUN has been told that the number of coal trains will likely rise in the near future.  The residents of White Rock would be advised to start watching for tell-tale signs of coal dust infiltration into their seaside homes and the relating breathing difficulties and health problems that accompany the fine particulate pollution that floats off the open rail cars.

Union Pacific coal train blocking access to Crescent Beach

 

To celebrate WOD, SUN members instead went to Acadia beach in Vancouver and took part in a research study involving surf smelt, looking for their eggs and inventorying possible habitat for these important feeder fish.  SUN would like to thank Judy Williams of WBPS for inviting us to be part of this important study that is focusing on the overfishing of this important species that was seen later in the month jumping from the water in the very same areas we were testing.  SUN will be pressing DFO to put some controls on the overfishing of this species that is now occuring on many beaches throughout the Lower Mainland. 

 

The CBC broke the news that the city of Surrey had been conducting a beaver cull program, hiring a trapper to kill 40 beavers last winter with the controversial Conibear body-holding trap.  SUN took this opportunity to bring publicity to this killing of beavers and the subsequent destruction of wetland habitat by altering the historic 'Welcome to Surrey' signs on the freeway and highway entrances to the city.  This was done by the simple addition of red duct tape lightly adhered over the city's former beaver mascot, along with a green coreplast sign painted with the slogan 'The Beaver Dies Here' that was stapled to the wood.  Needless to say the media storm and public support that followed this Greenpeace styled stunt was overwhelming.  This story went across Canada where a group of concerned citizens used the same approach to bring attention to the University of New Brunswick's beaver trapping program on the UNB Woodlot.  Unbelieveably, UNB has 2 beavers on their emblem holding a book of knowledge with the latin phrase 'Dare to be wise' that was altered to read "Dead is not Wise."

 

Truth in advertising, "The Beaver Dies Here"

 

SUN is now campaigning for Surrey to eliminate their new logo which looks like several stacked concrete cinder blocks along with its slogan 'The Future Lives Here' which has nothing to do with Surrey and sounds more like a real estate pitch for developers selling condos in Whalley.  We believe the beaver was a more liked mascot by Surrey residents and the former slogan 'The City of Parks' was more appropriate and should not have been replaced.  In their quest for developer dollars, Surrey's council seems to be focused on paving paradise to put up a parking lot while destroying Surrey's history and heritage along with its wildlife and their habitat. 

 

On a related story SUN members were able to find the carved beaver that once stood so proudly in front of Surrey City hall.  It was left to rot exposed to the elements atop a shipping container in the Parks Department works yard.  One other carving looks to have been destroyed along Hwy. 99 at the Peace Arch crossing where border service offices are being built.  The last remaining wooden beaver is at the Clayton Hills Lawn Bowling field which SUN has brought to the attention of Surrey's Heritage Advisory Committee.  SUN has offered to paint the historic 'Welcome to Surrey' signs which the city has allowed to fall into a state of disrepair.  We're still waiting to hear back from the Mayor's office if we will be given permission to do this community service work.

  

Once proud Surrey beaver carving

 

There was an extremely important change in focus at SmartRail this month.  While they were the first community group to call for the BNSF's relocation to a safer location away from the waters of Boundary Bay and the slide-prone Ocean Park bluffs, their proposed new railway route differed from SUN's.  For years SmartRail has endorsed repositioning this rail line south from Cloverdale near 184th St., then heading west near 2nd Av., crossing the border at Pacific Hwy.  SmartRail's executive announced they had changed this idea and are now endorsing twinning the new freight line with the high-speed rail planned for between Vancouver and Seattle that will bypass White Rock entirely, likely being placed parallel to the Hwy. 99/ I-5 Freeway corridor.  We look forward to working together with SmartRail now that they have gotten "on board" with this concept that naturists have championed since SUN was formed.