Documentary Reflection

July 13, 2024 By: Heather Prohaska

Here is a success story of how people can come together to improve and maintain important ecosystems through dedication and hard work. The issue of fish habitats being destroyed due to continued development drove organizations and governments to work together to make changes. The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s West Coast, individuals, various foundations, and Environment & Climate Change Canada came together to purchase a 248-hectare piece of land on Carey Island to preserve Salmon and Sturgeon habitats. The article is recent, and it is encouraging to see something of this magnitude come together. It is stated that humans have altered 90% of the gravel shoreline between Mission and Hope for some form of development. The purchase of this land will provide spawning grounds for both Salmon and Sturgeon. It is mentioned that a plan like this has been worked on for many years and is finally coming to be.

The article also states how the Sto:lo Nation works with conservation groups to conserve and preserve salmon habitats, which is all part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is also noted that this stretch of river is one of the most productive in all the world. So, it is a great success to see the purchase of this land go through so that fish habitat can be preserved.

The biggest act of civic disobedience in B.C. was in Fairy Creek, B.C., in 2021. People stood up to protect old-growth forests. It was a big deal! The government of B.C. spent $19 million on enforcement. They had swat teams and police arresting and removing people.
It drew attention to the logging of old-growth forests.
An article, The Fallout of Fairy Creek (2021), notes how, from the Fairy Creek protest, logging of old growth has been deferred in 11 areas, accumulating to 2.1 million hectares that are stalled. The government has also decreased old growth logging by 42%. These are small successes that need to be noted.

During the Fairy Creek protest, I know two teens who asked their mother, “What is that all about.” The mom didn’t know, so she told her kids I will go see. She packed her car and drove to Vancouver Island to see what was happening. She saw firsthand the amount of money being spent by the government on enforcement and could not believe it. She saw the protestors and the police. She commented how some police were doing the job they had been instructed to do regardless of their stance on the issue. This mother was so inspired by what she saw that she came home, shared it with her family, and decided to run for village counsellor so she could have more of an impact locally on the environment at home, specifically protecting old-growth forests in her hometown. She was successful and is now a counsellor who takes her environmental perspective to all issues that come to her attention. So, civic disobedience can impact people into action. It was sad to read how the protestors felt they hadn’t succeeded. They may not have saved that particular area, but their actions have brought attention across Canada to the need for policy change. Logging differed is a step in the right direction; decreasing old-growth logging is another positive. I would like to see a different attitude come out of civil disobedience: looking at what we can do next, not what we have failed to do. Then, people move on to making these changes a reality.

Bibliography

Meissner, Dirk. “Conservancy buys island in B.C.’s Fraser Rover to protect Salmon.” CBC News: British Columbia. July 8, 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fraser-river-island-purchase-salmon-1.7257260

Oudshoorn, Kieran. “The fallout of fairy Creek.” CBCRADIOONE, June 21, 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/radiointeractives/features/the-fallout-of-fairy-creek