Last Thursday over 250 people jammed into the auditorium at Edward Milne Community School to have a say about the proposed development beside the Juan de Fuca Trail.

Of the over 40 people spoke to the town hall meeting, with over 35 people expressing concerns about the project. 

The meeting heard from a broad range of citizens who voiced many serious concerns. People spoke about their experience on the trail and their love of its wild beauty. People spoke about the potential impacts of the proposed development on tourism, wildlife and on our way of life. People spoke out about the type of community we want to build for future generations and the message was clear: this is not the time or the place for a mega-resort development like the one Ender Ilkay is proposing.

The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail and the surrounding forestlands are a regional gem, drawing over 300,000 tourists a year. The proposed development -- 250 vacation homes, a restaurant, recreational facilities and even a helicopter pad -- will forever destroy the beauty and the remoteness of the trail.

While I am not sure if Mr. Ilkay and his team were swayed by the passionate display of opposition, I do hope that Mr. Hicks and the elected officials at the CRD are paying close attention to the level of concerns being expressed. Either way we are going to keep making noise until they hear us.

On March 16, raise your voice with us. We are organizing a phone call blitz to let members of the CRD board know how we feel about development in the Juan de Fuca forestlands. There will be calling stations up from 11am-2pm at Mountain Equipment Co-op, UVIC, Camosun. You can either join us in person, or call in from your own home. You can find all the details here on our website.

This issue affects the entire region – if not all of Vancouver Island. We need to make sure that the entire CRD board hears about our concerns!

On that note, we have been asking for an Open House meeting in Victoria but so far the CRD isn't biting on that proposal. So we are hosting our own!

On March 22, we will be inviting Ender Ilkay and the CRD to an open house we are organizing! Join us from 7-9 at First Metropolitan United Church, 932 Balmoral Road.

Over the next couple months we will continue to build momentum in the campaign to save the Juan de Fuca Trail. We will continue to have conversations about the type of community we want to build for the future. We will continue to stand against urban sprawl, and stand up for sustainable communities and our provincal parks.

Tria Donaldson | Pacific Coast Campaigner
Wilderness Committee