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| Bald Eaglets on Saltspring Island, July 2015 |
The Gulf Islands, in British Columbia, lying off the Eastern coast of Vancouver Island, are of outstanding natural beauty and ecological importance. Eagles soar above Arbutus and Cedar, and Orca whales fish in the Southern areas.
In 2010 National Geographic Traveler gave these islands top rating for destination stewardship, citing a "Wonderful mix of breathtaking scenery, functioning local communities, and a close-to-the-ground tourism experience.” I'm surprised. What I witnessed in my latest visit there was negligence and decay.
The islanders are laid back, smiling and very pleasant. They think they are protecting the environment, but their demeanors change when you start to suggest they clean up their individual acts a little. Clear cutting seems to be the norm here - you buy a piece of pristine property (prices seem to have gone down recently), get rid of as many trees as you like to create a waterscape view, sell the wood, then erect or half-erect anything you like: trailers, piles of refuse, unfinished "building projects".
Rusting hulks fill the island harbors.
The rest of BC hardly helps them. Logging masters BC. Pulp mills pollute the air. Anchored tankers grace the sounds. Overfishing depletes Chinook salmon (the Orca staple).
Canada has become environmentally unconscious, it seems.
Sad, for such a breathtaking land.
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