Environment

The B.C. environment ministry is developing a watershed security strategy to protect wetlands. (B.C. government photo)

B.C. seeks public input on new watershed protection strategy

Groundwater licence program has March 1 deadline

 

Deep Water Recovery Ltd. owns a ship-breaking company in Union Bay. File photo

Global coalition calls for halt to Vancouver Island shipbreaking operation

Belgium-based group joins lobby concerned about the demolition of old ships in Union Bay

 

The Concerned Citizens of Baynes Sound included this photo of two ships parked in Union Bay in a presentation to the Electoral Area Services Committee. The photo shows the shipbreaking occurring on the water, which CCOBS said violates the Ministry of Forests (FLNR) foreshore lease. Photo supplied

Neighbours call B.C. shipbreaking operation a ‘disaster waiting to happen’

A group dubbed Concerned Citizens of Baynes Sound (CCOBS) is pressing the…

 

The remains of a cut block is seen in the Fairy Creek logging area near Port Renfrew, B.C. Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Activists pledge to block Trans Canada Highway off-ramps to protest old-growth logging

Extinction Rebellion is among groups organizing campaign

The remains of a cut block is seen in the Fairy Creek logging area near Port Renfrew, B.C. Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
King tides encroach on Imperial Lane homes in Ucluelet on Jan. 2.

King tides surge along Tofino and Ucluelet coastline

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve urges residents and visitors to be CoastSmart

King tides encroach on Imperial Lane homes in Ucluelet on Jan. 2.
A hungry gull picks away at a dead salmon on the banks of the Goldstream River. The Goldstream Hatchery saw far fewer chum salmon than exected this year due to weather extremes, experts say. (Black Press Media file photo)

Goldstream Hatchery salmon program hit hard by ‘perfect storm’

First drought, then flooding decimate chum numbers in West Shore spawning river

A hungry gull picks away at a dead salmon on the banks of the Goldstream River. The Goldstream Hatchery saw far fewer chum salmon than exected this year due to weather extremes, experts say. (Black Press Media file photo)
Bill Coltart, president of Campbell River Association of Tour Operators (CRATO), as debris the organization has collected from local shorelines and sorted is loaded onto a transport truck for recycling. Photo by Sean Feagan / Campbell River Mirror. Bill Coltart, president of Campbell River Association of Tour Operators (CRATO), as debris the organization has collected from local shorelines and then sorted is loaded onto a truck to be transported for recycling. Photo by Sean Feagan / Campbell River Mirror.

Vancouver Island shorelines scrubbed cleaner thanks to tour operator-led project

Campbell River Association of Tour Operators lead removal of 37 tonnes of debris over 350 kilometres

Bill Coltart, president of Campbell River Association of Tour Operators (CRATO), as debris the organization has collected from local shorelines and sorted is loaded onto a transport truck for recycling. Photo by Sean Feagan / Campbell River Mirror. Bill Coltart, president of Campbell River Association of Tour Operators (CRATO), as debris the organization has collected from local shorelines and then sorted is loaded onto a truck to be transported for recycling. Photo by Sean Feagan / Campbell River Mirror.
Participants of the ghost gear recovery training program in November. Photo courtesy Joan Drinkwin. Participants of the ghost gear recovery training program in November 2021. Photo courtesy Joan Drinkwin.

Diver training helping B.C. get to the bottom of its ‘ghost gear’ problem

Training part of federal government program targeting lost fishing gear in Canadian waters

Participants of the ghost gear recovery training program in November. Photo courtesy Joan Drinkwin. Participants of the ghost gear recovery training program in November 2021. Photo courtesy Joan Drinkwin.
Two tugboats and a supply vessel will be part of East Sooke’s Western Canada Marine Response base. The tugs will escort oil tankers through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. (Contributed - Trans Mountain)

Deal inked for tugs to escort oil tankers through Strait of Juan de Fuca

East Sooke-based vessels part of $150-million expansion by Western Canada Marine Response Centre

Two tugboats and a supply vessel will be part of East Sooke’s Western Canada Marine Response base. The tugs will escort oil tankers through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. (Contributed - Trans Mountain)
A fan photo of Cole Sprouse in Langley, where parts of Netflix’s show Riverdale have been filmed. (Submitted photo)

Riverdale star fundraising for B.C. environmental groups with sale of his photo prints

Cole Sprouse, Jughead in the Archie Comics spin-off show, also an avid photographer

A fan photo of Cole Sprouse in Langley, where parts of Netflix’s show Riverdale have been filmed. (Submitted photo)
A rockfish. Courtesy Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance.

Researchers uncover and map biological hotspots of B.C.’s Central Coast

Rich groups of rockfish, sponges and corals found, including in fjords and inland channels

A rockfish. Courtesy Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance.
United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney addresses supporters in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, April 16, 2019. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Environmentalists threaten Alberta Premier Kenney with lawsuit over inquiry remarks

‘If Premier Kenney doesn’t follow the good advice of his lawyers, he will be served’

United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney addresses supporters in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, April 16, 2019. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
Amid the muck, France Bournazel, left, and Tammy Calverley try to lighten the mood during intense ongoing clean-up from flood waters at the Russell Farm Market. (Photo by Don Bodger)

Russell Farm staff in quick clean-up mode to reopen business after flood

Volunteers pitching in to help operation get going again

Amid the muck, France Bournazel, left, and Tammy Calverley try to lighten the mood during intense ongoing clean-up from flood waters at the Russell Farm Market. (Photo by Don Bodger)
Fresh cut sawdust is seen from a tree cut from a cut block near the Òheli campÓ in Fairy Creek logging area near Port Renfrew, B.C. Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C. forest company says rule of law must apply to ongoing protests at Fairy Creek

Teal Cedar Products seeking to extend injunction against blockades through court appeal

Fresh cut sawdust is seen from a tree cut from a cut block near the Òheli campÓ in Fairy Creek logging area near Port Renfrew, B.C. Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, second left, and Mark Carney take part in a panel discussion on carbon pricing at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made many policy announcements across the pond at the COP26 climate summit in Scotland, a new poll hints at how Canadians feel about those developments. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Most Canadians support the federal government’s climate policy announcements: poll

69% support Canada’s summit announcement

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, second left, and Mark Carney take part in a panel discussion on carbon pricing at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made many policy announcements across the pond at the COP26 climate summit in Scotland, a new poll hints at how Canadians feel about those developments. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Clumps of seaweed washing up along the beach off Dallas Road can provide a unique food source to certain types of insects. (Jane Skrypnek/News Staff)

Vancouver Island beach seaweed part of largely uncharted ecosystem

Washed-up seaweed feeds insects unknown to any other ecosystem, says RBCM researcher

Clumps of seaweed washing up along the beach off Dallas Road can provide a unique food source to certain types of insects. (Jane Skrypnek/News Staff)
Someone onshore documents the position of a load of refrigerators that made it to shore near Cape Scott after more than 100 containers fell off the M/V Zim Kingston container ship in late October. (PHOTO COURTESY CDN. COAST GUARD)

Zim Kingston container spill clean-up continues as coastal concerns question response

Vancouver Island beaches clearing of MV Zim Kingston debris, local resources feel ignored

Someone onshore documents the position of a load of refrigerators that made it to shore near Cape Scott after more than 100 containers fell off the M/V Zim Kingston container ship in late October. (PHOTO COURTESY CDN. COAST GUARD)
Conservation photographer TJ Watt has won the Trebek Initiative grant and named a National Geographic Explorer and Royal Geographic Society Explorer for his work to protect B.C.’s old-growth forests. (Contributed - TJ Watt)

Champion of Vancouver Island old-growth forests wins prestigious honours

Photographer TJ Watt earns Trebek Initiative grant, named a National Geographic Explorer

Conservation photographer TJ Watt has won the Trebek Initiative grant and named a National Geographic Explorer and Royal Geographic Society Explorer for his work to protect B.C.’s old-growth forests. (Contributed - TJ Watt)
A wildfire-scorched sequoia tree stands on a hillside, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, in Sequoia Crest, Calif. Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is planting sequoia seedlings in the area. The effort led by the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit trying to preserve the genetics of the biggest old-growth trees, is one of many extraordinary measures being taken to save giant sequoias that were once considered nearly fire-proof and are in jeopardy of being wiped out by more intense wildfires. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Hope after wildfire: Tiny sequoias could grow into giants

Measures underway to save trees at risk of being wiped out by more intense wildfires

A wildfire-scorched sequoia tree stands on a hillside, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, in Sequoia Crest, Calif. Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is planting sequoia seedlings in the area. The effort led by the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit trying to preserve the genetics of the biggest old-growth trees, is one of many extraordinary measures being taken to save giant sequoias that were once considered nearly fire-proof and are in jeopardy of being wiped out by more intense wildfires. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A tug boat cools the hull of the MV Zim Kingston Oct. 24 as crews work to control the ship’s fire. (Courtesy Canadian Coast Guard) A tug boat cools the hull of the MV Zim Kingston Oct. 24 as crews work to control the ship’s fire. (Courtesy Canadian Coast Guard)

Ship that lost 109 containers near Victoria is now stable: operator

Remaining containers safe and will be unloaded once a port of call has been identified

A tug boat cools the hull of the MV Zim Kingston Oct. 24 as crews work to control the ship’s fire. (Courtesy Canadian Coast Guard) A tug boat cools the hull of the MV Zim Kingston Oct. 24 as crews work to control the ship’s fire. (Courtesy Canadian Coast Guard)