Thank you to everyone who responded to my question about Maple Mountain on Tuesday! It’s great to see photos of everyone out enjoying the forest.

This week, I wanted to take an initial look at the ongoing protests happening at Goldstream Park in opposition to a proposed highway safety improvement project that would widen a portion of the Malahat Highway that runs through the park. According to the province, widening the road would allow the installation of a median to make this stretch safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. However, the road will remain only two lanes. 

But the protestors say the safety improvements could come at a significant cost. An environmental assessment prepared for the province highlights that critical habitat for salmon, birds, bats and other animals that rely on the riparian area would be impacted and disrupted by heavy equipment, rock blasting and temporary damming of the river during construction.

W̱SÁNEĆ Elder ZȺWIZUT (Carl Olsen) from Tsartlip First Nation, one of the original protestors, told me that harming this habitat, and the wildlife that lives there, would be a loss for future generations who would miss out on the chance to experience these species in their natural environment. 

You can hear more from ZȺWIZUT in the story here.

I hope you enjoy this first look at the project. We plan to continue our coverage and dig a bit deeper as the story develops.

Have a great weekend! 

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Check out our list of salmon viewing spots here.

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“You kill the salmon, you kill the orca”: Protestors push back against Malahat highway improvement project

For three years, protestors have been calling on the province to rethink a highway improvement project that could threaten salmon runs and the ecosystem they rely on.

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