A rally will take place in Qualicum Beach Friday morning, March 25, with prominent environmental activist Betty Krawczyk and other local organizations, with a message to government that action rather than talk needs to happen to save endangered Coastal Douglas Fir (CDF) forests.
The rally is coinciding with workshops held by The Ministry of Natural Resource Operations, aiming to raise awareness, present success stories and encourage shared stewardship of CDF land.
“It’s really a matter of getting the government to move forward and that’s why the rally is going to be held, to support the idea (of the workshops) but make sure there is going to be some action behind it,” said Annette Tanner with the Mid-Island Wilderness Committee.
Tanner said she doesn’t expect to learn anything new, but she and members of the Wilderness Committee and the Arrowsmith Parks and Land Use Council will be talking about saving more government-controlled CDF land and acquiring private CDF lands.
Currently CDF ecosystems are largely located on private land, with only about nine per cent on Crown land, under provincial jurisdiction.
Following the workshop, Krawczyk will join a public tour of some of the local threatened CDF forests, being led by the Wilderness Committee and APLUC members. Sturdy footwear is needed.
This will be the third workshop on the CDF that the government has held on the Island.
The rally begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Qualicum Beach Community Hall and the workshop runs from 9 a.m. to noon.
Meet for the tour at 1 p.m. at the Qualicum Beach Community Hall.