On June 8 2023, Duncan BC's local paper, the Cowichan Citizen revealed the Nature Trust's plan to remove the Cowichan Estuary dikes for ecological restoration. Despite years of preparation, local residents and officials were excluded from the decision making.
The estuary currently thrives as a blend of wetlands and farmland, but dismantling the dikes risks contaminating the ecosystem, harming migratory birds and compromising food security. The $3 million project lacks the required Agricultural Land Reserve removal approval.
The dikes are vital to the delicate balance of the ecosystem and are cherished by tourists and locals alike. The proposed berm could worsen flooding, disregarding local concerns. The Land Keepers Leadership Society represents impacted residents.
This initiative jeopardizes the estuary, farmland, tourism and local economy without achieving it's goals.
We urge the PROJECT to be STOPPED to allow for transparent studies, dialogue with residents, input from the Dinsdale family and neighbouring First Nations community concerning the preservation of farmland.
Updates
September 30, 2023
I have spent the last few days talking with neighbors who are terrified that this project will flood our homes and ruin the land we have farmed for generations. The silence from the Nature Trust remains deafening but the stories you are sharing in the comments prove that we are fighting for something worth protecting.
September 30, 2023
Seeing this groundswell of support is deeply moving because my family has spent generations working this soil. Knowing that so many people value our farmland and the estuary as much as I do gives me immense hope that we will be heard.
28 Comments
We need transparency Food security is an important issue, flooding some our most fertile agricultural land isn't wise.
“Natures trusts” should not have such overreaching powers on local communities.. we should have a say in what happens in our backyards and we should be consulted beforehand, to be given an opportunity to look at ALL the science and reasoning behind their decisions, not just the science they cherry-pick to back them up.
There needs to be a walk around the wetlands and use culverts instead of removing dike to keep farm and bird habitat. Water flowing down from hills will flood road and back if I have heard correctly.
The dikes are there for a reason, removing them is completely disregarding peoples livelihood and danger to the eco system.
I attended the town hall regarding this crazy expensive, crazy bold project- how can something involving both provincial and federal money (a lot of it) have slipped though without anyone knowing about it?? Was procedure followed? What's the point of gov if they don't even follow their own rules? How are we supposed to take them seriously when they ask us to do things (like getting a water license) when they don't even play by their own rules? Procedures aside, listening to everyone at that meeting, I heard ZERO reasons to flood the estuary that made any sense. Destroying multiple farms, ecosystems, and endangering Duncan with severe flooding- these are not things we're just going to roll over and allow for.
We need the farmland and the wildlife
waste of money and farmland with NO public consultation
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On June 8 2023, Duncan BC's local paper, the Cowichan Citizen revealed the Nature Trust's plan to remove the Cowichan Estuary dikes for ecological restoration. Despite years of preparation, local residents and officials were excluded from the decision making.
The estuary currently thrives as a blend of wetlands and farmland, but dismantling the dikes risks contaminating the ecosystem, harming migratory birds and compromising food security. The $3 million project lacks the required Agricultural Land Reserve removal approval.
The dikes are vital to the delicate balance of the ecosystem and are cherished by tourists and locals alike. The proposed berm could worsen flooding, disregarding local concerns. The Land Keepers Leadership Society represents impacted residents.
This initiative jeopardizes the estuary, farmland, tourism and local economy without achieving it's goals.
We urge the PROJECT to be STOPPED to allow for transparent studies, dialogue with residents, input from the Dinsdale family and neighbouring First Nations community concerning the preservation of farmland.
Updates
September 30, 2023
I have spent the last few days talking with neighbors who are terrified that this project will flood our homes and ruin the land we have farmed for generations. The silence from the Nature Trust remains deafening but the stories you are sharing in the comments prove that we are fighting for something worth protecting.
September 30, 2023
Seeing this groundswell of support is deeply moving because my family has spent generations working this soil. Knowing that so many people value our farmland and the estuary as much as I do gives me immense hope that we will be heard.
28 Comments
They are using the same theme, i.e., "save the salmon" as used in the Interior to farmers to stop irrigating hay fields for dairy and beef cattle.
We need transparency Food security is an important issue, flooding some our most fertile agricultural land isn't wise.
“Natures trusts” should not have such overreaching powers on local communities.. we should have a say in what happens in our backyards and we should be consulted beforehand, to be given an opportunity to look at ALL the science and reasoning behind their decisions, not just the science they cherry-pick to back them up.
There needs to be a walk around the wetlands and use culverts instead of removing dike to keep farm and bird habitat. Water flowing down from hills will flood road and back if I have heard correctly.
The dikes are there for a reason, removing them is completely disregarding peoples livelihood and danger to the eco system.
I attended the town hall regarding this crazy expensive, crazy bold project- how can something involving both provincial and federal money (a lot of it) have slipped though without anyone knowing about it?? Was procedure followed? What's the point of gov if they don't even follow their own rules? How are we supposed to take them seriously when they ask us to do things (like getting a water license) when they don't even play by their own rules? Procedures aside, listening to everyone at that meeting, I heard ZERO reasons to flood the estuary that made any sense. Destroying multiple farms, ecosystems, and endangering Duncan with severe flooding- these are not things we're just going to roll over and allow for.
We need the farmland and the wildlife
waste of money and farmland with NO public consultation
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They are using the same theme, i.e., "save the salmon" as used in the Interior to farmers to stop irrigating hay fields for dairy and beef cattle.