AUGUST a J Pri 4, 2000 Auto Classifieds Crossword Lautens > Mercer : Talking Persanals The Voice of North and West Vancauver since 1969 bonanza Marcie Good Coutvibuting Writr ELEVEN vears as a fish conservationist hadn't prepared Rob Bell-Irving for what he saw ina 30-metre stretch of West Vancouver’s MacDonald Creek Mondav. Fish. Bigg ones and tittle ones. Bell Irving found 69 cutthroat trout and one rare tailed frog tadpole. AH were plump and healthy- looking. “Pd have to say quite honestly that what we found exceeded rn expectations,” said the community adviser for Fisheries and Oceans. ven IN some areas No bigger than) a mad puddle there would be 10 or 20 trout.” Open Road 923 Redesigned Aurora showy « hi Cab Sa Tat quiet and classy Harmony Arts fest; Summersault tour; Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee This Week p13 www. nsnews.com NEWS photo Julie iverson RICK August, left, and Dwayne Paul of the Sechelt Indian Band shock trout in MacDonald Creek before netting and moving them down- See Two pane 3 Deana Lancaster News Reporter dlancaster@nsnews.com THE provincial government and BC Rail have big plans for the Squamish Estuary. Since the 1970s the province and the Crown corporation have been rrying to figure out how to maximize the area’s usefulness as a harbour without compromising its value as the home of hun- dreds of animals including spawning salmon and the seals and cagles that feed on them. But if one thing is becoming clear about government and busi- Ness interests making plans for land that was once travelled by abo- riginals, it’s this: first they must consult with the local First Nations. Just owo weeks after accepting $92.5 million from the federal government for land, Squamish Nation members will again’ be MEN'S HOCKEY BAG SOXI7XI7 SKU89127209 reg $39.99 915 West tst St., N Van SALE (behind Capilano Mail) : $35-3000 visit us at www.homebuilder: a> CALL INSTOCK. Dea! includes cash and control over deen-sea port in Squamish asked to decide if they want to accept an offer. This time it’s from the provincial government and BC Rail. The Squamish Estuary Management Plan was developed in 1982 by the federal and provincial governments. [t proposes that the lands located ta the cast of the estuary could be used for commercial purposes, while the lands on the west would be used for conservation. BC Rail added its veice to the deliberations early in the 1990s when it concluded it would need a deep-water port in the eastern side of the estuary and offered to exchange land on the western side to obtain the property to build it. Squamish Nation repre- sentatives also asked to be included in the negotiations. Fhey were BOY'S HOCKEY BAG SOXNIXIS $KU#9 127287 reg $29.99 SALE stream of a construction site. Two days later, two toxic spills were reported in the West Vancouver creek. concerned about sea-port plans infringing on aboriginal rights and title; environmental impacts and preservation of fish habitat, exclusion from economic development opportunities within their traditional territory; and securing rights to other lands for the firture needs of Squamish members. In June, the province, BC Rail and the Squamish Nation reached an agreement in principle. Now it is up to Squamish Nation members to decide if they want to accept: what is being, offered, The deal includes: ® $900,000 for the nation’s coffe @ the opportunity to co-manage the Squamish Estuary; B fee simple ownership of 69 acres in the Wildlife Management Area; M@ the abilicy to construct a Squamish Nation interpretive centre in See Squamish page & FOR UNLIMITED USE SEASON'S PASS ALD THRU MAOH 2001