Round table grapples with Howe Sound planning issues BACK IN the early *50s, Joan Lemmers used to scoop her- ring off the end of a dock in Squamish. By Douglas Broome Contributing Writer Those were the days before the poorly-planned development of the Squamish River estuary devastated local marine life. Lemmers, a Lions Bay resident, has been a commercial fisherman for more than 30 years. She fol- lowed her father on to the seas, and now her son and daughter are car- rying on the family tradition. She remembers the days when killer whales were a common sight in the sound. “They would rub up against the bottoms of sailboats like they were trying to mate or something.” In 1991, Lemmers helped found the Save Howe Sound Society, which in turn spawned the Howe Sound Round Table (HSRT) as a forum for discussing environmental and development issues in the area. “You can’t stop development, but you can make sure it's done properly,” she said. The 1ound table started as a lunch for 25 people, but then “the phone starting ringing.” The 25 guests became 50 and then 75, and when they came for lunch the talk went long past the planned adjournment time. David Mitchell, independent MLA for West Vancouver-Howe Sound, summarizes the challenge facing the HSRT: “How are we going to double the population plus attract new industry while at the same time improve the environ- ment?” According to a federal] study released on Tuesday, the Howe Sound Round Table is a model for the rest of the country. Last Saturday, Lemmers, Mitchell and 20 other HSRT members toured Howe Sound aboard Jimmy Pattison’s yacht, the Nova Springs. \t's a diverse group that includes enviroumentalists and people who work in development and the forest industry. Howe Sound is a U-shaped valley carved by glaciers, geologist Frank Baumann told the HSRT members. The valley bottom would be ideal for development if it weren't under 750 feet of water. “Unfortunately they were forced to put roads on the steepest part of the U-shaped valley profile,” Baumann said. “The rocks (around Highway 99) are 180 million years old, They've been through this massive plate tectonic activity. They're all broken up, fractured, faulted. Man, they are really in bad shape.” Baumann pointed out some “downdipping” fractures running down to the water. . “All the rock above is just hang- ing there on these sloping shelves, and it inevitably will have to come down. CALL US: 983-2208 Photo submitied VANCOUVER AQUARIUM’S marine biologist Jeff Marliave makes a point during a tour of Howe Sound by members of the Howe Sound Round Table. “What can we do about this? In a word, not very much.” Compounding the natural geo- logical instability are the intense rain storms that can overwhelm the small streams, bringing down more tons of debris. Geologists can determine which areas are safer for development, but there ar: only 25 earth scientists in the province qualified for such work ‘while there is a demand for 1,000 scientists, Baumann said. Geological survey requirements are more stringeat for forest lands than for residential developments, he added. 66 How are we going to double the population plus attract new industry while at the same time improve the environment? 99 ~ WV MLA David Mitchell “Lions Bay has never seen the type of detailed terrain mapping and landslide assessment that has to be done on every forestry cut block.” The Nova Springs turned to the Christie Islets where cormorants strutted with their wings extended to dry their feathers and 20 harbor seals lounged on the rocks. Marine biologist Jeff Marliave of the Vancouver Aquarium said the sound’s seal population rebounded from a iow of 60 in $970 to 700 in 1990 before falling back to the current 450. There are winners and losers in nature, Marliave said. “and I'm afraid that these harbor seals are going to lose out in competition with humanity for the fish resources.” Concerns were raised by HSRT members about the fluctuations of fish populations in Howe Sound. The cold water of Howe Sound, rich in diatoms and crustacear plankton, should provide food foi an abundant fishery. But Marliave suid it would take decades to compile data on the nat- ural fluctuations of marine life pop- ulations in the sound. “Nothing that humanity can do compares with the profound effects that (a warm) El Nino current can do,” he said. During the winter of 1990-91, El Nino wiped out Howe Sound kelp beds and warmed the surface water so that all the young pollock died. The copper rack fish, which prefer warmer water, thrived while the pollock suf- fered. The HSRT is just getting under way and its members partici- pate as concerned citi- zens, not as represen- tatives for any particu- lar interest group, coordinator Tony Wachmann said. Tt is one of 30 local round tables around the province patterned after the B.C. Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, which the NDP government axed in its fast budget. The Sustained Stewardship for Sustainability initiative is one HSRT project funded by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The project will look at the sus- tainability of water resources and the aquatic habitat in Howe Sound. Meetings will be held at the Totem Hall in Squamish on Saturday, June 25, starting at | p.m. and at the Collins Hall on Bowen Island on Monday. July 4, starting at 5:30 p.m. Britannia Beach future uncertain BRITANNIA BEACH is in danger of becoming “an orphan site,” warns Marilyn Mullan, a member of the Howe Sound Round Table and executive director of the B.C. Museum of Mining located at the old mine in Britannia Beach. By Douglas Broome Contributing Writer Anaconda Mines, the former mine operators, provided 40 acres to the museum society but sold the rest of the property to Copper Beach Estates, which ran Britannia Beach “very much like a feudal site,” she said. The museum and the 300 residents of the village depend on Copper Beach for sewer, water, power and fire protection. The assets of Copper Beach have been seized as the result of a complex legal battle so “there has been no maintenance of services which were derelict to begin with,” Mullan said. “The community is in a state of not knowing what’s going to happen to it.” she said. “Our lawyers’ analysis of the situation is that it’s going to bea long, messy settlement.” The old mine and its landmark mill have been ¢esienated a national his- toric site. Mullan said that although the museum society has been restoring the old buildings, they remain empty “because we can't encourage devel- opment or any capital” while the surrounding property remains in legal limbo. ‘The courts have been receiving bids from potential purchasers interest- ed in the $5 million gravel deposit on which the townsite sits, Mullan said. “Let's face it. A lot of developers aren't interested in heritage.” Rents in the village are low and most of the residents “aren’t wealthy,” she added. Large-scale gravel mining would have the benefit of Ieaving “‘a clean site.” free for more expensive housing development. “TE don’t know if the museum and the heritage site could survive five years of gravel extraction,” Mullan said. Copper Beuch Estates bought the property from Anaconda Mines in 1979. A numbered company with Singapore backers made a $6 million deposit in 1991, but the deal was never completed. One complicating factor in the sale of the property is who is responsible for environmental cleanup and control of the acidic nin-off from the mine. Efforts to reach a spokesman for Copper Beach Estates were unsuccess- ful. A woman at the Copper Beach office said directors “will never return your calls.” THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Do you think tolls should fund a new First Narrows crossing?