Sooke News
June 18, 2003

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Co-organizer John Roe said the visitors they encountered didn't mind paying for park services but they wanted to see something in the famed tidal waters.

"They constantly said, 'We want to see wildlife. We don't want to stare at empty pools,'" Roe said.

The vice-president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce said, contrary to the government line, there are reports that show tidal pool life has dropped alarmingly.

Greg Klem said government bureaucrats simply have to examine the pools located minutes up the west coast from Botanical Beach to get their proof.

"The West Coast Trail pools have been depleted by thousands of tourists, poachers and neglect by management," Klem said.

A provincial parks, fish and wildlife regional manager for environmental stewardship said he hasn't seen hard data that would prove the 10 per cent depletion figure.

But while acknowledging that there is year-to-year variability, Dick Heath did admit there is cause for concern about the tidal pools.

The Port Renfrew residents have a solution.

Because they care about their local environment, they feel they should be managing the park. They would ensure the people who come with buckets and shovel in hand to harvest sea life would not get away with the environmental rape.

Instead, the new operator of that park and 10 others in the region, seems more preoccupied with ensuring that the parking ticket dispenser is functioning rather than fixing the overflowing toilets, Roe said.

On Sunday, over $350 was plunked into the expensive-looking machines, Roe claimed. "We won't see a dime of that," he said.

Heath, who has worked for the B.C. government for over 18 years, said this is the first time the politicians have allowed the ministry to put those fees right back into the parks system. He hasn't heard about malfunctioning latrines but if local residents want to assist with stewardship of the park they're welcome.

But it's paying jobs the Port Renfrew residents are after. Volunteer fatigue has set in because so much has been downloaded to community groups. In a village of 250, sooner or later something's got to give.

And Roe said the community doesn't see much economic benefit from Botanical Beach, where visitors come out for part of the day, but don't drop a lot of coin in the town.

Heath said he couldn't promise any jobs. Any park helpers would be functioning on a volunteer basis.

He did say an interpreter has been hired for the summer in Juan de Fuca provincial park and that person will spend a lot of time in the most impacted area of the park, that being Botanical Beach. Heath expects the paid educator will be available five days a week.

Roe wasn't impressed.

"They didn't even attempt to get a local person," he said.

The next step to raise awareness is to grab the attention of Americans, who already make up a sizable portion of Botanical Beach traffic, and Europeans, who don't look fondly on environmental degradation.

"The people of B.C. can write until they're blue in the face," Roe said.