Juan de Fuca land-use bylaws constrained

Landowners must abide by regional plan, meeting told
from the Times Colonist
Residents of the sprawling Juan de Fuca electoral area were told Monday night that new land-use bylaws for 132,000 hectares of rural resource lands will not automatically lead to development in the wilderness.
Once the bylaws and official community plan have been accepted by the community [...]

Mafia Law Used Against Earth First!ers for Tree Sits, Civil Disobedience, Blog Post

by Will Potter, Greenisthenewred.com
Two environmental activists in Bloomington, Ind., have been charged with racketeering–charges originally intended to target the mob–for allegedly “conspiring” to engage in tree sits, participate in non-violent civil disobedience, and make an inflammatory blog post.
Hugh Farrell and Gina “Tiga” Wertz are organizers in the campaign to halt expansion of the I-69 NAFTA [...]

Langford Planner Won’t Apologize for Legal Threats

-by Zoe Blunt Vancouver Island Community Forest Action Network
Last week, the BC Supreme Court upheld our right to criticize the government. But Langford officials apparently didn’t get the memo.
In February and March, newspapers and TV cameras showed Langford’s mayor berating local residents at a public hearing for the South Skirt Mountain mega-development. Now a [...]

Old-growth forests fall in tough economy

Firms face clashes in Island towns as they struggle to make profits
BY JUDITH LAVOIE, TIMES COLONIST
Cash-strapped forest companies are aiming their chainsaws at patches of old-growth trees in easily accessible areas as they struggle to keep costs down while harvesting high-value trees.
The decision is leading to more clashes with communities, as companies log in [...]

Insanity Reigns in Langford

This morning I read the news that Langford mayor Stew Young has decided to hold a second public hearing regarding plans for a huge development on the south side of Spaet mountain (aka South Skirt Mountain). The first public hearing was an absolute joke, and the Vancouver Island Community Forest Action Network (of which I [...]

Langford mayor tangles with citizens over Skirt Mountain development

By Richard Watts, Victoria Times Colonist
Langford councillors took a big step toward final approval of an enormous new development Monday night following a hearing in which Mayor Stew Young berated citizens who raised objections.
It was a special meeting of Langford council to conduct a public hearing on a new comprehensive zoning for Skirt Mountain. The [...]

The Low Down on What was Up with the Anti-I-69 Treesit

By Nighttime Climbers
Earth First! Journal
Brigid – Volume 29, Issue 2
In May, some of the folks resisting Interstate-69 (I-69) put up a treesit in the way of the construction of an onramp at the far end of 2008?s projected construction zone. The effort wasn?t necessarily based on consensus. While there was a long-term discussion within Roadblock [...]

South Skirt Mtn: Langford’s next disaster

by Zoe Blunt
OMG, it’s another Bear Mountain!
Here’s my take on the “South Skirt Mountain Village” development, plus
details on the next public meeting and how to send your feedback to
City Hall.
Developers are planning 2819 residential units (mostly apartments and
condos) on the 84-acre site straddling the Bear Mountain Parkway over
the next fifteen years. The development spans the [...]

Police charge Tassie forest protester

BY ZARA DAWTREY, examiner.com.au
POLICE have charged another protester for allegedly trespassing within an exclusion zone in the Upper Florentine Valley.
The 27-year-old New Zealand man was conducting a tree-sit but came down after negotiations with police.
He was then arrested and transported to the Bridgewater Police Station.

No Sewage Plant in the Haro Woods!!

-By Rebecca Aldous – Victoria News
A chunk of urban forest in Saanich is better off in government hands than private, says Cadboro Bay Residents’ Association president Irene Stewart.
If the Capital Regional District decides to construct a sewage treatment facility on part of the 10.8-acre Arbutus Road property it acquired last week, residents will have a [...]