Forest on top of year's news

The Langley Advance Newspaper chose our work trying to save these valuable forests as the top news story of the year for 2012.

A link to this week's front page news story can be found at Forest fight headlined across Canada.

A link to their decision making process can be found at Forest on top of year's news.

Visit our Facebook page at SaveMcLellanPark to "Like" these stories as well as to share them with others.

CHRISTMAS AND SONG IN THE FOREST

Come join us in celebrating

THE FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS IN MCLELLAN FOREST EAST!

Sunday Dec. 23 at 2 p.m.

Opus One Women’s Choir performing

Brenda Wilson, Artistic Director

Sing along

Bring the whole family

Meet at the Trailhead on 257A Street, just north of 84 Avenue in Glen Valley:

Google Maps link:  http://goo.gl/maps/xICfQ

Refreshments: tea, coffee, cookies

Sponsored by WOLF (Watchers of Langley Forests)

MONDAY NIGHT'S COUNCIL MEETING-VIDEO

Here is a link to Township of Langley website for those who want to see the delegations that were presented to Mayor and Council at the December 10 evening meeting.Follow these instructions to see the video.

Click on the link under Archived Council meetings.A pop up will appear inside your window.Click on December 10 on the calendar in the top right hand corner.Select evening meeting and the video should play. The delegations begin almost immediately.

Township of Langley agrees to defer sale to January 21st

Thank you for your support!

Council has deferred the sale and will revisit this issue at their January 21st, 2013 meeting.

We received the following email from Mayor Froese of the Township of Langley today...

Mr. Perry,

I'm sorry you had to hear second hand that the matter had been deferred until Jan 21 Or next full council meeting. As you know the contract with WOLF lapsed on Dec 7. With the subjects not removed and no new or revised contract negotiated with WOLF it is difficult to proceed with WOLF.

However, after hearing all of the delegations, Council decided that more time was needed to make a decision on the matter of the Glen Valley lands.

I trust this helps to answer any questions you have.

Regards,

Mayor Froese
WOLF would like to thank all those that have publicly supported the preservation of these properties. The Directors of WOLF will meet soon to discuss future plans. Please stay tuned as your continued support and assistance will be required.

Thank you again!
WOLF

SOME LINKS

Here is a link to the interview that I did on CBC Radio's "On the Coast" last Wednesday.  The interview starts at about the 31 minute mark. It is followed by an interview with Councillor Charlie Fox.

The most important thing about these dual interviews may be  the statement by Charlie Fox that the connection between the sale of the forest and the purchase of the site in Aldergrove to build a rec center has been done away with by the Township Council. I have not yet heard any confirmation of this. This is a promising development since the de-linking of  these issues is not only the right thing to do but also removes as far as WOLF can see any practical need to rush the sale of the forest. WOLF would appreciate clarity on this matter.

Here is another link to a piece at the Tyee website  this weekend profiling the Han Shan project.

Remember that your attendance at the Township Council evening meeting tomorrow is greatly needed. I hope you can make it.(See the newsletter in the link)

-Kirk Robetson
Vice Chair
WOLF

WHAT THE LAW ALLOWS

This is a lot with RU-3 zoning in Langley Township. The very same zoning as the Mclellan Park East Forest. It demonstrates why we are concerned.  Trees populated this lot until just a few years ago. If this land clearing is allowable use within the zoning, then any suggestion that the lots will be used for “country estates” and that the “Tree Protection Bylaw” will protect the forest are unfounded or speculative.  In a Globe and Mail story today Mayor Froese indicated that “developers have already made offers for the forest land, so councillors know it can be sold quickly.”   The forest should remain in public hands for the benefit and enjoyment of Langley residents and the wildlife that depend upon it.

 

RADIO TALKBACK

WOLF Vice Chair Kirk Robertson was just on CBC Radio One  program  "On the Coast" with Stephen Quinn . "On the Coast"'s talkback number is 604-662-6979. Let them know what you think,

GLOBE AND MAIL STORY

Mark Hume at the Globe and Mail profiled the Han Shan poetry project in today's paper.

GLOBE AND MAIL:TOP 10 PICS OF THE LAST 24 HRS

Check out photo 8 from the Globe and Mail top ten pictures of the last 24 hrs.

ANOTHER GLOBAL LINK

If you are having trouble accessing the Global Video of the Robert Bateman visit to Mclellan Park East last week here is a link to a story with attached video that might work.

LANGLEY TIMES COVERS ROBERT BATEMAN VISIT

http://www.langleytimes.com/news/181876051.html

BECOME PART OF THE WOLF PACK

If you would like to become a member of Watchers of Langley Forests print out  this  membership form  and send it to the mailing address given on the form along with your ten dollar membership fee.

MCLELLAN PARK VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE

Save Mclellan Park 
Stuart Bucholtz talks about the ecological functions of the forest
Save Langley's Mclellan Park
Tim and Thilo from B.E.A.R. perform for Langley Fine Arts students November 15.
Save Mclellan Park -The Children Speak
Save Mclellan Park - The Women Speak 
Gail Chaddock Costello Speaks at Art in the Park Event
Wilderness Committee On the Ground Report
Featuring speeches and performances at Art in the Park event
Joe Foy speech in it's entirety
Also featuring speech from Gail Chaddock-Costello and a letter from Shane Dyson is read out.
Remarks by David Jordan . Scott Perry,and Mark Haddock,and Susan McCaslin.
Leonard Howell on Mclellan Park
Also featuring Hilary Ruffini and Mark Haddock

HAN SHAN POETRY PROJECT

The Han Shan Poetry Project:  McLellan Park Forest East

You are cordially invited to visit a site specific installation of tree poems on Saturday, December 8 from 1-3 pm.  This is one of a series of arts initiatives to raise awareness of the McLellan Forest East, on 257A Street just north of 84 Avenue.

Poets across Canada, including quite a few Governor General’s Award winners, responded to a call from Langley poet Susan McCaslin to submit poems celebrating trees in an effort to protect a unique forest just outside the heritage community of Fort Langley, British Columbia. 

More than one hundred and fifty poems were submitted over a five day period from established and emerging poets of all ages, and are now suspended from the trees in the hope that the voices of poets will be considered when Langley council decides the fate of the forest on December 17, 2012.

The installation was inspired by Han Shan, a Chinese hermit poet from the Tang Dynasty era over 1,000 years ago, who wrote poems on trees and rocks, living respectfully with nature. 

The forest display includes poems by Governor General’s Award winners E. D. Blodgett, David Zieroth, Don Domanski, Stephanie Bolster, Don McKay, Joy Kogawa (The Order of Canada), Anne Simpson (Griffin Poetry Prize), and a diversity of established, emerging, and beginning writers.  Poems have been received from Oregon, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, Australia, the UK, and Turkey and continue to flood in.

The land in question, known locally as McLellan Park Forest East, is publicly owned by Langley township but is slated to be sold off to partially fund a recreation centre and pool if a small group of residents called WOLF (Watchers of Langley Forests) cannot come up with 3 million dollars by December 17.  It has been difficult for WOLF to raise the funds because supporters feel the forest is already owned by the public and that Langley should just reconsider selling it.  The total cost of the recreation centre is estimated at $35 million.

McCaslin says, “These poems express how poets respond to the creative outpouring of nature that encompasses and sustains us.  It’s about putting human language beside the larger language of nature and the planet. They have been offered specifically for the protection of this remarkable, biologically diverse forest. ”

The name Han Shan translates as “Cold Mountain,” which is also the area in the district of T'ien-t'ai in China where the poet lived.  Han Shan was the inspiration for the Cold Mountain School of west coast beatnik writers, such as Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac. 

McLellan Forest is a small fragment of what once existed throughout the Fraser Valley before over a century of settlement.  Very little of this ecosystem has been protected in its natural state.

A provincial biologist has notified Langley council that the property in question is “ecologically unique,” features “high biodiversity value” and has exceptional value as habitat for species at risk, such as the Pacific water shrew and Oregon spotted frog. 

Guided walks are led by WOLF every Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm.

Location:

http://goo.gl/maps/qWM4j

Further information about the forest may be found at:

http://mclellanpark.blogspot.ca/

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION AT WATERSHED CAFE

GOVERNMENT BIOLOGIST URGED ToL TO SAVE FOREST

Here is the Vancouver Sun story.

Robert Batement Urges Preservation of Forest

See media reports of his visit at the following locations...
Langley Advance
http://www.langleyadvance.com/news/Robert+Bateman+visits+disputed+forest/7634556/story.html

Global TV
http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/fight+to+save+langley+forest/video.html?v=2311702713&p=2&s=dd#video

Also, see the latest article in Saturday's Vancouver Sun
http://www.vancouversun.com/Save+ecologically+unique+forest+Langley+urged/7636559/story.html

This post was included in our first Email Newsletter. This is a great way to ensure that you are provided with up to date information on upcoming events. You can subscribe on our Home Page or at Subscribe to WOLF Newsletter .

Dear Friend of WOLF: We are writing to update you about Watchers of Langley Forest’s fight to save the McLellan Park forest in Glen Valley. If you are receiving this email you have signed a petition, visited our website, taken a tour of the forest or requested a member of WOLF to keep you informed. On behalf of WOLF we would like to thank you for your continuing support and hope that we can count on you to do the following: Attend a Township Council Meeting On Monday, December 10th, Langley Township Council will be meeting at 7pm in the Fraser River Presentation Theatre Civic Facility, located at the 4th Floor, 20338 – 65 Avenue, Langley. WOLF delegations will be made to Council regarding this very important issue. Your presence in numbers would send a strong message to Council that many in the community support the protection and conservation of this property in perpetuity. Write a Letter. Send an email to Mayor and Council requesting that they not sell the property. You can find contact information at this link: http://mclellanpark.blogspot.ca/2012/09/contact-info-for-mayor-and-council.html Visit us and show your support If you would like to know more please visit http://mclellanpark.blogspot.ca/ or like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SaveMcLellanPark You can also tweet your comments at https://twitter.com/WOLangleyForest or recommend our YouTube videos at http://tinyurl.com/c8oa6u3 Take a tour If you have been unable to visit or would like to come again tours will continue every Saturday and Sunday in December at 2pm. Please look for more information at http://mclellanpark.blogspot.ca/2012/10/of-public-will-have-opportunity-this.html or click here for a Google map http://tinyurl.com/cs28v6m. Regards, Your Directors of the Watchers of Langley Forests Society (WOLF) Kirk Robertson, Vice Chairperson Petrina Arnason Ellen Klemm Glenn Howes, Treasurer Scott Perry, Chairperson Hilary Ruffini, Secretary Stuart Bucholtz