WOLF PRESS RELEASE SEPTEMBER 16

Watchers of Langley Forests

~ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ~

Langley, BC. Monday, September 16, 2013.

The group Watchers of Langley Forests (WOLF) would like to thank the Blaauw family for their very generous gift of about $2.5 million that has enabled Trinity Western University to purchase ecologically valuable forest land in Glen Valley, Langley. “It is incredibly uplifting that the Blaauw family would be so generous to enable this key part of Langley’s natural heritage to be preserved forever,” said Petrina Arnason, WOLF board member.

WOLF had been working hard to raise public awareness of the regional significance of this forest over the last year, which had been offered for sale by the Township of Langley. WOLF previously held an option to purchase the land but was unable to raise the funds required by December 2012. In response to an outpouring of public concern, in January the Township decided to withdraw three of the five lots from the market, but left two for sale.

“That’s when Mrs. Ann Blaauw came to the rescue,” said Arnason. “She called one of our members and expressed interest in purchasing the forest so it could be protected for future generations.”

WOLF understands that the property will be owned by Trinity Western University, but protected by a conservation covenant that precludes development and allows for public access. “WOLF will thoroughly review the documents pertaining to this agreement between TOL and TWU as they become available to us” said Kirk Robertson,Chair of WOLF.

“We look forward to working with the Environmental Studies Department of TWU, which has invited us to help develop a conservation plan for this ecological treasure” added Robertson. “The significance of this property is well documented, and having faculty and students carry out further research will only increase our understanding and appreciation of this and other Langley forests.”

WOLF is grateful for the extensive support received from Langley residents, artists and writers across Canada, and will continue to advocate for the preservation of other ecologically significant forests in Langley.

Contact

savemclellanpark@gmail.com

TWU PRESS RELEASE

Generous family donates parcel of Glen Valley forest to Trinity

Western University

Land will be preserved for public use, education, and research.

Long-time residents of Langley since 1958, Ann Blaauw and children John, Janet, and

Jennifer, have donated a 25-acre parcel of land to Trinity Western University in honour

of their late husband and father, Thomas Blaauw. The agreement between the Blaauw

family, Trinity Western University, and the Township of Langley will see forested land in

Glen Valley preserved for public use, education, and research.

“This land is a showcase of the natural beauty we have in the Fraser Valley,” said TWU

coordinator of environmental studies, David Clements, Ph.D. “This type of forest is

becoming increasingly rare for the area and, with its close proximity to the campus, it will

be a great resource for students, faculty, and researchers.

The property—just east of the TWU campus, known as the Gray Pit Lands, on 257A

Street—is made up of five, five-acre parcels. It is zoned RU-3, for low-density residential

and agricultural uses.

The Watchers of Langley Forests (WOLF) group has been instrumental in bringing

awareness to the issue of preservation of the heritage McLellan Park Forests in Glen

Valley. Clements, who writes a monthly column for the Langley Times called “The Green

Beat,” is also thankful for the land donation. “It will provide a great opportunity help

educate people about nature,” he said.

Since 2008, Trinity Western University has run its popular Salmon in the Valley

educational workshops on the Salmon River that runs through campus. Nearly

3,000 Fraser Valley elementary school students, including homeschoolers, and lowincome schools, with sponsorship from the Salmon River Enhancement Society, have

participated in these workshops. In addition, TWU established the Trinity Western

University Ecosystem Study Area (ESA) in 1998—an area surrounding campus that

includes sensitive habitat and is dedicated to the study, preservation, and proper

management of the environment. Further, TWU has owned and managed property

on Salt Spring Island since 2000, and has been recognized for the development of its

community garden adjacent to campus on Glover Road. This model for stewardship has

been a great success with faculty, students, and the community, who have been able to

participate in conservation, research, education, and recreational programs on the lands.

“This is a wonderful outcome that will benefit the entire community and the environment,”

said Township Mayor Jack Froese. “People in our community made it very clear that

they valued this land and felt it should be conserved. Thanks to this land sale, and

TWU’s history of environmental stewardship, it will remain in its beautiful natural state for

generations to come.”

Township Council approved the land purchase agreement, which is subject to a

restrictive covenant that that allows only buildings that enhance the use of the

conservation area on the property and grants the Township and the general public

access to the land for environmental research, education, and recreational purposes.

Over the summer, a fourth-year environmental science student began inventory of the

forest. Through his research, he discovered two species-at-risk—the Red-Legged frog,

and the Pacific Side-Band snail. These early findings are indications of just how precious

this land is, and point to the value of environmental protection in years to come. The

student plans to complete his senior thesis on these findings.

“This forest is a diverse little island in the Langley landscape. You can study it for years

and years, and never get to the bottom of it,” said Clements.

The community is invited to attend the Thomas Blaauw dedication and ribbon-cutting

ceremony on September 24, 2013, at 4 p.m., on 257A Street, Langley.

UNIVERSITY BUYS FOREST

Thanks to the generosity of a Langley woman Trinity Western University has bought the Gray Pit Lands for use as a research educational and conservation area.

WOLF will have further comment on this story in the near future.

BERTRAND CREEK CLEAN -UP

Langley Environmental Partners Society is looking for volunteers to help with the clean up of Bertrand Creek in Aldergrove this Saturday.

Details
You can help save endangered fish! Join an in-stream clean-up focusing on the removal of items large and small during the fisheries window.

Bring your friends and hop into hip waders to help improve fish habitat in Bertrand Creek on September 7 from 10am to 2pm.

The group will be meeting in the parking lot beside Extra Foods on 272 street, north of Fraser Highway, Aldergrove. .  Refreshments and equipment provided. 

RSVP appreciated. Call 604-533-6090 ext 1671  or click here to RSVP online

 

SUSAN FALK HONOURED

 As loyal readers of this site will know last May Susan Falk launched her Written in the Forest show at the Fort Gallery. This arts initiative  builds on the work of poet Susan McCaslin and all the other poets who worked on the Han Shan Poetry project. Susan's work to bring attention to cause of saving Mclellan Forest East began many months before May. The  effort  that she has brought to this issue has been remarkable. In the months since Council's unfortunate decision to save only a portion of the forest  she has brought some much needed publicity to the cause. WOLF supporters should also know that because of  her generosity Susan Falk was recently able to write WOLF a cheque for 1500 dollars from partial proceeds from the sale of the Written in the Forest paintings. WOLF is very grateful for this donation.

Her generosity and work has not gone unnoticed. It was recently announced on Canada Day that Susan Falk  was the recipient of the 2013 Individual Environment Hero award for Langley. This honour is richly deserved.On behalf of WOLF I would like to congratulate Susan Falk as well as the other recipients*.


Susan Falk and the other recipients will be honoured in the Langley Environmental Hero 2013 Tree Planting ceremony to  be held this  Saturday August 17th ,  11am  at  the Heritage Orchard of the Fort Langley National Historic Site. The adresss is  23433 Mavis Avenue, Fort Langley.
 The ceremony is presented by Mark Warawa, MP, Langley , Langley Environmental Partners Society, the Fort Langley National Historic Site and The Langley Times.


* The recipients are:
Langley Field Naturalists-Organization or Business.
Susan Falk -Individual
Maxime Labreque-Youth
Honourable mention to Miller Banks.
See this article to read about the achievements of each recipients. I note with pride that Watchers of Langley Forests was a nominee in the category of Organization or Business. You can watch this video to hear a list of all the nominees read out during the announcement ceremony on Canada Day. Congratulations to our fellow nominees.

MAY DAY PARADE IN FORT LANGLEY

 The 91st Annual May Day Parade in Fort Langley will  be held on Victoria Day Monday, May 20,2013. This Fort Langley tradition will  begin on Church Street at 11 am and end at  the Fort Langley Community Park where the May Pole Dancing will begin. Check out the pancake breakfast at the *Fort Langley Seniors Hall 23022 – 88 Avenue before the parade  or the famous Lions  BBQ chicken in the park afterward. This great family event will also feature children's rides and Mini-Golf.**


 WOLF is organizing the creation of a forest-themed float to participate in the parade. We need volunteers to help with the following tasks:

a)4-6 people interested in helping to prepare the float with signage and general decoration of the flatbed. This will take place sometime during the long weekend.

b)4-6 people interested in being in the parade on the float. We are looking for someone interested in being a lumberjack.  We might also consider a couple of "picknickers" to complete the scene  

c)People to help collect signatures for our latest petition and to hand out pamphlets. This could be during and after the parade. 

For more information contact me  Kirk Robertson at savemclellanpark@gmail.com.

By Thursday evening  we should know what the parade lineup is. So we will know who is behind and ahead of our float! The pro and anti bagpipe camps will be holding their collective breaths until then. That said we hope you will be able to join us in enjoying this great day. 

*The Lions  Pancake Breakfast is at the Seniors Hall is from 8am to 10;30am. This is by donation.
** The Fort Langley Community Park will feature all the  fun and festivities(including live entertainment) from 1pm to 4pm.



 












 

WOLF AND THE NEW PETITION

Watchers of Langley Forests has launched a petition campaign calling upon Township of Langley Council  to permanently protect  the Glen Valley forest properties withdrawn from the market in late January . Under a provision of the Community Charter the Council can act by 2/3 vote of all council members  to set aside property the municipality owns for conservation or heritage conservation purposes. Once that occurs the status of the property can't change without holding a referendum.

The relevant section of the Community Charter reads:

Reservation and dedication of municipal property

30  (1) A council may, by bylaw, reserve or dedicate for a particular municipal or other public purpose real property owned by the municipality.

(2) As a restriction, a bylaw under subsection (1) that reserves or dedicates property

(a) as a park or public square, or

(b) for purposes related to heritage or heritage conservation,

may only be adopted by an affirmative vote of at least 2/3 of all the members of council.

(3) A bylaw that removes a reservation or dedication referred to in subsection (2) may only be adopted with the approval of the electors.

Subsection 5 of Section 30 goes on to say:

(5) Bylaws adopted or works undertaken by a council that directly affect property reserved or dedicated under this section must be consistent with the purpose for which the property is reserved or dedicated.

The legislation can found at this site.

The petition text is as below. You can view the complete format here. 

We, the undersigned, are concerned that the Township has not legally protected the forested Glen Valley properties, owned by the Township of Langley, that have been taken off the market in response to public opposition to the sales.

These lands are extremely significant due to their high ecological and heritage value. There is currently no park development or management plan in place for either of these parcels of land and nothing to prohibit the current or future council and administration from selling any part of them.

WE REQUEST COUNCIL TO:

Provide immediate legal protection of the forested properties of McLellan Park (west) and Gray pit lands (McLellan Park east) under Section 30 of the Community Charter which enables Council to preserve all of these properties through a 2/3rd majority vote to designate them as a “heritage conservation” area.

If you would like to sign the petition we will have a list of locations up shortly or you can contact us at our email address savemclellanpark@gmail.com.  We will also be attending some public events to collect signatures. You can also contact us if you would like to help gather signatures.

NEWS STORIES

Check out these stories about Susan Falk's art show "Written in the Forest" in the Langley Advance and the Langley Times.

All of us at WOLF hope you can make it to the Opening tomorrow (12pm to 3pm) but if not you have to May 26 to see the paintings at the Fort Gallery.

Remember if there is something you really like or you just want to help WOLF out you can buy a painting in the silent auction. Bidding starts at $350. Contact The  Fort Galley at 604-888-7411 or
www.fortgallery.ca to make your bid.

Go here to see a slide show of the paintings.

SUSAN FALK ART SHOW RUN BEGINS TODAY

Dear friends of McLellan Forest:

You are most cordially invited to attend Susan Falk’s opening art gala on May 11.

Local artist Susan Falk has been inspired by McLellan Forest and by some of the poems of the Han Shan poets to create a series of forest paintings in which she has embedded phrases from selected forest poems.  

On Saturday May 11 from 12-3 pm at The Fort Gallery in Fort Langley, Susan is having an art show opening during which thirteen of the Han Shan poets will be reading their forest poems.

Susan is conducting a silent auction of her work whereby proceeds from the sale of the paintings will go to the continuing work of WOLF (Watchers of Langley Forests) to ensure that the forest is officially and permanently protected. 

You can have a sneak peak starting today. Here is the information about place and times.

Written in the Forest
Opening: Saturday May 11, 12-3 pm
Show runs: May 8th - 26th
The Fort Gallery
9048 Glover Road
Fort Langley, BC
Gallery Hours: Wed.-Sun. 12-5 pm
The Fort Gallery
604-888-7411
www.fortgallery.ca

Go to the Fort Gallery site to see the slide show of the paintings.

LOOKING FOR THE MCLELLAN FOREST BLOG

Greeting to the Wax Poetic Audience. Welcome to the MclellanPark blogspot site. If you are looking for the google map to get to the forest here is a link. You can always find the same link on the right-hand side of the page under Links of Interest. If you would like to read more about Susan McCaslin and the Han Shan poetry project you can read this article in Common Ground that she wrote. If you would like to know more about the forest and it's ecological value you can  read this environmental report.

To find the poem Lover's Tree go here and scroll down.

If you would like to get involved or have a specific question get in touch with Watchers of Langley Forest  by writing to savemclellanpark.gmail.ca

If you would like further updates join the WOLF  mailing list or like us on facebook.

For more about Susan Falk Arts Event  watch this page.

WAXING POETIC

Susan McCaslin, friend of the forest,award-winning poet, and initiator of the Han Shan Poetry Project,  will appear on Co-op Radio today Wednesday May 8 to talk about the Han Shan Poetry Initiative and Susan Falk’s upcoming art show.  Han Shan poet Fiona Lam will be joining her. 

The program is called Wax Poetic and it runs.between 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm.The show is archived on the the web. A link will be provided as soon as it is available. The station call letters are CFRO 100.5. You can listen live  in the following ways:

Radio: 100.5 FM
Satellite: Starchoice 845
Telus TV: Channel 3718
Internet: Select either of the options marked 128kbs or 32kbs beside the icon marked Listen Now on the top left hand side of this  webpage 



If you would like to know more about Susan's efforts on behalf of Mclellan Forest East you can read this article in Common Ground. that she wrote or this piece where she talks about how she sees art and social activism interacting.

Susan McCaslin has did a tremendous amount of work towards saving the forest in the last six months and deserves the thanks of everyone who wants to keep it safe.
Here is a link to a  blog post featuring three poems that Susan wrote after being inspired by the forest.

WRITTEN IN THE FOREST

Fort Langley’s McLellan Forest East, 25 acres of mature
coniferous and deciduous old trees in Glen Valley, was put
up for sale last summer. Because of recent public concern
and media attention, the Township of Langley has now
taken 60% of it off the market.

Langley artist Susan Falk and her poet pals want McLellan
Forest East and West (a nearby parcel taken off the market
earlier) to both be permanently protected, and are working
toward that goal.

In preparing for her upcoming art show, Written in the
Forest, Susan Falk chose evocative phrases from the work
of twelve of the over 200 poets who contributed to the Han
Shan Poetry Initiative to raise awareness about the forest.

In December of 2012, poems inspired by Han Shan, an
ancient Chinese poet who suspended his poems from trees,
were hung in the trees for several months.

These poems have inspired Falk to work for the
preservation of the “stunningly beautiful” (Falk) mature
ecosystem. “Phrases from each poem suggest the poem’s
entirety and express how I feel when I visit and paint
impressions of McLellan East and West,” says Falk.

These established lower mainland poets embody a poetic
voice of the forest as an art action. They will perform
readings at the Saturday May 11 (12-3 pm) opening of
Falk’s show. Each painting will be accompanied by the
original poem.

The poets are E.D. Blodgett (Governor General’s
Award), Daniela Elza, Pam Galloway, Heidi Greco, Roni
Haggarty, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Christopher Levenson, Susan
McCaslin, Ray McGinnis, Elsie K. Neufeld, Catherine
Owen, Jamie Reid, and Celeste Snowber.

Proceeds from the sales of the paintings will benefit
W.O.L.F. (Watchers of Langley Forests) through a silent
auction, beginning at $350.00 per painting and rising in
increments of 50.00. The auction will run for the duration
of the show, May 8th - 26th, 2013 (12 oil paintings 36" x
18"). Bids will be accepted through the Fort Gallery.

A LONG OVERDUE UPDATE

The winning bidder in the silent auction of the Susan Falk painting was Myrna Pfeifer.  Her bid was $450. As bidding was not high enough the autographed David Suzuki book was not added to the bonus. Nevertheless Myrna tells me that she is very much enjoying her new painting.

The sale of this artwork allowed WOLF to make an important insurance payment. Once again we would like to thank Susan Falk. and Myrna Pfeifer. We will have more soon on how you can also own a Susan Falk work and help WOLF.

A long and unintended blog hiatus has come to an end. Look for more updates in this spot very soon.

-Kirk Robertson
Chair
Watchers of Langley Forests

LAST HOURS OF BIDDING

ARTIST SUSAN FALK WITH HER WORK "MCLELLAN FOREST"

You have less than six hours to put in your bid for the Susan Falk painting now being sold in silent auction. Bidding ends at midnight tonight. Remember if the winning bid is at or over 2000 dollars the winner will receive an autographed copy of David Suzuki's book "Tree A Life Story". Bidding is currently at $450.00.

Send your bids to Susan Falk at  susanjfalk@shaw.ca  .

DAVID SUZUKI

Watchers of Langley Forests is pleased to announce that it recently received two autographed copies from David Suzuki of his book "Tree A Life Story" . This winner of the Canadian Science Writers Association Award was co-authored with Wayne Grady and illustrated by Robert Bateman.. Both books have an inscription in them from David Suzuki that reads in part "Thank you for supporting WOLF"

 An accompanying letter from Dr. Suzuki's assistant reads in part;

"Please keep up the great work, Dr. Suzuki is always delighted to hear about the great work of groups like yours and though he is unable to visit you personally he is always there with you in spirit."

WOLF would like to thank Dr. Suzuki for his generous gift. It will help greatly in our fundraising. WOLF understands the constraints that Dr. Suzuki has on his time and attention. We hope to report to him one day that we have been successful in saving all of the Mclellan Forest East.

As regular readers of this blog will know since mid January WOLF has been auctioning off by silent auction a painting by artist Susan Falk. .Funds raised will go towards our general expenses. This silent auction concludes at the end of February. WOLF is pleased to announce that should the winning  bid for the the painting be $2000 or more WOLF will give one of the autographed books without further cost to the winning bidder.

People can give their bids in person at the Fort Gallery or by sending their bids to Susan Falk at susanjfalk@shaw.ca. 

Please remember that bids should be made in increments of fifty dollars. There are only eight days to go until bidding concludes so act soon. Better yet ACT NOW. By doing so you could not only become a proud owner of a beautiful painting and an autographed book by an eminent Canadian but you will be helping Watchers of Langley Forests speak up for the forests of Langley Township.

Respectfully
Kirk Robertson
Chair
Watchers of Langley Forests

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT LETTER

On December 10 a member of WOLF received a letter from the provincial Ministry of the Environment regarding the Mclellan Forest East or the Gray Pit Lands. This letter was presented to Township Council at the Council meeting that night. Due to some technical issues it has not been accessible to the general public until now. Most recently the letter was featured in Global News story featured in the blog post below. We hope that the image is large enough to read.

The letter was written after a survey of the property by Ministry officials and after the Ministry was provided with  a number of relevant documents.. As you can read the letter identifies the property as having "high ecological value" and being an "high acquisition priority" but "Unfortunately the Ministry of Environment is unable to contribute" .

WOLF urges members of the public to write to the Minister of the Environment  Terry Lake. Given the Township Council's failure to heed this and other documents identifying this property as having environmental value the involvement of the Provincial Government may be the only thing that could save this ecological gem.
NOTE Although the letter refers to the "Langley Forest" it should be clear by it's description as being east of 257A street that it is referring to the land variously know as Mclellan Forest East or the Gray Pit Lands.

Global News Story on Protecting Our Natural Heritage

UPDATE: You can read the Ministry of Environment letter mentioned in this report here.

THE LEAST THAT CAN BE DONE

Watchers of Langley Forests Society (WOLF)

RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS NEEDED IF PROPERTIES ARE TO BE SOLD! Township of Langley Council announced their intention on Monday to sell 10 acres of McLellan Park Forest plus an additional 10 acres of the adjoining Grey Pit. The Township of Langley did not discuss their final plans with any members of WOLF prior to making this decision and announcement. The 10 acres of the McLellan Park Forest that you have been working hard to protect is the most easterly section located off of 260th Street. This section of the forest is more wetland and bog habitat. It is the intersection of these wetlands and the drier, more trail friendly conifer sections to the west that has been identified as potential habitat to species at risk such as the Pacific Water Shrew, Oregon Spotted Frog and even possible nesting sites for the Great Blue Heron. This 10 acres is currently configured as two - 5 acre lots and COULD BE SOLD AT ANY TIME!  If the Township of Langley Council is at all serious about PROTECTING habitat for SPECIES AT RISK then they must place RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS  prior to the sale of these properties. These restrictive covenants are the bare minimum that is required to ensure that this valuable remnant of a once abundant ecosystem is preserved. Several Council members and even one local builder/developer have tried to assure members of WOLF that all care will be taken to protect the forest even while development of these lots and the construction of new homes takes place. If that is truly the case then Council, potential developers and future buyers of these properties will also want to ensure that the critical habitat for species at risk has not been destroyed and they will also want to guarantee that these habitats are protected in the future by placing an appropriate restrictive covenant on them prior to their sale. Please contact the Mayor and Council today! Let them know that you demand that HABITAT FOR SPECIES AT RISK MUST BE PROTECTED. Insist that, if they are determined to sell these properties, RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS must first be added to the properties. Thank you for your continued assistance and support! Watchers of Langley Forests

Copyright © 2013 Watchers of Langley Forests Society (WOLF), All rights reserved.

COUNCIL FAILS

As you can read below the Township Council voted Monday to sell two of the lots of the forest that were already for sale as well as two lots that were not for sale. This would be all the lots along 260th. All the lots along 257A are to be preserved. The Township is presenting this as an acceptable compromise. It is not. The forest is a whole ecosystem and must be preserved as such. When you loose half a forest in size you get something less than half a forest. This land has been identified by the provincial Ministry of Environment as having regional ecological significance and as being an important candidate for an ecological reserve. The Council is aware that Minister of Environment has been asked to get involved in order to save this property. Rather than adding their voice  to ours  they have chosen to ignore these issues. This is not any kind of balance that respects the environment. This is lip service.

Let the Mayor know what you think.

Please continue to write to the Minister of the Environment. Barring Township Council changing their mind only timely intervention from the provincial government can save this forest now.

More soon.

Press Release from Township of Langley

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Monday, January 28, 2013

GLEN VALLEY LAND SALE: STATEMENT FROM MAYOR JACK FROESE

I am pleased to announce that Council made a decision during tonight’s in-camera meeting regarding the sale of the east Glen Valley properties commonly known as Gray Pit. After much deliberation, Council decided that the Township will keep all of the parcels to the west along 257A Street – totaling 25 acres, more than half of the total property – while authorizing the sale of the four lots to the east along 260 Street. This decision comes after hearing much input from the community, from people passionate about preserving these lands. Council agreed that this forested land is an important and valuable environmental area and is significant to our community. The area being retained is the treed portion of the former gravel pit site and remediation work will be done to the property where necessary and Council may consider designating as parkland in the future. Of the four eastern lots to be sold, the sale of the two lots to the north will proceed immediately. Improvements to and remediation of the two lots of the south will be made before those can be sold. In the meantime, Council has also authorized the use of borrowing from other Township surplus and reserves, including short term borrowing of less than five years, to fund the Aldergrove Community Centre until the land sales occur. Staff has been directed to allocate $1.5 million per year from the Township’s annual surplus to the Land Reserve Fund for five years. This follows Council’s decision in July not to sell 21 acres along 84 Avenue, between 252 and 254 Street, commonly known as McLellan Forest. Now, in total, nearly 50 acres of Glen Valley land will be retained, and approximately 20 will be marketed. This was an issue that truly mobilized the community and Council was grateful for your contributions and input. With this decision, we feel we have struck a balance between retaining environmentally significant land that residents have shown is a much valued resource and the need to raise funds for a new recreation centre for the community.

LANGLEY FINE ARTS DOCUMENTARY

A documentary prepared by LFAS students about the Mclellan Forest East should be released to the public very soon. We will let you know.

JOYTV

Check out this story that has been showing  on Joytv10 for over a week.

Please keep writing those letters to the Minister of the Environment. Hope to start publishing some of them soon.  Also write to the Mayor and Council. before their decision on Monday.

REPRIEVE FROM THE CHOPPING(AUCTION) BLOCK

Township Council has once again deferred making any decision regarding the proposed sale of the Mclellan Park East(aka the Gray Pit Lands) until at least Monday January 28. This has been confirmed by Legislative Services at the Township. A note to that effect should be found in the minutes of from Monday's meetings. Those minutes should be available for public viewing on the Township website by Friday.

We don't know why the Mayor and  Council has put off the decision but it surely has something to do with the public interest in saving this threatened forest and the ecological issues that WOLF has identified. Please continue to express your support for saving this ecological gem. As always please do so in a courteous and polite manner. WOLF thanks you for your support.

Please continue to write to the Minister of the Environment to ask him to get involved in finding a solution to this problem. When you do so cc your message to the Mayor and Council and your MLA. Already peole from acroos the Province have already written. The forest is of reginoal ecological significance and saving it should be a provincial issue and not just a local issue.

-Kirk Robertson

THE GENEROSITY OF SUSAN FALK

Accomplished Langley artist Susan Falk visited endangered McLellan Forest East in Glen Valley east of Fort Langley during an arts and activism event in the forest on Oct. 28, 2012. Afterwards, she was inspired to create this piece, “McLellan Forest,” which she later generously donated to the local conservationist group WOLF (Watchers of Langley Forests) to help further their efforts to see this rare ecosystem protected for future generations.

Langley artist Susan Falk with her work "McLellan Forest" at the Fort  Gallery

WOLF is selling the painting by silent auction  at The Fort Gallery. Bids begin at $400.00 and the bidding goes till the end of February Bidding is in increments of fifty dollars. People can bid either at the Fort Gallery personally or by emailing Susan Falk at susanjfalk@shaw.ca  

WOLF would like to express their gratitude to Susan Falk for her generosity in this matter.

Check out  these newspaper  stories.

Langley Advance-Arts sale aids environmentalists

Langley Times- For the Forest

 

 

ASK THE PROVINCE TO GET INVOLVED

Yesterday Watchers of Langley Forests sent a letter to the Minister of Environment for the Province of British Columbia. In the letter WOLF asks the Minister for aid  in conserving the the Mclellan Park East Forest(also known as the Gray Pit Lands). You can read the letter here.

This forest is of regional ecological significance and would be an great candidate for provincial Ecological Reserve. The Lower Mainland Region of the Ministry of the Environment has already identified it as priority for acquisition. The conservation of the this land in it's natural state is matter of importance for all of British Columbia. What is needed is political will. Which brings us to how all of you can help.


WOLF has started the process. Now for this issue to capture the attention of the Minister and the Provincial Government  others will have to raise their voices. In the nest few days please take the time to write a short letter or email to the Minister of Environment asking him to get involved. As always is it is important to be polite and courteous. The Province has not done anything wrong here. They did not cause this problem but they can be part of the solution.

The Minster of Environment is Terry Lake. His email address is : env.minister@gov.bc.ca

His  mailing address is:                                                   
Hon. Dr. Terry Lake
Minister of Environment
Room 112
Parliament Buildings

Victoria, BC

V8V 1X4

Address him as Minister Lake. Given the short time frame emails are better than letters. Consider cc'ing any email to your local MLA.

Another thing that can be done is to write a letter to the editor for the Vancouver Sun or The Province.

-Kirk Robertson

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year everyone. Our Christmas blogging hiatus is now over. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. Some of you may even still be on holiday. The break is over for  Watchers of Langley Forests though. January is going to be a busy month. As you can read here Township Council has put off any decision about the sale of the Mclellan Forest East parcel(also known as the Gray Pit lands)  until January 21. We believe that we have a strong case for the conservation of this  ecologically valuable forest but Council has not yet made up their minds.

In the days to come we will have information on this site about how you can help including an important message about reaching out to the provincial government. Hint it involves writing letters.The general public's assistance in this matter is  not only greatly appreciated but it is also essential. This is not just a matter for the people of Langley Township but also the entire Lower Mainland Region and indeed the whole province. This forest is of regional ecological significance and it will not be saved without people from outside as well as inside Langley speaking up. As always when you do so it is important to be polite and courteous.

As you may know the Langley Advance named the campaign to save the forests in Glen Valley the News Story of 2012. In the spring and early summer we were just a small group of neighbours and concerned citizens.The name Watchers of Langley Forest had not even been thought of. We  would not have become newsmakers without the support of members of the  public beyond Glen Valley. I want to thank everyone for their support. Not only did it make us an impact on the media more importantly it made an impact at the political level.The point of getting media attention  in the end is to change public policy for the better. We are not done yet and I hope that the  that the work of WOLF and all of you on affecting public policy makes everyone realize that they can make a difference. Making your voice  heard on something that matters in your community is not a futile exercise. It can and does create change. Halfway there is no time to stop.

Just before Christmas Watchers of Langley Forests received official status as a registered society. You can become a member of WOLF by following the directions at this blog post. At the moment the process is limited to  snail mail but if we can figure out a way to do it electonically that is secure,efficient and economical we will do so.

I would like to remind everyone that you can follow us on twitter or  like us on facebook. You can subscribe to our newsletter by going here.

That all for now. There will be more to come soon.In the meantime here is a link that will take you some videos on youtube. You can also view this photo album.

-Kirk Robertson
Vice Chair
Watchers of Langley Forests