This blog has been silent for many months now. This was not intended and I hope to rectify that by catching people up in this post.Over the course of the Autumn of 2013 a long year and a half campaign to save the Mclellan forests in Glen Valley wound to a close.What has once seemed impossible became reality. However there seemed less urgency to report good news than there had been to report the bad news. I think I felt compelled to write something profound that would sum up the the inspirational conclusion to so many months of hard work by so many people. Details that I wanted to nail down gave me excuses for neglecting my blogging duties. November came and went. The holidays passed. Life interfered. My bad habit of procrastination reasserted itself. As a result many people may have missed some important facts or heard about them only by happenstance. Here is my attempt to rectify that.
In September 2013 Trinity Western University announced that thanks to the generosity of a local family it was purchasing the Mclellan Forest East. On September 24 a Dedication Ceremony was held to the memory of the late Thomas Blaauw.
Then in late October the Mayor announced that Mclellan Forest West or just Mclellan Park had been designated a Natural Park by Township Council. The ongoing concern that this parcel was not adequately protected had been unexpectedly resolved. The petition campaign that we had been conducting since the Spring in an low key manner came to an unexpected ending.
I will have more to say about what has been going on with TWU and the forest that they are now custodians. . A place with too many names already has a new name. Mclellan Park needs an official name from the Township. WOLF is looking forward to working with TWU and TOL with regard to the lands they have assumed responsibility for.
Watchers of Langley Forests intends to continue as a going concern. We will continue to speak up for the conservation of forests throughout Langley. I hope to have an announcement shortly about our first Annual General Meeting. Mclellan Park Blogspot is now a misnomer but until further notice it and the facebook page will continue to be the place to find information about WOLF and our activities. I hope this will not be confusing for people.
Because in fact there are issues that WOLF is involved with right now. But see the next post.
If anybody has questions or would like to get involved with WOLF please write to savemclellanpark@gmail.com.
Kirk Robertson
Chair
Watchers of Langley Forests
Mega-congratulations to WOLF and all their supporters for bringing about this great result! This is a testament to what a few dedicated people can do in the face of a threat to our forests and our treasured green spaces.
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