Red Ferret has found a hammock that looks awfully fun: Cacoon is half tent, half hammock. Would you sleep in one of those? I’d try one, but think my own hammock is far more practical. Cheaper, too.

This is the Gabriola forest, as the day’s light fades, and as I start to think that we should have been out of the woods a half hour ago.

This is what the pond at the Gabriola Commons looked like this afternoon.

His house is near the 707, so perhaps he’s in that area. Somebody saw a black dog wandering around early Monday morning on Bertha; Dormilon’s owners are hoping that he was the dog that person saw. And maybe that means he’s still in the area?

If you see this dog, please call 250-247-8324 or 604-710-9819. His humans are worried and are desperate to have him back.

Some days ago, members of the Bowen Island Conservancy and a representative of the Islands Trust Fund, the two parties which will manage the new nature reserve for Bowen, noticed that the use of ATVs and other four-by-four vehicles has resulted in erosion of trails and creeks. This erosion will deposit large amounts of silt, which will, in turn, smother all life in the creek.

There are many reasons for the fen’s reserve status. It lies within the only undeveloped water shed (Huszar Creek) in the Lower Mainland. The fen stores a large amount of water which is slowly released during the dry season keeping Huszar Creek from drying-up. The deep (up to three metres) Sphagnum moss serves as a colossal carbon sink. The varied fauna and flora are of great interest to many. It is a truly magical place. [continue]

What interests me about this article is that it explains exactly what impacts those vehicles will have. I imagine bicycles could cause similar damage, yes?

So this helps me to understand just why cyclists are asked not to bicycle in Gabriola’s Elder Cedar Nature Reserve (S’ul-hween X’pey) on Gabriola.

News has come from France that some captive-born dolphins there have been recorded talking in their sleep — and talking in Whale, no less, not Dolphinese.

The scientists involved say this would be the first time that dolphins have been recorded mimicking sounds a significant period of time after hearing them.

But there’s also the intriguing possibility that these sounds — virtually identical to sounds made by the humpback whale — may, if the dolphins are really asleep and not just resting, be direct expression of something the dolphins are dreaming. [continue]

You’d think that a tree as damaged as this one would have given up the ghost, but no. It grows on, and produces a healthy crop of branches and leaves.

It’s in the middle of the Gabriola forest, of course.

Any guess on what kind of carnivore? I suspect this is a dog skull.

It’s rather high up in a tree – somebody’s come along with a big ladder to put this one up, I think.

Next time you’re driving from Silva Bay towards the Village, see if you can spot this mask. It’s on the right side of North Road, past Tait, and just past the u-turn place on the right.

If you’d like to read the report for yourself, wander over to bcferrycommission.com and view the Coastal Ferry Act Review Report Released page. There (or here, through the following links) you can download the report and its recommendations (pdf) and other public documents related to the review (pdf).

Islands Trust 2012-2013 Budget Now Available Online For Public Input

VICTORIA — The Islands Trust is seeking public input on its proposed budget for 2012-2013 available from the Islands Trust website at www.islandstrust.bc.ca. The Trust Council will make a final budget decision at its March 6-8 meeting on Gabriola Island.

Islands Trust taxes account for between 10-20% of the total property tax bill for property owners in the Islands Trust Area, depending on other property taxes charged on each island. The Financial Planning Committee is recommending that the Islands Trust Council adopt a budget of $6.9 million for 2012-2013. This proposed budget represents increased expenditures of $63,000 offset by increased revenues of $2,000, which would result in a 1 per cent increase in Islands Trust property taxes for 2012-2013.

Last year, the owner of a property assessed at $450,000 paid about $291 in Islands Trust taxes. If approved by Trust Council, the proposed Islands Trust budget for 2012-2013 would mean a tax increase of approximately $3 for a property of that value. However, the change in taxes on a particular property is also dependent on the relative changes to property assessment values throughout the entire Trust area.

Our goal is to keep budget increases low, while still delivering some new programs and improvements that respond to our constituents’ requests, said Sheila Malcolmson, Chair of the Islands Trust Council. We want to know what people think of this year’s budget proposal, especially whether we have struck the right balance between the need for services and keeping tax increases low.

The proposed budget will enable Trust Council to work on the following strategic priorities, in addition to maintaining its core functions:

• Review and update of the Islands Trust Policy Statement, adopted in 1994. The Policy Statement lays the foundation for the principles, policies and decisions of the Islands Trust. The Islands Trust has applied for a grant for the extensive community consultation that would be required for this project. If a grant is offered and Trust Council decides to proceed with the review at its March quarterly meeting, the grant would minimize the impact on property taxes.
• Compliance with provincial requirements under the Riparian Areas Regulation. This regulation requires local governments to ensure that fish habitat within their jurisdiction is protected to specific standards. Funding to continue the work to bring the Islands Trust Area into compliance includes public consultation to develop necessary bylaws, and mapping streams where the regulation would apply.
• Increases to the remuneration for trustees elected in 2011. Since trustee remuneration is important in enabling individuals to provide this type of public service, the previous Trust Council adopted a revised remuneration bylaw to encourage more diversity in the candidates who ran for office last November.
• Significant improvements to the management and accessibility of our records. In 2011 a new system replaced a thirty-year-old system to ensure efficient tracking and retrieval of documents required by the public, trustees, staff and other parties. The two-year implementation plan for the new system will be completed in 2012-2013.

The proposed budget could also fund several other strategic programs, some with significance throughout the Islands Trust Area, and some of importance to individual island communities. The proposed 2012-2013 budget could:

• support completion or significant advancement of community work in reviewing Official Community Plans and Land
• Use bylaws in seven Local Trust Areas. In addition to public consultation, specific work would be related to affordable housing, groundwater and shoreline protection, and food security.
• implement community planning projects on Salt Spring Island related to the Official Community Plan
• consult with the community about shoreline protection on North and South Pender islands
• improve groundwater protection on Galiano Island
• finalize updated bylaws for islands in the Ballenas-Winchelsea archipelago
• improve the accuracy and availability of Islands Trust mapping products
• enable office renovations in the Salt Spring Island office
• provide additional laptop computers for trustees, to transition to ‘paperless’ meetings.

Islanders expect us to carry out our provincial mandate in a cost-effective manner that minimizes pressures on taxpayers, said Malcolmson. As a local government we must also undertake a number of mandatory tasks and are faced with cost increases beyond our control. To respond to islander’s requests for more programs and services while keeping cost increases as low as possible, we have examined our budget carefully and reduced spending in other areas wherever possible.

Before proposing this budget, our Financial Planning Committee met several times and carefully considered the options for providing the programs and services our communities ask for, as well as meeting our legal obligations as a local government, Malcolmson said. The proposed budget represents many hours of discussion and debate. Now we need to hear from islanders.

Budget details are available from the Islands Trust website at www.islandstrust.bc.ca or directly from the following Islands Trust offices:

1-500 Lower Ganges Road,
Salt Spring Island, BC
Phone: 250.537.9144

700 North Road,
Gabriola Island, BC
250.247.2063

200-1627 Fort Street,
Victoria, BC
250.405.5151

The Islands Trust welcomes submissions from the public on the proposed budget. All written input provided by the public, and received by noon Thursday, March 1st will be considered by Trust Council before it adopts a final budget for fiscal year 2012-2013. If people wish to have their feedback considered by the Financial Planning Committee before it finalizes its budget recommendation to Trust Council, written submissions should be sent by noon Friday, February 10th.

Comments can be sent to: Islands Trust Council, Attention: Treasurer at #200-1627 Fort Street, Victoria, BC V8R 1H8; by fax: 250.405.5155 or by e-mail to Budget2012@islandstrust.bc.ca.

The Islands Trust Council is a federation of local government bodies representing 25,000 people living within the Islands Trust Area. The Islands Trust is responsible for preserving and protecting the unique environment and amenities of the Islands Trust Area through planning and regulating land use, development management, education, cooperation with other agencies, and land conservation. The area covers the islands and waters between the British Columbia mainland and southern Vancouver Island. It includes 13 major and more than 450 smaller islands covering 5200 square kilometres.

Before moving to Gabriola, we’d always had eggs from the supermarket, and figured that the ones that said organic or free range (or both!) were the best. But those eggs aren’t nearly as good as the ones we get down the road. Why is that?

There are several reasons. One is that labels like organic may not mean what you might think they do. This is worth watching:

And local food producers are worth supporting.

This sign amuses me no end. What has happened to the poor un-lost cat, and how many times?

I have been surprised by the dozens of robins all around our place at the south end. I’d be curious to hear the birders explain their sudden appearance in great numbers. Does this mean spring is really on the way?

(Posted with John’s permission.)

What do you think, Gabriola birders?

A cougar crossed in front of my car on Daniel Way on Saturday morning. Handsome with blackish grey fur. This was an adult with round head and a tail, about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long, healthy-looking and presumably quite happy on a diet of venison and rabbits and quail. I reported the sighting. The cougar was the size of a 2 to 3 year old German Shepherd, but ran like a cat and had the typical tail.

This report is from a friend of ours, and he saw that cat just two days ago.

I bought it on the interwebs, of course.

And oh yes we did have a multi-hour power outage today. (How long was it? 9 hours, maybe?)

But dogs never have to guess. They know as soon as they meet me that I have tasty dog treats in my pocket. Their question is what do I have to do to get those treats?

This boy is so desperate for treats you’d think his humans never feed him, though I know they do. He’s a particular favourite of ours. You’ve seen him before.

We woke to four or five inches of snow on Gabriola today, and what a pretty scene that makes.

But of course all sorts of things grind to a halt on the island when it snows. Spud postponed grocery deliveries until Saturday. The Gym at Twin Beaches closed, and I bet GIRO did, too. The shops seemed a bit emptier than one might expect.

Well, no matter. I can wait for groceries, I’m not a gym member, and I wasn’t organized enough for a GIRO run today anyway. We did get to the forest, though, and that was magical.

If you’re determined to ride on snowy roads and trails, here’s something you might like to try: zap straps (also known as zip ties) on your tires for added traction. The Dutch Bike Company of Seattle explains all in their Seattle Snowpocalypse blog post. Pretty snazzy, hmm?

Snuneymuxw First Nation chief Doug White fears for the First Nations and other people along B.C.’s coast if the proposed Enbridge Gateway pipeline proceeds.(…)

White said the possibility of a dramatic increase of an activity in the area that could have devastating environmental consequences is a serious concern for everyone connected to the coast, including the Snuneymuxw.[continue]

Is there anybody who lives on the coast who isn’t worried about this? I haven’t met anybody on Gabriola who thinks the pipeline is a great idea, but maybe I just don’t get out enough.

Modify as desired, of course. We don’t need no steeenking sugar here.

(What is that burning smell? Oh. Potholder on fire. Right.)

VICTORIA – The Islands Trust has now launched its new online mapping system – MapIT – identified on their web site with a new logo for easy access: www.islandstrust.bc.ca

This is a very exciting new online mapping tool that gives islanders quick online access to much of the same mapping information that our staff and trustees use during the land use planning process,” said Linda Adams, Chief Administrative Officer. “Now you can explore the islands with the click of a mouse in your own home. Or you can build your own custom map of a single property or an entire island. I think this will be a particularly useful and interesting tool for homeowners, community groups, students and businesses that need property information, but anyone interested in knowing more about the islands or specific properties will find it helpful.

Over several years, Islands Trust staff have assembled mapped data in cooperation with several other agencies. MapIT puts it all in one place, matches it to legal property lines and makes it easily accessible to the public. The new mapping interface provides many new features, such as more frequent updates of geographic information and simple, fast and informative data exploration and discovery tools. Highlights include:

• intuitive easy-to-use interface;
• up-to-date information, including sensitive ecosystems, zoning and publicly-available property information such as assessment and land title data;
• access to Trust-wide topographic, contour, road, lot line, and air photo data;
• standard web map tools and functionality that allow you to control visible layers, adjust transparency, and explore associated features;
• mark-up tools for adding text and graphics to your map;
• measuring tools to determine distance or area;
• access to current and historical air photos;
• integration of Google Street View (where available);
• printable maps and reports; and
• compatible with standard web browsers.

MapIT will be a living tool, continuously growing and evolving”, said Adams. “The next step is to link the zoning classification for each property directly to the relevant land use bylaw. The best part is MapIT is friendly to the environment and to the public as we won’t need to charge now for printed maps.

The Islands Trust Council is a federation of local government bodies representing some 25,000 people living within the Islands Trust Area. The Islands Trust is responsible for preserving and protecting the unique environment of the Islands Trust Area through planning and regulating land use, development management, education, cooperation with other agencies, and land conservation. The area covers the islands and waters between the British Columbia mainland and southern Vancouver Island including Howe Sound and as far north as Comox (excluding Texada Island). The area is approximately 5200 square kilometres in size and includes 13 major islands and over 450 smaller islands.

Well. This grass exists. It’s in the midst of typically short grasses, but this clump is seven feet tall. Remarkable. I’d love to know if it’s native to Gabriola or not.

Now here’s a bit of news from Washington state, courtesy of this post on the Salish Sea News and Weather blog:

House Bill 1508 will exempt all gun ranges from noise ordinances. Why is that in the public interest?

I wonder how that came about. And what would it mean for us on Gabriola if a similar law were to be passed in BC?