Dear Editor,
I live right beside Garry Point Park in Steveston. Last week, my neighbours and myself were treated to an atrocity by the Richmond parks department, whose workers unceremoniously dug out the waterway beside the Dyke Trail.
I understand that the parks department needs to clear the waterway every few years because of buildup of organic matter. What I do not understand is why they needed to do this in the middle of the nesting season for thousands of migratory and native birds, many of which are protected species.
Does the Richmond parks department not have an environmental consultant? I cannot conceive of the level of due diligence that was absent in the decision-making process in approving the timing of this project.
This project should have been done in the fall, when fewer species would have been impacted.
Please help me to understand the logic in destroying key habitat for protected species at the height of the breeding season?
Pamela Andrews
RICHMOND
