Weir decommission delay to provide time to incorporate public comments into final plan

Local Journalism Initiative
·2 min read

Pushing back the decommission of the Coats Marsh weir by one year is to give the Regional District of Nanaimo additional time to respond to public comments, according to parks staff.

Initially scheduled to be undertaken late summer and early fall of this year, RDN manager of parks, Rick Daykin, said pushing back construction to that same period in 2025 “was made to provide sufficient time to revise the decommissioning plan in response to public comments received through the engagement process.”

In December and January the RDN held a public comment period for the preliminary decommissioning plan which included an in-person information session on Gabriola. Questions included whether construction activities will affect the beaver living in the marsh and what methods are proposed to reduce impacts. The RDN’s public engagement summary report says such questions will be addressed in the final plan.

Other feedback included a letter from homeowners that share a property line with the regional park. As per the public engagement summary, staff committed to reviewing communications practices with parks operations team members, review opportunities for project phasing and discuss feasibility with the project consulting team, and review design options for retaining the existing berm – which was installed by property co-owner The Nature Trust of BC – and discuss maintenance requirements.

The decision to delay the project by one year was made in February, according to Daykin. Also in February, the RDN board passed a motion to conduct an impact assessment of the project on wildlife habitat as well as recommendations to mitigate effects of habitat loss. RDN staff said this assessment by the project biologist is scheduled to be complete by in June.

“Habitat mitigation opportunities presented in the assessment may also be included in the final decommissioning plan,” Daykin said.

Under the new project timeline, the habitat risk assessment, decommissioning design and permitting application began in April and will conclude in October. Construction tendering is scheduled for April-May 2025 followed by construction late summer/fall 2025. Thus far, $189,675 of the $414,100 budget has been spent.

Rachelle Stein-Wotten, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Etobicoke residents plead for help amid rat infestation

    A rat infestation is plaguing residents in a south Etobicoke neighbourhood.And they're blaming an impromptu garbage dump set up by residents of a nearby homeless encampment in Mimico's Coronation Park for their new furry neighbours — though a pest control expert and their local councillor say a nearby excavation site is likely contributing to the problem.Regardless, the neighbours are pushing for action from the city that they say is long overdue."There needs to be a massive clean out; there nee

  • Rescued bald eagle is huge, but why isn’t its head white?

    The young raptor, found with a broken femur near a popular Tennessee lake, underwent surgery Friday.

  • Damage at Yukon's Eagle mine site could be 'worst-case scenario,' says local mayor

    The mayor of Mayo, Yukon, says a heap leach failure and slide reported Monday at the Eagle gold mine will have a "huge impact" on his community, and the territory as a whole. Mayor Trevor Ellis said he's shocked by the incident which has indefinitely halted operations at the mine."'Catastrophic' would probably be, from what I'm hearing, would probably be a good way to describe it," he said of the incident.Few details about what happened and the extent of the damage at Victoria Gold's mine site h

  • A big boost for a climate solution: electricity made from the heat of the Earth

    One method of making electricity cleanly to address climate change has been quietly advancing and on Tuesday it hit a milestone.

  • Woman 'Seriously Injured' After Being Mauled by Wolves at Zoo in France

    A Paris woman was attacked by Arctic wolves while out for a run at the Thoiry ZooSafari in France and sustained bites to her neck, leg and back

  • New species of arachnid captured on video for first time

    The Associated Press has captured footage of a new species of arachnid on camera for the first time. Biologists in southern Spain discovered the new species - the first of its kind to be found in the country in 200 years. Gluvia brunnea belongs to the order solifugae and, although they are sometimes called camel spiders, they're actually a different creature altogether.

  • Video captures shocking moment when worker comes face-to-face with black bear at Tennessee park

    The black bear entered a concession stand, coincidentally named "Bear Can," at a mountaintop adventure park in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

  • First sand martin chicks spotted at nesting site

    The chicks are living in an artificial nesting bank which was installed in the reserve last year.

  • I explored the ruins of an abandoned zoo on the coast of Florida, and it was completely overrun by nature

    Crandon Park Zoo was abandoned after hurricanes ravaged the beach and drowned animals. Today, wildlife like alligators and peacocks live in the park.

  • Alberta regulator projects 17 per cent growth in oilsands production by 2033

    CALGARY — The regulator responsible for overseeing Alberta's oil and gas sector has released a new report projecting the province's oilsands production will grow by more than 17 per cent by 2033.

  • Wolves attack woman who went jogging in French safari zoo

    A woman staying at a French safari zoo was attacked by several wolves on Sunday after she entered the reserved part of the zoo which is “usually only accessible by car,” the zoo’s CEO Christelle Bercheny told journalists.

  • Wolf Shows Playful Interest in Grizzly Bear's Meal

    A wolf seemed super keen to get a piece of a bison carcass from a grizzly bear, footage by a nature photographer in Yellowstone National Park shows, but the bear seemed unimpressed by its antics as it bounced around.Trevor LaClair said he filmed the scene in April 2023, when the bear pulled the carcass from a frozen pond.“Two of the wolves approached the grizzly. One of the wolves got too close and the bear lunged at it as a warning. However, the wolf viewed it as an opportunity to potentially lure the bear away and began play bowing and bouncing around,” LaClair wrote on Instagram.“After a while, the grey wolf gave up and laid down nearby, waiting patiently for a piece of meat,” LaClair added. The grizzly eventually left and the wolves were able to get their turn.According to the National Wildlife Federation, a wolf will dance and bow if it is feeling playful. Credit: Trevor LaClair via Storyful

  • A potential Trump VP pick backs a controversial CO2 pipeline favored by the Biden White House

    BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is one of Donald Trump’s most visible and vocal backers, sprinting around the country to drum up support for the former president’s comeback bid while auditioning to be his running mate.

  • The ‘world’s largest mammal migration’ happens here every year. War means no one knows about it

    New research shows that more than 5 million antelope cross South Sudan each year – blowing the world-famous Serengeti migration out of the water.

  • Why are the northern lights sometimes pink?

    Stream Good Question, Saskatchewan on CBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts. If someone asked you to draw a picture of the northern lights, what colour crayon would you reach for?"They probably start with green," said Daniel Billett, a postdoctoral fellow in space physics at the University of Saskatchewan.Billett said green is the most commonly seen colour in the aurora borealis.But Cindy Sherban and her family were wondering why hues of pink and purple will sometimes dance across the sky

  • Entangled right whale calf spotted in Gulf of St. Lawrence, DFO says

    HALIFAX — Canadian officials say a North Atlantic right whale has been spotted entangled in fishing gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

  • Watch: San Diego Zoo celebrates birth of endangered Baird's tapir

    The San Diego Zoo announced the birth of a female Baird's tapir, an endangered animal native to Mexico and Central America.

  • Detroit plans to rein in solar power on vacant lots throughout the city

    DETROIT (AP) — Patricia Kobylski remembers when there were lots of people living in her eastside Detroit neighborhood. There aren't as many anymore — and haven't been for a long time.

  • Lufthansa to raise fares by up to 72 euros as environmental costs increase

    (Reuters) -Lufthansa will add an environmental charge of up to 72 euros ($77) to its fares, the airline group said on Tuesday, joining at least one European rival in doing so as the industry battles to cover the cost of new EU rules on reducing emissions. Fares will go up between 1 euro and 72 euros, depending on the type of ticket, on all flights departing from European Union countries, Britain, Norway and Switzerland, the German airline group said. It said the charge would "cover part of the steadily rising additional costs due to regulatory environmental requirements" such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from bio-based materials - regarded as crucial to making flying less polluting.

  • 'Lack of capacity': China climate envoy rejects US, EU overcapacity claims at Dalian forum

    China's special envoy for climate change has called for expanded production of the country's renewable energy products, citing a strong global demand, in a sharp dismissal of overcapacity claims raised by Western economies. "[There are] only two groups of countries that are talking about so-called overcapacity. One is the United States, the other [is] the European Union," Liu Zhenmin told an international forum on Tuesday. "For the rest of the world, for international organisations including the