July 11, 2004
Manning Park
June 17 - 21 and June 24 - 27
Here is my report from Manning Park, where the government has allowed logging in the 'doughnut hole', an uprotected area surrounded by the park. It was promised protection but left out of the park because of an existing (unprofitable) mining claim. It is also spotted owl habitat.
I started off the BC Parks Lover's Roving Tour on a bit of a false start. Andy Miller and I made for the Cayuse Flats and, with much ado, got all the banners, poles, etc. stashed and ready to go for the next morning. Unfortunately, the next morning, the highway crew that's doing upgrades on the road right at the Cayuse Flats made it impossible to actually do a kiosk there. Is it a coincidence that the clearcuts in the Manning Park doughnut hole are being obfuscated by highway developments? I'll leave it up to you to decide.
So after an fairly long debate with a logger from the highway crew (who insisted that the northern spotted owl was [a] not a native species, [b] not being harmed by logging and, finally, [c] that the sole pressing threat to its survival is predation by the barn owl), I packed up camp and head on down the road to the West Gate.
It turn out that the West Gate is a windy place. A wind canyon kinda windy place. I came home shortly after the discovery that putting up the banners and tarp kiosk in such a place by myself was simply beyond my abilities.
So the next week...
Andy and I went out together again and set everything up. It was like a scene from Moby Dick, our heroic struggle against the mighty elements, trying to keep the kiosk grounded while the gods themselves sought to set them a flight on torrents of air. But I digress. With a lot of rope and foot long nails, we managed to keep the booth and banners in place. Then, it was show time. We worked our mojo and got signatures from the passersby, many of who were genuinely disheartened to hear that even parks (and their doughnut holes) aren't safe from chainsaws with the Liberals in power.
Beyond the kindness of many people who gave me food (thank you all for the watermelon, chips, and especially the Toblerone), the most memorable visitor I got was the gentleman who, once I told him that there was logging up the road, told me I was a 'pinko' (among a list of other none-too-repeatable terms). Once I got home, I asked my girlfriend Meagan what a 'pinko' was. It turns out a 'pinko' is a communist. So, on top of everything else, I learned a new word.
So that was pretty much Manning. Our highway signs (STOP LOGGING the heart out of MANNING PARK) faced early weekend vandalism and end-of-weekend sign-napping. Seriously, the last sign just vanished. It baffles the mind honestly, but what can you do? We got a bundle of signatures on the petitions and I came home.
Okanagan, ho!
