Western Canada Wilderness Committee

Golden Ears and Good Times

Golden Ears Park is in the backyard of the folks from Maple Ridge. I’m betting that it is one of the major contributors to the local economy (on the basis that it’s the only reason I’ve ever had to go there). The weather was great and Alouette Lake was calling…

Okay, so the biggest suprise I got at Golden Ears was that someone had actually read these journals (someone besides my girlfriend and the WCWC staff, that is). These folks came up and we started talking and I mentioned the website and the guy was like, "Yeah, you had trouble with the wind in Manning, right." Whoa. I guess I'm famous then. I'll try not to let it get to my head. And thanks for the comment, Mr and Mrs, Kaybertoss!

One funny part of the weekend at Golden Ears was the fact that the banner we were using was from an old campaign. Maybe you remember, or maybe not, but Blue Mountain (the other side of Alouette Lake) is unprotected and there are two active cut blocks there. The removal of lumber from these cut blocks is very limited but, hey, knock it off and protect the damn thing already. It’s part of the Kanaka water shed that supplies about 15,000 people with water. So the banner read something like, “STOP LOGGING plans for Alouette Lake and Blue Mtn. – SIGN THE PETITION!” I used it for the “SIGN THE PETITION!” part but there was some confusion. People would come up to the booth and go, “Stop logging? Where do I sign?” Others, when we’d try to draw them over by telling them that we were trying to get rid of the parking meter, would say, “No, you’re not, your trying to stop logging.” Ah, what you have go through when you have a non-profit supply budget.

Really though, the banner wasn’t a big issue. We had an unbelievable amount of support. This is one crazy busy park. Part of the success came from the fact we got to set up on the grassy area in the center of the lot right next to the parking meter. There were line-ups for most of the morning just to pay for parking. And while in line people were given the opportunity to vent their discontent by signing the petition and were supplied with a WCWC newsletter (reading material for the beach!).

I’d like to thank Meagan (my girlfriend) and Sean (my hommie from waaay back in tha day) for coming out to help. This place was way more than one man could handle. If you were there, you’ll remember Sean as the guy with dreadlocks down to his butt, pierced nipples and brandings on his chest and lower back (the ones on the back were mostly covered by dreads). Mostly, he played hackey sack and only tried to speak to the cute girls as they paid for parking but he was the major getting-set-up and taking-it-all-down guy of our operation. While I got last minute signatures, he did all the manual labour. Thanks dude!

[Before I start this next story I should mention that the parking meters I’ve seen around the lower mainland do give change, unlike the ones I saw in the Okanagan.]

On the Saturday, Sean and I are hacking and two blonde teenage girls come up giggling away. They saw our “Save the Parks” banner and started whispering to each other, “All the parks should be turned into malls.” Giggle, giggle. Then, they make a production of trying to figure out the meter. We give them some advice on the meter’s workings and they put in a twoonie. Out of the change comes $2.30 in the from of 9 quarters and a nickel and *poof* the machine was busted! For the rest of the day it just said “Returning Coins…” and did nothing. Way to fight the power, girls! After that, they signed the petition and paying for parking became passé for the rest of the day.

The local paper, the Maple Ridge Times came up to see us. They did photos and an interview and everything. Sadly, we didn’t make their website, so I haven’t seen their story on us. I heard it was short. They have, however, put a poll on their site about whether or not people think the meters should stay in the park. As I write this, the vote is 40-9 against the meters. If you want to vote, it’s at http://www.mrtimes.com/ in the top right corner.

In a funny story, while Sean and I were getting our camping spot, a couple of 30-something women pulled in. They were very clearly a lesbian couple but the camp manager, an older fellow (he looked somewhat like Lanny MacDonald with his moustache) suggested to them that, “two young fella’s are available.” The lesbians laughed and we laughed; I don’t think Lanny understood his gaff.

Lastly, I’d like to take a moment to comment on those that won’t sign the petition. There are a few different kinds. Some don’t think that they can make a difference with a petition and that the government won’t listen to anything, so why bother? To them I say, if you think that way, they’ve already won. I’m reminder of the scene from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King when King Theoden of Rohan addresses his men upon the unexplained departure of Aragorn. They say, 'We can’t defeat the armies of Mordor' and he answers, 'No we can’t; but we’re going anyway.' They end up winning without hope, so with hope… Hey, you never know if you don’t try.

Some folks are afraid to approach us for whatever reason. I can’t help you people. If you’re really in that big a hurry, okay.

But the real reason I got on this rant is: Ralph Klein guy (after this called RK-guy). RK-guy loved, I mean loved, Ralph Klein. Thought he was a genius. Quote: “If an election was held today, Ralph Klein would get 99.9% of the vote.” I know he didn’t hear my point but I looked into it further after we talked and here it is: Ralph Klein was in the right place at the right time. The reason Alberta is out of debt: OIL. There was/is an OIL crisis in the world. Alberta was declared out of debt as a direct product of the OIL industry. His politics are not a cookie-cutter fix-it job for anywhere in the world. Fire as many government employees as you want, it won’t solve the debt, RK-guy. Believe it or not (and I know Ralph Klein and his guy don’t), the environment matters. Point-in-fact: My sister lives in Calgary. She recently had a miscarriage that resulted in cancer (she had kemo and is doing fine now). She works for a chemical company in a province that doesn’t regulate sour gas emissions. Is that why she miscarried? Maybe not. But I would suggest that minding environmental matters is certainly more than a secondary concern.

That all I’ve got on the matter. If you want more, check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Klein

I’ll be back soon with more anecdotes and less ranting about Brandywine Falls.