To the Editor,
Many citizens seem to believe that development of the Somass Lands site into housing or commercial activities is a foregone conclusion and that renaturalization is impossible. However, Campbell River, Courtenay, Parksville, and Nanaimo have all renaturalized their abandoned industrial lands on the coastal foreshore. The problems of industrial contamination have not been insurmountable in those places, and the costs have been covered.
Somass Lands are part of the most important salmon estuary on Vancouver Island. Why aren’t we restoring our estuary salmon habitat?
The Somass Lands are a flood plain in a prime tsunami zone. Are we the only community on Vancouver Island planning to build housing on a flood plain? When will we learn?
James Wright,
Port Alberni