Letters: An important step, but more is needed

Editor:

Re: Salmon habitat restoration

I was very pleased to read the recent articles re: salmon habitat restoration on the lower Fraser River (Optimist, May 19).

These efforts are indeed an important step in the right direction to restoring our valuable salmon resource. The Fraser River estuary is a vital component of the Fraser watershed.

I firmly believe that the entire Fraser watershed requires the same level of restoration to maximize the Fraser's potential as an important food source. In terms of climate change I feel that it is imperative that Canada recognize the issue of food security and give it the highest priority.

We should call upon our local, provincial, and federal governments to work co-operatively to restore all of our watersheds and forests to a healthy state. Restoration projects would be a valuable example of how to transition to a more sustainable economy. The climate justice movement is now calling for watershed and forest restoration.

After last November's terrible floods B.C.'s insurance industry began calling for a change in B.C.'s forest management. Clear-cutting of our forests, wildfires, and climate change were cited as the major contributors to the devastation caused by flooding and landslides.

A collaboration between UBC, UVic, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation on Lower Fraser salmon restoration at a cost of $45-100 million per year over 25 years, the document is now peer reviewed and will soon be published.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change now says that humankind needs to take drastic action now to keep the earth habitable for human life, so as my dad said we need to “wake up and smell the coffee!”

John Stevens