In July 2008, it came to the attention of Whistler Watch that BC Transit was planning to locate a new bus garage on top of a sensitive rare wooded-wetland owned by BC Hydro. The site has now been cleared, but we have not given up the fight.  Continue reading to learn more about the issues involved. Although the municipality claims that these are the "greenest games ever", Whistler has lost over 72% of its wetlands to date and the hydrogen is being brought in via train by Montreal. How green!

Link here to view the BEFORE and AFTER photos of the Nesters Wetland area.

Nester's Wetland Site
The BC Government has identified the site in question as red-listed (i.e. a wooded wetland) and that it represents a rare type of eco-system that is entitled to protection. Unfortunately, the site itself is too small and is already facing heavy pressures from pre-existing developments, for the government to protect it. This does not change the fact that the ecosystem type is classified as rare and that it should be protected. The RMOW has also classified the site as "sensitive" under the municipality's mapping tool, PAN that is used to identify areas in Whistler in need of protection. The BC Hydro site is classified as Pan 1 and is classified as having the highest level of protection.

Whistler has already lost over 72% of its wetland and with the destruction of this sensitive site, we have now lost more.

Parties Involved
BC Transit is a Crown Corporation, owned by the provincial government.
BC Transit entered into an agreement with BC Hydro, another Crown Corporation, to house the new garage on their site in Whistler which is just North of Nester's. 
Because the land in question is owned by a Crown Corporation it does not have to seek approval of local governments on how the land is managed, and is not subject to any local environmental bylaws. 
Despite the fact that the municipality does not have a say in the matter a vote was taken by Whistler Council and all but two councilors (Eckhard Zeidler and Ralph Forsyth) voted to approve BC Transit's plans. 
The other 4 councilors voted in support because they believe that BC Transit is their 'partner,' so they could not in good faith vote against their proposal. 
Whistler municipal staff worked closely with BC Transit to locate a site and were the first to suggest the BC Hydro lands. 
4 days after the BC Hydro lot was cleared, the RMOW announced that another site  - the BCBC (Alta Vista Lands) was being acquired by the municipality and could possibly be used to house the transit garage!
BC Transit had previously argued that this "alternate" site could not be considered because it was owned by First Nations, who were unwilling to budge. Now four days after the Hydro site was logged, we are in the process of owning this alternate site.  When BC Transit made its presentation to council, staff must have known that negotiations were taking place in regards to the other site.  Why was this not made public?

On June 11, Minister Kevin Falcon told Global TV that "there is a misunderstanding. No wetlands will be cleared." In light of what has happened, Mr. Falcon has some explaining to do!

Mitigation Plans?
BC Transit has promised to mitigate the environmental impact by recreating the wetland and by putting in a channel with continuous flow.  Here are some issues with their plans:

• The plan does not list the area in question as a "wetland" - despite the fact that the area fits the Federal Governments definition of a wetland.
• Wetlands are possible to recreate, but can not match what nature already provides natural.
• BC Transit demonstrated total disrespect for the environment was evident in the brutal way they cleared the wetland area. They completely cleared the site, including the wetland area and undertook poor mammal and terrestrial vegetation inventories. Did you know that two otters live in Nester's Pond?

Why We Continue to Fight
The wetland has been cleared, we haven't lost the fight.
So why don't we shut-up and go home and just stop protesting? 
Given the trend of destruction that we have outlined above, we have decided that we have had enough and we will not stop. 

We plan to continue raising awareness about government accountability, Olympic green-washing, local and provincial government bullying, and the destruction of habitat.
■    Join the Facebook Group “Stop BC Transit from Paving a Wetland”

Donate to Whistler Watch – Campaigns like this cost money.  At the moment all costs for this protest have come from the pockets of concerned citizens and members of Whistler Watch.  If you would like to contribute financially please email whistlerwatch@hotmail.com.