Save Mcnab Creek/Howe Sound/Sea to Sky

[nuadixion]

Burnco of Alberta wants to open a gravel pit on Mcnab Creek estuary. It is wintering home for elk herds and many others animals. Mcnab Creek will be destroyed again; Howe Sound will be damaged again.....the herring started spawning, dolphins and whales returned and with them lots of tourists. All that benefits residents of BC; open pit mine will provide jobs for 12 people and benefit Alberta. I hunt those areas frequently and think it would be devastating to bring industry there.
Links to some readings and online petition.

http://futureofhowesound.org/campaigns/burnco/howe-sound-recovery/

http://thecanadian.org/stories/your-voice3/item/1714-top-10-reasons-to-save-howe-sounds-mcnab-creek-from-a-gravel-mine

[nuadixion]

We are talking about 20 years operation (24/7)....the creek will be destroyed...in theory it all can be fixed ......even devastation after nuclear explosion can be fixed....
Is it worth the risk? is there any benefit? Mathematicaly speaking tourists bring 100's x $ more money than industrial operation.
Dolphins, whales, herring, salmon have come back....Burnco will destroy it for the next 20 + years .....and all for a promise to repair it? We would be fools to let that happen.

[andrewscag]

Signed. .

[nuadixion]

Fishing in the Howe sound is one thing but let us not forget about the Mcnab creek estuary that is winter home to numerous herds of Roosevelt Elk. Those animals were re-introduced there in 2001 and are doing great. The Mcnab valley produces trophy class animals. Who knows what will happen once the open pit gravel mine opens there.

[geoskier]

My take on this issue is that a lot of people that have personal interests (Lions Bay views) have opposed the project from a biased perspective.

I am neither for or against the project until an environmental assessment comes out, at which point I would definitely be against it if it is harmful to fish and wildlife.

Side note: the company currently barges gravel from the NW coast of Vancouver Island for it's Vancouver contracts. On a global scale, this project "could" be the greener option given the short transport distance to the market. Aggregate mines should be located close to markets to eliminate unnecessary burning of fossil fuels which in turn leads to environmental destruction.

Either way, it would be nice if there was an actual scientific document to form my opinion on.

[nuadixion]

Federal fisheries already refused approval based on the impact to the Mcnab creek but Burnco took them to court. Now Fisheries took back their decision waiting for environmental assessment. It is pretty much impossible to have open pit mine operating next to a fish spawning creek and not cause damage. At the end it will be political game and the one with most money will win - (if we will sit quietly).
Lions Bay and Mcnab Creek estates are most vocal because it is their back yard. Do not forget Burard Yach club, Anvil Island children camp, Horseshue Bay, Gambier Island establishments....they are also very much opposed to it - it is their back yard as well. Anybody with any ties to Howe Sound will be directly affected....the rest of LM residents will be affected indirectly.....
Local contractors are supplied with gravel from Seachelt. Burnco moved to BC no too long ago and are very aggressive to take over the market. Few years ago they made attempt to do gravel pit in Mcnab Estuary but were turned down by fisheries - their reason then was to supply gravel for Sea to Sky highway.....it got built without it and without supply problems.
If you want to limit burning fossil fuel we need to change the main way of obtaining the energy. Destroying fish spawning creek to save few gallons of crude sounds a bit "backwards".

[geoskier]

Destroying a fish spawning creek in general is backwards. I definitely oppose it if the DFO does!

[wlbc]

How does the removal of some gravel hurt salmon, effect herring, dolphins, or killer whales?

It's not like they are going to remove material from the creek bed.

This is actually pretty clean industry, they will leave a lower elevation in the valley where the gravel is and when they are done landscape and plant more trees. The elk won't mind, there are many, many, miles of low elevation valleys back there.

[nuadixion]

There will be runoffs from the tailing pond.....mineral runoffs into the creek will change the PH of water.....
Compare Britannia Beach mineral runoff....it polluted most of the bay - there was no marine life whatsoever. After feds spent millions in clean up; marine life returned, herring returned so did dolphins and salmon and the whales followed.
It all starts small.....wrong Ph balance kills marine life at the bottom level = no food for small fish = no herring means no dolphins or salmon food; no salmon means no killer whales....
Right now it is a beautiful pristine area. Lots of recreational activity takes place. Tourists love it. Putting crushing machines in the middle of it, loading conveyers at the foreshore will change it into moonscape.

As Dr. Murray Newman, Past Director of the Vancouver Aquarium so aptly put it:"If Howe Sound were in any other part of the world, it would be a great national park."
As for the Elk -the valley does run far inland but so does elevation; it becomes high and steep - not so good for wintering grounds...becomes snow covered very early in the year. They stay in the estuary untill offsprings are born. So when estuary will become industrial the elk will have to move away from the valley.....industry was the first reason the elk became extinct there.


How does the removal of some gravel hurt salmon, effect herring, dolphins, or killer whales?

It's not like they are going to remove material from the creek bed.

This is actually pretty clean industry, they will leave a lower elevation in the valley where the gravel is and when they are done landscape and plant more trees. The elk won't mind, there are many, many, miles of low elevation valleys back there.

[Gunner]

Gravel removal is a filthy industry.Go take a look at the Coquitlam River after a good rain,the gravel industry virtually destroyed what was once one of the best steelhead streams in the Lower Mainland.Any heavy rain will wash silt and sediment into both Mcnab Creek and Howe Sound.If the pits are anywhere near McNab Creek you can say goodby to the existing coho,chum,steelhead and cutthroat populations.Settling ponds and diversions are a joke,it rains hard in Upper Howe Sound,and gravel extraction near salmon streams can only have one result.Heavy siltation WILL occur.No wonder DFO opposes this project.Petition signed. Gunner

[TheProvider]

Signed and shared on FB

[wlbc]

There will be runoffs from the tailing pond.....mineral runoffs into the creek will change the PH of water.....
Compare Britannia Beach mineral runoff....it polluted most of the bay - there was no marine life whatsoever. After feds spent millions in clean up; marine life returned, herring returned so did dolphins and salmon and the whales followed.
It all starts small.....wrong Ph balance kills marine life at the bottom level = no food for small fish = no herring means no dolphins or salmon food; no salmon means no killer whales....
Right now it is a beautiful pristine area. Lots of recreational activity takes place. Tourists love it. Putting crushing machines in the middle of it, loading conveyers at the foreshore will change it into moonscape.

As Dr. Murray Newman, Past Director of the Vancouver Aquarium so aptly put it:"If Howe Sound were in any other part of the world, it would be a great national park."
As for the Elk -the valley does run far inland but so does elevation; it becomes high and steep - not so good for wintering grounds...becomes snow covered very early in the year. They stay in the estuary untill offsprings are born. So when estuary will become industrial the elk will have to move away from the valley.....industry was the first reason the elk became extinct there.



Britannia Beach was a gold mine using old technology that IRC was abandoned and did some bad things. Kind of different from glacial till. The biggest danger from sand and gravel as some have pointed out is fine suspended particulate getting into the water. That must be strictly regulated.

Now it has been a few years but I have been all the way back to Salmon Inlet and looking over to Squamish from a mountain top on the other side. You are mistaken on the topography - there are miles and miles of low elevation valley. Now the elk may prefer being close to the water due to the heat sink effect of the ocean but I do not think it would be a show stopper for them.

DFO is pretty onerous these days, if it gets approved the fish will be fine.

My main concern for that valley as a hunter would be getting access past the pit operation if it were to start up.

[nuadixion]

It is the theories and faith that we have to rely on........but the real risk remains....for what benefit?
Wildlife will suffer, fish will suffer, tourism industry will suffer(boat rentals, wildlife viewing, sport fishing), film industry will suffer, Howe Sound will suffer....all for 12 jobs and profits for Alberta company?
Do the math ..... we are on the loosing end.
We will be fools to let it happen.

[fowl language]

ladies and gentlemen, i would urge you to do some homework prior to making a decision on this. burnco is a family run business that are a keen fishing family.in conversation with them they say they would like to restore mcnab creek to it,s original splendour. bcwf region 2 has had conversations with them and will listen further if they are granted a license.all i,m saying is do your home work before buying into anything that might be somewhat misinformed...dale

[knightcc]

How does the removal of some gravel hurt salmon, effect herring, dolphins, or killer whales?

It's not like they are going to remove material from the creek bed.

This is actually pretty clean industry, they will leave a lower elevation in the valley where the gravel is and when they are done landscape and plant more trees. The elk won't mind, there are many, many, miles of low elevation valleys back there.

It's all about water quality and habitat. Both of which are affected by quarries. Tell Alberta to find gravel somewhere else. Thanks for taking up the cause Nuadixion. We as hunters and fisherman need to get more active in taking up these environmental issues. I'm all for resource development but it needs to be done in a sustainable way. The technology exists to do so. We just need the political will.

Petition signed!

[nuadixion]

ladies and gentlemen, i would urge you to do some homework prior to making a decision on this. burnco is a family run business that are a keen fishing family.in conversation with them they say they would like to restore mcnab creek to it,s original splendour. bcwf region 2 has had conversations with them and will listen further if they are granted a license.all i,m saying is do your home work before buying into anything that might be somewhat misinformed...dale

I could not agree more.....They would like to restore....
"Road to hell is paved with Good Intentions"
This project was turned down twice already...including this phase; but Burnco took Fisheries to court over that.
Keep in mind - Burnco has lots of money and has hired many lawyers to help them "bend" the rules and find loopholes. People/ organizations who oppose it are non profit and not very well funded so it is hard to get the word out. Opposition will not profit in any way when the project is rejected. Once the get the permit there is no turning back....they would be monitored but we all know that is where it stops....nothing can be done if things go sideways.
Some helpful reads...

http://www.scrd.ca/BURNCO-Aggregate-Mine
http://savehowesound.org/
http://thecanadian.org/stories/your-voice3/item/1714-top-10-reasons-to-save-howe-sounds-mcnab-creek-from-a-gravel-mine

[yamadirt 426]

ladies and gentlemen, i would urge you to do some homework prior to making a decision on this. burnco is a family run business that are a keen fishing family.in conversation with them they say they would like to restore mcnab creek to it,s original splendour. bcwf region 2 has had conversations with them and will listen further if they are granted a license.all i,m saying is do your home work before buying into anything that might be somewhat misinformed...dale

Ya this just smells bad. Its human nature to look after ones self. Say one thing and do another. Petition signed

[TheProvider]

ladies and gentlemen, i would urge you to do some homework prior to making a decision on this. burnco is a family run business that are a keen fishing family.in conversation with them they say they would like to restore mcnab creek to it,s original splendour. bcwf region 2 has had conversations with them and will listen further if they are granted a license.all i,m saying is do your home work before buying into anything that might be somewhat misinformed...dale

By them saying they would like to restore it basically means they know they are going to be impacting it in a negative way. So after how many years once the operation is over with and they have "restored" it will the habitat by exactly the way it is today?

[nuadixion]

Britannia Beach was a gold mine using old technology that IRC was abandoned and did some bad things. Kind of different from glacial till. The biggest danger from sand and gravel as some have pointed out is fine suspended particulate getting into the water. That must be strictly regulated.

Now it has been a few years but I have been all the way back to Salmon Inlet and looking over to Squamish from a mountain top on the other side. You are mistaken on the topography - there are miles and miles of low elevation valley. Now the elk may prefer being close to the water due to the heat sink effect of the ocean but I do not think it would be a show stopper for them.

DFO is pretty onerous these days, if it gets approved the fish will be fine.

My main concern for that valley as a hunter would be getting access past the pit operation if it were to start up.


I hunt Mcnab valley very frequently and I tell you it is very tough terrain. I had many guests who went after Elk there(members of this board) - you can ask them. It is more of a goat country than elk....(but you see them sharing the terrain). Most of the valley becomes wintering grounds for goats. It gets covered in snow from mid november to may. Elk moves down to the estuary- it is the only suitable area to spend winter. If that gets taken over by a pit mine, elk will have to move to other valleys. Industry was the main reason elk went extinct in Mcnab and had to be reintroduced in 2001.

[ryanb]

One step forward, two steps back. Howe sound has long been on the receiving end of numerous poorly executed human endeavors. Lets try to keep some wild places close to the lower mainland before they are all gone.

[goatdancer]

The biggest danger from sand and gravel as some have pointed out is fine suspended particulate getting into the water. That must be strictly regulated.

DFO is pretty onerous these days, if it gets approved the fish will be fine.

My main concern for that valley as a hunter would be getting access past the pit operation if it were to start up.

How do you control dust? The stuff is everywhere when the digging and dumping starts and WILL get into the creek. As far as DFO is concerned, money talks and their political masters will tell them what to do.

Petition signed. I'm sick and tired of the mess industry causes and the taxpayer has to clean up.

[nuadixion]

How do you control dust? The stuff is everywhere when the digging and dumping starts and WILL get into the creek. As far as DFO is concerned, money talks and their political masters will tell them what to do.

Petition signed. I'm sick and tired of the mess industry causes and the taxpayer has to clean up.

Amen to that! If we all stand up against it and let our voices be heard, Burnco will have to back down. We cant let it go under the radar. Corporations go under and new ones are born the same day but at the end it usually is the taxpayer who will deal with consequences.

Thank you all for the support

[f350ps]

ladies and gentlemen, i would urge you to do some homework prior to making a decision on this. burnco is a family run business that are a keen fishing family.in conversation with them they say they would like to restore mcnab creek to it,s original splendour. bcwf region 2 has had conversations with them and will listen further if they are granted a license.all i,m saying is do your home work before buying into anything that might be somewhat misinformed...dale
Ha...ha...ha.... that's some funny $hit, maybe you could get BCWF to partner up with the fish farms too, they'll tell ya how great they are also. K

[Big Lew]

Until I retired a couple of years ago, I was directly involved in the gravel-concrete business. Burnco is indeed a 'family run' business, but they are no different then any other similar large business. I'm not suggesting they willfully ignore or break the rules, but they're in business to make as much profit as they can, not to make the world a pollution-free wonderland. They have concrete plants requiring gravel and cement throughout the Okanagan and Fraser Valley. I've toured through many gravel and concrete plants in western North America. No gravel plant, and very few concrete plants are pollution free regardless of who owns them. Just because their government bodies grant them a business license, monitor them, and allow them to extract gravel and produce concrete doesn't mean they aren't polluting. They are allowed a specified amount of pollution, and unless they're excessively and continually polluting beyond their license, the government bodies usually don't 'rock the boat'. There are different types of gravel quarries. The simplest type just screens the material into varied stone and sand sizes. Next type washes the mud and clay out of the gravel while it's screened. The third type includes crushing rocks into small sizes before the final screening. They all produce dust, not all of which can be controlled by filtration. Simply digging the raw material and transferring it to the plant creates dust. Washing the materials necessitates holding and settling ponds to contain the byproducts which don't solidify without expensive treatment for years. These holding ponds are often at risk of bursting.
Because of my 'real world' experience, I wouldn't recommend allowing a gravel quarry in a sensitive environment, especially one wishing to wash their material.

[geoskier]

My understanding was that this particular project was to be a dust free operation. That is, the gravel will be mined underwater. A dam will be erected around the area of interest, water will be pumped in, and then the dredger can operate within the enclosure. When the mining is done I would hope they would not be pumping effluent (water+silt) into the creek but instead the ocean.

[yamadirt 426]

My understanding was that this particular project was to be a dust free operation. That is, the gravel will be mined underwater. A dam will be erected around the area of interest, water will be pumped in, and then the dredger can operate within the enclosure. When the mining is done I would hope they would not be pumping effluent (water+silt) into the creek but instead the ocean.

That will kill the wildlife just the same. Coral reefs have been lost because of this. Take a hike burnco and btw your mud sucks says my concrete buddy's lol

[geoskier]

That will kill the wildlife just the same. Coral reefs have been lost because of this. Take a hike burnco and btw your mud sucks says my concrete buddy's lol

I would be interested in your theory of how this will kill wildlife just the same. Also interested in how you could possibly relate dredging for seafood to onshore dredging for gravel. Different machines, different process, different effects.

My issues with resource development such as this are that few people are actually properly informed. By no means am I taking sides with Burnco here, but if people are not properly informed about what the proposed development (and effects) are, then the resource industry itself is @#$#ed! (ie BC is)

[nuadixion]

I would be interested in your theory of how this will kill wildlife just the same. Also interested in how you could possibly relate dredging for seafood to onshore dredging for gravel. Different machines, different process, different effects.

My issues with resource development such as this are that few people are actually properly informed. By no means am I taking sides with Burnco here, but if people are not properly informed about what the proposed development (and effects) are, then the resource industry itself is @#$#ed! (ie BC is)

It is common knowledge that fish spawning creeks are very sensitive ecosystems (like baby nurseries)...any change in Ph balance will kill eggs, fry and most of other simple cell living creatures which life at the foundation level. Digging gravel 55 m or 200 ft down right next to fish spawning creek most certainly guarantees that minerals will be washed into it and therefore change PH level. 20-30 years of that will sterilize foreshore. There is nothing wrong with digging up gravel, but dont do it next to baby nursery.

[goatdancer]

My understanding was that this particular project was to be a dust free operation. That is, the gravel will be mined underwater. A dam will be erected around the area of interest, water will be pumped in, and then the dredger can operate within the enclosure. When the mining is done I would hope they would not be pumping effluent (water+silt) into the creek but instead the ocean.

So how is it better to pump the effluent into the ocean?

[dhog]

the proposed site of the gravel pit is actually going to displace a manmade spawning channel. Mcnab creek had good runs of searun cutthroat in it at one time and also steelhead, springs, coho chum and pinks i'm sure that the powers to be would say no to any development that would impact that many species of salmon But all one has to do is look to Port MbNeil and the Kiokish river you'll see how they are destroying it for a run of the river power project. They should save the valley for the fish and wildlife

[bcd]

Britannia Beach was a gold mine using old technology that IRC was abandoned and did some bad things. Kind of different from glacial till. The biggest danger from sand and gravel as some have pointed out is fine suspended particulate getting into the water. That must be strictly regulated.

Primarily copper, it was the largest copper mine in the British empire at one point. The pollution was from waste generated during processing, and after it closed was because the mountain was riddled with pits and tunnels, allowing way more water into the mountain than before the mine opened. Once the water was in, the huge amount of surface area provided by these cavities allowed the water to dissolve the metals into it, and the solution eventually found its way down into Howe Sound. As mentioned, not the same situation as mining glacial till and fluvial sediment.

I don't support this project if it will have significant detrimental effects, but comparing apples and oranges just struck me as a bit disingenuous, and made me wonder about the motivations of those opposing it.

[geoskier]

So how is it better to pump the effluent into the ocean?


Would you rather silt be pumped into the creek or the ocean? If you don't like pumping silt into the ocean maybe you can shut off the Fraser River for us. Come on dude... try a little harder.

[geoskier]

It is common knowledge that fish spawning creeks are very sensitive ecosystems (like baby nurseries)...any change in Ph balance will kill eggs, fry and most of other simple cell living creatures which life at the foundation level. Digging gravel 55 m or 200 ft down right next to fish spawning creek most certainly guarantees that minerals will be washed into it and therefore change PH level. 20-30 years of that will sterilize foreshore. There is nothing wrong with digging up gravel, but dont do it next to baby nursery.


No kidding they are sensitive ecosystems. But how are you certain that the pit will leak? Are you geological engineer familiar with the situation? Also curious about how the pH will be changed so significantly. The gravel they are digging is the of essentially the same rock composition as everything else in the valley. Therefore, it shouldn't have much effect. I would imagine that a large disruption to soil (logging) would cause a serious drop in pH due to the acids within the organics.

Either way, I am not for any development that will hurt our salmon. What I am for is due process and proper information dissemination. I live in the sea to sky and I would have appreciated a community meeting of some sort. I bet they had one in Gibsons and Lions Bay, but it should be more widespread.

[nuadixion]

No kidding they are sensitive ecosystems. But how are you certain that the pit will leak? Are you geological engineer familiar with the situation? Also curious about how the pH will be changed so significantly. The gravel they are digging is the of essentially the same rock composition as everything else in the valley. Therefore, it shouldn't have much effect. I would imagine that a large disruption to soil (logging) would cause a serious drop in pH due to the acids within the organics.



Either way, I am not for any development that will hurt our salmon. What I am for is due process and proper information dissemination. I live in the sea to sky and I would have appreciated a community meeting of some sort. I bet they had one in Gibsons and Lions Bay, but it should be more widespread.

There were numerous community meetings in Lions Bay, there is one coming up on 13 April in Horsheshue Bay at Glen Eagles . For more info refer to http://futureofhowesound.org/campaigns/press-release-future-of-howe-sound-forum/
As for the leaks... if you dig down 200 ft you never know what you are going to find(mineral compositions)..McNab Valley is known for its record rain falls...dont remember the numbers but it is something ridiculous like 200mm in 24 hrs....please double check that. "it rains so hard it makes your head bleed".
With so much water coming down the pit will overflow most definately

[goatdancer]

Would you rather silt be pumped into the creek or the ocean? If you don't like pumping silt into the ocean maybe you can shut off the Fraser River for us. Come on dude... try a little harder.

We can't avoid the silt from natural causes. This would not be natural, just a money maker for some corporation.

[nuadixion]

Primarily copper, it was the largest copper mine in the British empire at one point. The pollution was from waste generated during processing, and after it closed was because the mountain was riddled with pits and tunnels, allowing way more water into the mountain than before the mine opened. Once the water was in, the huge amount of surface area provided by these cavities allowed the water to dissolve the metals into it, and the solution eventually found its way down into Howe Sound. As mentioned, not the same situation as mining glacial till and fluvial sediment.

I don't support this project if it will have significant detrimental effects, but comparing apples and oranges just struck me as a bit disingenuous, and made me wonder about the motivations of those opposing it.

I do not think anybody is comparing Britannia mine to Mcnab gravel pit. The point is that feds just spent tens of millions of taxpayers money to clean it up and bring Howe Sound marine life back in order (which is working) and Burnco may easly F!@# it up again.

[nuadixion]

Here is link to more info about the development and petition.
We need to have our voices heard.

[Elkhound]

DFO is pretty onerous these days, if it gets approved the fish will be fine.



Im not so sure about that. There is a creek very close to McNab that the residents to port mellon get their drinking water from. They fought for a long time because an energy company wanted to put a dam up at the top of the creek. Residents said no way as they actually held the water rights and fisheries were brought in as well because the creek as fish in it. All said and done. I think money talks. The dam was built because fisheries said there was absolutely NO FISH in that creek. What a load of BS. We caught fish there. And even salmon at the mouth where it opens into the ocean. I helped fight for that one as I was a resident there. Was a losing battle.

[sae]

Sigh , how the il informed rant about groups they no nothing about , lets start as I work for a group like burnco I know for a fact that the ph level by law is to be kept at neutral or tailored to the req of the set telling ponds . There is no tailings in a gravel extraction opp . Just used and not used material . The environment is first and foremost with all these companies period . There is no money in fish kills or spilled oil . I spend thousands a month on dust control , floculent for the ponds , spill kits and training .
Be truthfull you just do not want a mine in your hunting area!
As far as the elk go look at sechelt the elk live at the mine , and flourish there lots of reclaimed land with grass and salt licks .

[wlbc]

There will be runoffs from the tailing pond.....mineral runoffs into the creek will change the PH of water.....
Compare Britannia Beach mineral runoff....it polluted most of the bay - there was no marine life whatsoever. After feds spent millions in clean up; marine life returned, herring returned so did dolphins and salmon and the whales followed.
It all starts small.....wrong Ph balance kills marine life at the bottom level = no food for small fish = no herring means no dolphins or salmon food; no salmon means no killer whales....



Okay, keep track of this quote...

[wlbc]

I do not think anybody is comparing Britannia mine to Mcnab gravel pit. The point is that feds just spent tens of millions of taxpayers money to clean it up and bring Howe Sound marine life back in order (which is working) and Burnco may easly F!@# it up again.

To this quote....



I am not necessarily for against this project but I will generate my view based on facts.

[nuadixion]

To this quote....



I am not necessarily for against this project but I will generate my view based on facts.

What facts are those?

[fowl language]

perhaps all the info you have put forward ,you could back up with scientific data ,please

[Big Lew]

One of our operations was similar in that part of the raw materials were dredged out of a man-made lake. This lake overflow entered a fish-bearing creek. This obviously stirred up the water, but not to the extent of killing off the fish because it wasn't long before I started noticing small fish around the pumping station that supplied water to the screening plant. Where the pollution occurred was from the plant itself, dust from the crushing, and fine sludgy material from the washing that had to be contained in sediment ponds. Unfortunately, all too often these sediment ponds experience rupture or overflow problems, especially during excessive rain periods. If Burnco's proposal doesn't include the necessity of containing the mud and fines from washing screened materials, then it probably isn't a serious risk over and above what happens naturally during snow melt off and excessive rain floods washing the creek banks etc.

[nuadixion]

perhaps all the info you have put forward ,you could back up with scientific data ,please

You should never trust any opinion or scientific data (it is very easy to rig it up)....but you can look at the industry historical record ..... very often it is backed by good intentions and bad outcome.
It is dirty and hazardous - no question about that- and taxpayer is stuck with the bill.
TO get some facts just google "Gravel pit" and start reading.

[nuadixion]

That is a very ignorant statement.

You need to examine the science behind the data. If you have no science you have no data all you have is opinions. "Science" can be done to deliever what one wants or it can be done correctly where the data says what it says.
What allowed the use of pestecides, hormones, antibiotics, GMO's in our food supplies? All cattle mass feed lots, fish farms, all other inhumane ways of raising live stock like chicken farms? Was there SCIENTIFIC DATA to support it of oppose it? Allergies, birth defects, obesity is out of control. Is it god's wrath? No. IS science wrong? No. It was/is adjusted to ones needs.

[bazza]

Burnco of Alberta wants to open a gravel pit on Mcnab Creek estuary. It is wintering home for elk herds and many others animals. Mcnab Creek will be destroyed again; Howe Sound will be damaged again.....the herring started spawning, dolphins and whales returned and with them lots of tourists. All that benefits residents of BC; open pit mine will provide jobs for 12 people and benefit Alberta. I hunt those areas frequently and think it would be devastating to bring industry there.
Links to some readings and online petition.

signed. thank you for bringing this to our attention

http://futureofhowesound.org/campaigns/burnco/howe-sound-recovery/

http://thecanadian.org/stories/your-voice3/item/1714-top-10-reasons-to-save-howe-sounds-mcnab-creek-from-a-gravel-mine

signed. thank you for bringing this to our attention

[new hunter]

How does the removal of some gravel hurt salmon, effect herring, dolphins, or killer whales?

It's not like they are going to remove material from the creek bed.

This is actually pretty clean industry, they will leave a lower elevation in the valley where the gravel is and when they are done landscape and plant more trees. The elk won't mind, there are many, many, miles of low elevation valleys back there.

When I was a kid growing up in Ladysmith on the Island I saw several healthy salmon spawns in the creek that ran behind my house .
Then , one day the highway dept decide to upgrade the highway bridge that ran over that creek.
The construction was done quickly and cleanly , and the highway workers seemed careful not to mess with the creek too much .
What they did do was clean up the area around the creek , removeing garbage that was on the banks and the bit of it that was in the creek bed . They did a beautiful job and when they were done the creek was almost a park with a nice clean embankment , a neat little path , and a clean and REGRAVELLED creek bed .
I never saw another salmon spawn in that creek again .
Hard lesson to lean when you 10 , but lesson leaned , do not f with waterways .
Clean up is one thing , but messing with a water system , even a little can have disasterous effect .
Where's the petition , I would like to sign .

[noahs ark]

I work for Burnco. Unfortunately gravel pits are a necessary evil in this world. I can tell you that after working on the Fraser river with this company for the last 9 years, that Burnco has strict enviromental policies. This state of the art pit will operate purely on electric power once in operation. It will be a underwater dredging system. I'm not trying to come across as cocky but Mcnab creek is going to happen. Gravel pits have to exist. Concrete is the most common man made substance on earth. If it wasn't Mcnab, it'd be some other spot. What about Jervis Inlet? That's where the agg comes from now? Sechelt?
Burnco rock products is the largest privately owned construction supply company in CANADA. An Alberta company employing over 300 British Columbians. How come you guys aren't complaining about Lafarge or the Leihigh group and their multiple pits over the region. Obviously there are more on this site that are against this, and I'm just a uneducated front end loader op, but I know that when (and will) Burnco opens up shop on Mcnab, they will tread lightly.

[Big Lew]

I'm not suggesting that Burnco has less than strict environmental policies, far from it as I personally know Mike Kask. I also acknowledge that the company that I worked 46 years for, Lafarge, has had several environmental problems despite their also strict environmental policies. As with the current debate about additional oil pipelines and heavy marine traffic transporting oil, accidents and incidents do happen and are a legitimate concern. The Mcnab watershed and estuary is a sensitive environmental area that shouldn't be subjected to such a threat. One only has to look at the devastation of the Coquitlam River to realize how deadly sediment affluent can be to a formally vibrant fish bearing stream. Much of that habitat destruction was caused by unexpected heavy and continuous rains that overwhelmed settling pond dykes, and as we know, it only takes a little bit of such extra fine sediment to suffocate fishes.

[nuadixion]

When I was a kid growing up in Ladysmith on the Island I saw several healthy salmon spawns in the creek that ran behind my house .
Then , one day the highway dept decide to upgrade the highway bridge that ran over that creek.
The construction was done quickly and cleanly , and the highway workers seemed careful not to mess with the creek too much .
What they did do was clean up the area around the creek , removeing garbage that was on the banks and the bit of it that was in the creek bed . They did a beautiful job and when they were done the creek was almost a park with a nice clean embankment , a neat little path , and a clean and REGRAVELLED creek bed .
I never saw another salmon spawn in that creek again .
Hard lesson to lean when you 10 , but lesson leaned , do not f with waterways .
Clean up is one thing , but messing with a water system , even a little can have disasterous effect .
Where's the petition , I would like to sign .

here is link
http://futureofhowesound.org/campaigns/environment/recovery-petition

[new hunter]

here is link
http://futureofhowesound.org/campaigns/environment/recovery-petition Thanks , I signed and so has my wife . I'll pass it around at work as well.