After more than four years of acrimony, protests, righteousness and bitterness on all sides, it seems the ‘environmentalists’ didn’t win after all. One of the sites where the Marine Trail Resort was to go is now being logged.
Ender Ilkay was prevented from building his resort, which would have consisted of 257 vacation cabins, a lodge and a recreation building. Jobs would have been created for those folks who live in the Port Renfrew and Jordan River areas and tourists would have come to enjoy the area along the Juan de Fuca Trail.
Well, the powers-that-be and the environmentalist prevented that and now the loggers with feller bunchers are demolishing the lot for the wood. Not such a nice scenario but Ilkay had no choice. He was sitting on over $5-million dollars worth of property he could do nothing with, except log it for the timber or sell it. But who would buy a property they can’t do anything with? Can’t blame him for trying to recoup his losses but, now everyone loses. Close to 86 per cent of the property Ilkay owned would have been saved as undeveloped areas and parks. It’s not much of a park now and it sure isn’t pretty.
The question here is, what would have been better? Tourists who come to enjoy our magnificent scenery and stay in cabins close to the trail or a clear view to the water through a relative clearcut. As much hue and cry as there is about clearcuts, sometimes, as in this case, they are the result of way too much interference.
Perhaps there is a lesson here.