The topic of rewilding will be discussed at a forum to be hosted on Zoom by the Highlands District Community Association (HDCA) on March 15 starting at 7:00 pm.
As part of the HDCA Speakers’ Series, the Rewilding Forum will feature two local conservation and restoration experts, June Pretzer and Ernie Sellentin. Both grew up in logging families on the BC coast (Sellentin himself was a faller for over 20 years) before dedicating their education and careers to habitat conservation and restoration.
Rewilding is a fairly recent term generally meaning to restore an area of land to its natural state and possibly reintroduce species that have been driven out through human activities. Rewilding is gaining popularity worldwide as a means of mitigating climate change and restoring natural habitat.
Rewilding is being considered by the Highlands community as a potential option to encourage disturbed lands near the southern entrance to the Highlands return to their natural state. Two of the large properties include current and former toxic waste sites that have been capped, and another is under excavation as a bedrock strip mine. Currently, these properties are either wholly or partially zoned Greenbelt, but the community forum will explore the potential implications of designating the future land use of these properties as ‘rewilding.’
The “Gateway” properties are part of a larger area within a South Highlands Local Area Plan (SHLAP) undergoing a community engagement and planning process to establish the community’s vision for the future of the southern entrance to the Highlands. A recent SHLAP engagement survey containing three options showed that about 75% of respondents favoured the option of restricting future development of the lands, and exploring opportunities for additional site regeneration, conservation, and climate change mitigation – all of which are aspects of rewilding.
HDCA Chair Scott Richardson said the community association believes Highlanders would be well-served with more information and ideas on rewilding to prepare them to give informed and meaningful feedback on a draft Local Area Plan when it comes forward for public review.
“We’re hoping that when people hear the panelists present their research and experience on what’s being done with rewilding elsewhere, they might have a clear picture of what could be possible here in the Highlands,” said Richardson.
“Is some form of climate change mitigation possible and appropriate in this area? If so, what might that look like? What are some of the pros and cons? These are some of the questions we’re hoping the panelists will shed some light on,” said Richardson.
“Ultimately, the future of the Gateway properties will be determined by the landowners, guided by the community’s vision as stated in the South Highlands Local Area Plan,” said Richardson. “Therefore, it’s important that we get this guiding vision in the SHLAP right. The purpose of this forum is to contribute to that objective by answering questions about rewilding.”
The HDCA Rewilding Forum is open to the general public and will be online from 7:00 – 8:30 pm on March 15. The Zoom link for the event can be obtained by sending an email to hdcacontact@gmail.com with Rewilding in the Subject line.
For more information about the South Highlands Local Area Plan, visit the SHLAP Engagement Hub on the District of Highlands website.
Contact:
Kenn Faris, Vice-Chair, Highlands District Community Association
Phone: (250) 920-9311