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Highway of Good Intentions? Vancouver Olympic Plans Bulldoze Rare Forests

Despite a reputation for environmental friendliness—and official pledges—the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are already taking an environmental toll

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GOING GREENISH:
thumb: GOING GREENISH:

GOING GREENISH:

Vancouver, often noted for its stunning natural surroundings, won the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics back in 2003 and the event is changing the shape of the city--particularly a controversial stretch of highway....[More]

NO BLUFFING:
thumb: NO BLUFFING:

NO BLUFFING:

The Eagle Ridge Interchange marks the beginning of a controversial highway reroute. This south facing bluff is home to the rare coastal bluffs Arbutus ecosystem that includes the Howell's Violet, a species blue-listed by the Canadian government, meaning it is vulnerable to extinction....[More]

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS:
thumb: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS:

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS:

The new highway [ at the left ] runs right up against the Larsen Creek Wetlands, in the right of the photograph. The wetlands are home to the blue-listed red-legged Frog....[More]

MERGING MAMMALS:
thumb: MERGING MAMMALS:

MERGING MAMMALS:

Bruce McArthur is a retired construction project manager from Horseshoe Bay who led the Coalition to Save Eagleridge Bluffs. Here he is standing under the new highway by one of the mammal highways that are meant to facilitate the flow of animals between the main forest and the smaller island of forest that has been fragmented by the highway reroute and expansion....[More]

TELLING SIGN:
thumb: TELLING SIGN:

TELLING SIGN:

This sign was placed on a tree next to the highway construction area just south of the Larsen Creek Wetlands by the contractors. While the wetlands are intact at the moment, there are concerns from environmentalists and ecologists that the construction of the highway right next to them will increase tree fall, the wetlands' vulnerability to invasive species and light penetration in the sensitive area....[More]

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  1. 1. acbyram 06:29 PM 8/5/08

    As a resident of West Vancouver close to this development, I find this article to be quite biased. I am a committed environmentalist, a Sierra Club life member, but there needs to be a balance between environmental concerns and human society. What the author doesn't point out is that there was already a 4 lane freeway just yards from the new road, and that by building houses as we have in West Vancouver, we have already wildly disrupted this particular environment. I would have preferred to see a tunnel instead of an above-ground road, but it's more important that we spend money on saving Clayquot Sound or other relatively untouched areas, instead of blowing $100's of millions on some minor, already disrupted area.

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  2. 2. Liz Byrd 01:46 PM 8/6/08

    As protestor and an arrestee on Eagleridge Bluffs I was very close to the response and support we were receiving worldwide. We received over a million unique hits on our website, and 100,000 per day for the last few days before we were all arrested. Liz Byrd

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  3. 3. alphachapmtl 05:44 PM 8/6/08

    Where is Eagleridge Bluffs?
    A map of the area showing the new highway would have been useful.

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
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