Vancouver Park Board outlines Phase 2 of Stanley Park tree removal
The Vancouver Park Board plans to continue removing dead trees from Stanley Park.
Joe McLeod, the associate director of urban forestry with the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, said the work is necessary to ensure public safety and mitigate wildfire risks.
“We don't want to get to a point where we're gambling with people's lives,” he said.
McLeod said there are about 160,000 dead trees due to the hemlock looper moth, but said only a fraction of those trees will be removed.
In Phase 1 of the work, he said less than 8,000 trees were removed. According to McLeod, Phase 2 will see around 11 per cent of Stanley Park’s forested areas targeted.
“With the passing of time, those trees become more likely to fail.” he said. “And when those trees fail, obviously that's a great deal of mass that could impact a person.”
On Tuesday, the park board voted to continue this plan, despite hearing from dozens of speakers against it.
At the meeting, Vancouver resident Patrick DuBois said he felt the process lacked transparency and that the park board’s work was creating more harm.
“Dead trees feed the next generation, so removing them – for whatever reason – starves their children so to speak,” he said. “You are interrupting the natural cycle of the forest.”
Christine Thuring, a plant ecologist, also spoke in opposition to the plan.
“I find the methods of logging conducted to date – sorry, risk mitigation – conducted to date to be questionable,” Thuring said.
McLeod is adamant the city is not conducting a logging operation.
“We are purely mitigating risks here because we want to maintain a healthy and ecologically, structurally intact forest for generations to come," he said.
McLeod said the city planted 25,000 trees in the first phase, and adds it plans to plant about 15,000 more.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau and Harris? Poilievre and Trump? Here's who Canadians think would work best with: survey
As Americans prepare to elect their next president on Tuesday, new data from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians hold differing views as to which federal party leaders would be best suited to deal with either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
B.C. port employers launch lockout at terminals in labour dispute with workers
Employers at British Columbia ports say they are going ahead with locking out more than 700 foremen across the province after strike activities from union members began.
Months after VRBO booking, Taylor Swift fan told home 'not available' during Vancouver concert
A frustrated Taylor Swift fan is speaking out after being pushed from a short-term rental she booked for the upcoming Vancouver leg of the superstar’s Eras Tour.
Felonies, assassination attempts and a last-minute change on the ticket leads voters to Tuesday's U.S. election
A campaign that has careened through a felony trial, incumbent being pushed off the ticket and assassination attempts comes down to Election Day on Tuesday.
Measles cases in New Brunswick more than double in three days
A measles outbreak declared in New Brunswick’s Zone 3 last week, which includes Fredericton and the upper Saint John River Valley, has more than doubled since last week.
Prison sentences handed down for sexually abusive London, Ont. parents
In handing down the sentences for two London parents, Justice Thomas Heeney told the court, "The facts of this case were the most egregious that I have encountered during my 26 years on the bench."
She was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about a year ago. Here's how her condition was reversed
A year ago, Lorraine O'Quinn was coping with stress, chronic illness and Type 2 diabetes. Then she discovered a health program that she says changed her life.
Surprise swing state? Iowa poll has Harris suddenly leading
Based on victories in the past two elections and polls leading up to Tuesday’s election, Donald Trump had seemed almost certain to win Iowa, but a new poll has Kamala Harris with a sudden three-point lead.
Russia suspected of sending incendiary devices on US- and Canada-bound planes, Wall Street Journal reports
Incendiary devices that ignited in Germany and the United Kingdom in July were part of a covert Russian operation that aimed to start fires aboard cargo and passenger flights heading to the U.S. and Canada, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday, citing Western security officials.