Part 3: Stakeholders wary of slippery slope that comes with changes to Fisheries Act

Larri Woodrow stands outside his former property in Walnut Grove area of Langley, which he sold in 2011 for townhouse development. The avid fisherman and hunter said the fisheries setback requirements eroded the value of his property, and that the Fisheries Act should be more flexible for special cases. He now fears Bill C-38 is going too far in gutting the Fisheries Act. n with Larry Pynn’s story, “fish concerns” as part of series on Bill C-38.

Photograph by: Kathy Woodrow, Vancouver Sun

Part 3: Stakeholders wary of slippery slope that comes with changes to Fisheries Act

While farmers and municipalities would like to see some flexibility, they worry the Harper government's omnibus legislation goes too far

Third in a four-part series

By Larry Pynn,

Vancouver Sun

June 7, 2012

A seasonal stream flowed through Larri Woodrow's one hectare hobby farm in the north Langley neighbourhood of Walnut Grove.

Although the property, purchased in 1970, was outside the agricultural land reserve, Woodrow personally favoured the area remaining rural. But that's not what happened.

Over time he found himself surrounded by townhouses and compact single-family homes. Woodrow accepted his fate and decided to sell his property for development, too. At least that was the idea.

Salmon never reached his property and the stream dried up in summer. But, as a tributary of coho-bearing Yorkson Creek, a 15-metre setback applied under the Streamside Protection Regulation of 2001. The provincial legislation was meant to complement the federal Fisheries Act - the subject of controversial changes pending under Bill C-38.

Combined with a BC Hydro easement, that left just .37 hectares on Woodrow's property that could be developed.

He tried to be creative, hiring a consultant to propose relocating the tributary and building new habitat in the hydro easement, thereby allowing for more developable property to attract a buyer.

Government officials rejected the idea.

In 2011, local developer Lanstone Homes finally bought the property and built 13 townhouses - marketed as Woodrow Lane, a relatively modest project for that area.

Woodrow has since bought a 1991-built single-family home in Walnut Grove.

"When people think of landowners' property going to development, they think of windfall profit," he said.

"We couldn't get enough money to buy another similar hobby farm anywhere in this area."

Woodrow understands the need for rules and regulations, but wishes there could have been a way to appeal his case and reach a compromise.

Unlike some property owners who quietly cut down trees and fill in wetlands to enhance their chances of development, he said he planted firs and cedars to enhance his property's streamside habitat.

"There has to be some means of fairness applied to these regulations," he said.

Despite his experience, Woodrow remains a strong believer in fish habitat protection and is concerned that the federal government is watering down protection under the Fisheries Act.

"It's sad," said the hunter and fisherman, a regional representative to the B.C. Wildlife Federation.

"We need protection for the fish, we have to have habitat, and we're losing it every which way."

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