Environment

Our Favourite Stories of 2020: Woman attacks cougar in bid to save dog at Nanaimo River

NANAIMO - A story that stands out from 2020 fits perfectly with how wild a year it was.Cougar sightings alone are quite rare and typically almost never result in a physical interaction and over a 17 y...

Dec 21, 2020

SAR officials double-down on common sense messaging

NANAIMO - A high-profile life-saving rescue at Little Qualicum Falls has search and rescue officials reminding people to enjoy the doors in a safe manner.A man believed to be in his 30's is recovering...

Dec 19, 2020

Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club changes gears by hiring youth to maintain trails

NANAIMO - Nine people who've struggled with employment are riding to new careers by working on Nanaimo's many mountain bike trails.The 15 to 29-year-olds were recently hired full-time by the Nanaimo M...

Dec 18, 2020

Federal health minister asked to review Alberta's use of strychnine as wolf control

EDMONTON - Animal advocates have asked the federal health minister to review a decision that allows Alberta to keep using strychnine to poison wolves in an ongoing effort to preserve caribou herds. Wo...

Dec 18, 2020

Environmental groups keep fighting KXL despite Biden's promise to block pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Critics of Canada's most controversial cross-border pipeline projects aren't taking their demise for granted under president-elect Joe Biden. A new report from the U.S.-based Rainfo...

Dec 08, 2020

Tent fire closes Parksville's Mark's Nature Park

PARKSIVLLE - A tent fire has closed a popular Parksville park for several days. Parksville Fire Rescue crews arrived Wednesday, Nov. 25 just before 5 a.m. to Mark's Nature Park on Finholm St. to find ...

Nov 26, 2020

Fossil fuels to decline but remain big player in Canada's energy use by 2050: report

OTTAWA - The Canada Energy Regulator says reaching net-zero emissions over the next 30 years will to require a much more aggressive transition away from oil and gas.The annual Energy Futures report re...

Nov 24, 2020

West Ballenas Island preserved, purchased from private owner for $1.7M

NANAIMO - A privately owned island off Nanoose Bay is poised to be preserved as park land thanks to a substantial fundraising campaign.The BC Parks Foundation has secured an agreement to purchase West...

Nov 16, 2020

De-icing highways tops list of regional highway maintenance crews

NANAIMO - While the mid island region braces for the first potential snowfall of the season, highway maintenance crews are taking a proactive approach.Daniel Hutchins, regional general manager of Main...

Nov 10, 2020

First Nations techniques leading conservation fight against iconic Canadian bird in Nanaimo

NANAIMO - Local conservationists are leaning on traditional First Nations techniques to stop an iconic Canadian bird from destroying local fish habitat. Non-migratory Canada geese are feeding year-rou...

Alex Rawnsley Nov 07, 2020