Dear Editor:
Thank you for your recent article on the streamkeepers of McDonald Creek. The helpful article seems a bit one-sided. It referred to this once-pretty park area as boggy and overgrown which is a tad deceptive. The wedding guests, picnickers, artists and reflecting seniors who used this area, do not consider this little oasis a bog. It was a reprieve until the fish-rearing pond arrived. This portion of McDonald Creek was the only area of Memorial Park where locals could unwind in privacy, the rest of the park is quite open or road-facing.
Now our little fishy friends, wondrous as they are, have come before taxpaying park users. Not satisfied with kilometres of marine research land on Marine Drive, the fish hatchery on Capilano Road or the numerous regional breeding streams, the fish have trumped locals and taken prime park real estate. Apparently, the neighbourhood was canvassed for support. Many of the park's neighbours heard nothing and were quite surprised at this development. For those who frequented this private sanctuary, for decades, it's a harsh reminder that fish now trump park users. Perhaps more balanced reporting would have covered both sides of this "augmenting."
Maureen Storrie West Vancouver
