PROTESTS STRENGTHEN DETERMINATION OF MAN TO LOG QUEEN'S GETAWAY ISLE
Despite cancelled water taxi services and flotillas of protest boats,contractor Mike Jenks says he won't stop cutting timber on Twin Islands-a retreat visited by Queen Elizabeth in 1971 and 1994.
THE VANCOUVER SUN, MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 1998
Mark Hume Vancouver Sun
A contractor who is logging an island that was Queen Elizabeth's
favourite West Coast retreat says a growing number of protests won't stop
the cut from continuing.
"If anything, it will make me more determined," says Mike Jenks,
whose company has been logging Twin Islands for several weeks, despite
demonstrations and protests.
Twin Islands, which is actually joined to form one island, are
located in Georgia Strait just south of Cortes Island. They are renowned
for their idyllic beauty and for the guest book at a historic log lodge
that records two visits from the Queen, in 1971 and 1994.
"I mean, the Queen visited Victoria and they didn't stop
development there.
"Just because she visited a place, you don't make it a shrine. It
defies logic," Jenks said.
His logging crews have had to pass flotillas of protest boats, have
been told by a Cortes Island motel that there's no more room at the inn,
and have had a water taxi cancel its services to them.
Jenks, who has become a controversial figure because of logging on
other Gulf Islands, says he's learned to take such things in stride. Of the
Twin Islands protests, he said: "It's not a lot more than I expected."
But those who are opposed to the logging operation say the heat may
become more intense.
"I'm dedicated to stopping this," said Bernie Anderson, a Cortes
Island resident and former Twin Islands caretaker.
He said Twin Islands is one of the most beautiful places in Georgia
Strait and should be preserved in its natural state.
"They are prying the jewel out of the crown," he said. "I am
furious. I am livid."
Anderson said not only did Queen Elizabeth visit Twin Islands
twice, but the later Lester Pearson, former prime minister, also went there
once for a retreat on world peace.
Anderson said the site is a favourite boating destination and yacht
clubs from Vancouver and Seattle maintain outports nearby.
He said the peaceful setting and a log lodge with nine bedrooms and
a log lodge with nine bedrooms make it a unique place that's worth saving.
"I would love to see Twin Islands turned into a native healing
centre," he said.
"There's no other place that would serve as well as this."
"It shouldn't be allowed to happen here in the strait, where so
many boats go by.
"Huge passenger liners go past here. What are people going to think?"
Bob Fraser, a Vancouver real estate agent who specializes in
recreational property in Georgia Strait, said a number of people have
expressed interest in buying Twin Islands in order to preserve the site.
But so far, none of the proposals has solidified.
Fraser said the site, which sold for $4 million, would be more than
that if it was preserved in its natural state.
But he said action must be taken soon, before the logging becomes
extensive.
Jenks, who is associated with Vancouver businessman Peter Shields,
began logging in mid-December.
He said it will take about one year to finish the operation.
Paul Knepperges, the current caretaker, said he is quitting his
post to get away from the logging.
"I can't stand it anymore-it looks like he has declared war on the
island," he said of Jenks' logging operation.
Knepperges, who was there during the Queen's last visit, said she
spent two days just hiking the trails and walking the beaches.
"We could see was really stressed and pale looking when she
arrived. You could see her relax when she got here. She just loved it."
Knepperges said that in addition to its historical value, Twin
Islands is worth saving because of its importance to nesting birds, which
are attracted to the old growth forest.
Iris Steigemann, who lives within eyesight on Cortes Island, said
many of her neighbours are furious about the logging.
"We can hear the machinery working every day," she said. "It makes
me very sad."
Steigemann said Twin Islands is "unique and very beautiful" and a
big part of what makes the strait so popular with tourists.
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