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VANCOUVER SUN (British Columbia) 01 June 05 Painted turtles a salutary lesson for wannabe 'green' Liberals (Stephen Hume)
Call it one small triumph for the painted turtles, one big reminder for politicians that no matter how shiny the nameplates on their office doors, they had better pay attention to the law when making decisions about the environment.
The turtles live in a little wetland near Nelson. By physical standards, their home is tiny, just 10 hectares named Grohman Narrows. But in spiritual and ecological terms, it's immense.
For one thing, the turtles, with their vivid splashes of red, green and yellow, are visited each year by hundreds of adoring kids, brought to discover the biological richness of this Class A provincial park. For another, in the arid southern Interior, there are few places that meet the habitat demands of painted turtles, a species blue-listed as vulnerable by the province.
"Habitat protection is the most urgent priority for painted turtle conservation in B.C.," warns the province's own literature. Furthermore, "even in parks, the development of roads, trails, beaches and campgrounds can have an impact on turtle habitat."
So imagine the surprise in Nelson when, despite these concerns, this wee park was where the Liberal government chose to support a developer's desire to relocate the park entrance. This was to accommodate highway access to a proposed industrial works yard on an adjacent property.
Despite protests from thousands of citizens in the West Kootenays, from respected ecologists and even from the government's own staff, this plan was cranked with so much political torque that ultimately even the province's own laws protecting parks were ignored.
In fact, says Suzy Hamilton of the West Kootenay EcoSociety, documents show that the province's own environment authorities in the region strongly advised against relocating the road because of the long-term threat to the painted turtle population at Grohman Narrows.
But this is B.C., where politicians seem to believe that just getting elected bestows the power to ignore voters and scientists alike -- one concerned biologist was banned from his office the day before he retired and subjected to disciplinary proceedings -- and so the road relocation was approved.
With help from West Coast Environmental Law, Hamilton's group asked a judge to declare that changing the park to the detriment of the turtles was a breach of trust. Supreme Court Justice Janet Sinclair Prowse dismissed that application and refused to grant an injunction on grounds it was outside the court's jurisdiction.
But she did grant a judicial review of the decision. Sinclair Prowse then found the decision illegal because it ignored the relevant legislation governing modifications to parks (apparently the same section that guided the government's regional staff in advising against moving the road.) She set the decision aside.
"The ball is in the government's court now," Hamilton told me by phone just after the decision. "We'll see whether they appeal."
While those worried about the future of the painted turtles at Grohman Narrows may breathe a bit easier this week, there's a much bigger issue that demands to be addressed. Now that we have a genuine Opposition in the legislature, perhaps it will.
During the recently concluded election campaign, a slew of Liberals affirmed their commitment to "world class environmental protection standards."
Okay. Let's have them.
First, B.C. deserves a comprehensive, integrated and muscular environment ministry with arm's-length authority to enforce environmental regulations and legislation. We need a ministry in which integrity takes precedence over expedience and in which science trumps politics when they conflict over environmental protections.
Second, we need a strong environment minister who is an advocate for wildlife, habitat protection, public parks and environmental values, not yet another nonentity whose job it is to find ways to facilitate industry. The briefest scan of portfolios shows that corporate interests are already well represented at the cabinet table.
Finally, if we have civil servants who are charged in legislation with protection of the province's vulnerable wildlife and threatened habitats, then the public is owed a full and frank explanation of how their advice came to be overruled by a decision that was not legal, who was responsible for the mistake and how those persons will be held accountable.

THE PROVINCE (Vancouver, British Columbia) 14 June 05 Bill Barisoff replies on turtles
Your recent editorial on the decision to move the entrance to Grohman Narrows Park neglected to mention a number of facts.
Before the decision was made to move the entrance, an environmental assessment determined that any potential impacts to the turtle population could be mitigated.
A supplementary assessment carried out in early May confirmed that finding.
During construction, an independent registered professional biologist was to be on hand to move the turtles to an adjacent habitat area, as necessary, to ensure they weren't harmed.
The developer was also required to provide gravel to enhance existing turtle-nesting.
Finally, an additional amphibian crossing was to be built under the highway, a measure that would have protected thousands of amphibians living in the park area, who in the past, have been killed by highway traffic.
The entrance to Grohman Narrows Provincial Park and the property across the highway must align in order to meet highway safety standards.
When the decision to move the entrance was made, it was with the understanding that the impacts to the turtles could be mitigated, their habitat improved and an additional environmental benefit to the local amphibian population could be gained, all at no cost to the ministry.
Bill Barisoff, Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection