Frustrated by the amount of destruction and disrespect heB次元官网网址檚 seen in his First NationB次元官网网址檚 territory this summer, Tla-o-qui-aht member Timmy Masso is planning to block tourists from accessing West Main Forest Service Road on Tuesday.
B次元官网网址淚 will be shutting off that road starting at 4 p.m. today,B次元官网网址� Masso, 18, told the Westerly B次元官网网址. B次元官网网址淵ou have to find a different spot to camp or you have to cut your vacation short.B次元官网网址�
He said he will be putting a rope across the road and is inviting all West Coasters to join him at the blockade, adding that he has spoken to the Ucluelet RCMP who will be attending.
B次元官网网址淚 really hope to see people coming out and respecting each other. ThatB次元官网网址檚 the first step in making change, to respect each other and I hope we can go out there and do that today,B次元官网网址� he said.
He added that he hopes the event will remain B次元官网网址渟trictly peacefulB次元官网网址� and he will not be preventing any essential workers from getting through.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 strictly trying to protect my land against squatters and tourists,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he starting point of it was seeing the amount of people that are taking the land that we have and quite frankly not caring about it and destroying itB次元官网网址or me, itB次元官网网址檚 so hard to see that so many of these spiritual places are getting taken over and theyB次元官网网址檙e getting commercialized, something that you can just give away.B次元官网网址�
He said he and his family used to visit the area often, but repeatedly had their hearts broken at what theyB次元官网网址檝e seen as theyB次元官网网址檝e had to extinguish abandoned fires and pick up garbage each time theyB次元官网网址檝e visited.
B次元官网网址淚n the past few months, there have been so many tourists coming to Tofino and Ucluelet and with that there has been a lack of vacancies at hotels and campsites and people are flocking to the backroads,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he amount of people driving their cars and camping on the riverbank is so hard to see because that is a salmon bearing river. To see the amount of people driving on the river and disturbing that ground, for me, itB次元官网网址檚 so dangerous with the salmon disappearing so fast right now we have to try to protect the areas where they will come back.B次元官网网址�
He added he was driving past the area several days ago and was shocked by the amount of cars turning onto West Main.
B次元官网网址淚t was so shocking, but also made me quite angry to see as well because this territory that we live in is so beautiful, but the amount of people that are there is a recipe for a forest fire and itB次元官网网址檚 a recipe for more pollution on our lands and this is something that I could not just stand by and let happen,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淲e have to try to stop this. We have to make a change, but we canB次元官网网址檛 do it alone, we have to do it together as all our communities. This influx of tourists is, from my point of view, a direct cause of Parks Canada and the tourism of Tofino and Ucluelet trying to invite more and more people to come, but we donB次元官网网址檛 have enough infrastructure to support it. In the past 10 years, weB次元官网网址檝e been making Tofino and Ucluelet a place to be, weB次元官网网址檝e been making it a destination and this is something we really should have been trying to plan out and we should have anticipated the amount of people that would be coming.B次元官网网址�
Along with being hit hard by tourism, the backroads have also become a point of contention because the housing crisis in both Tofino and Ucluelet has forced seasonal workers to camp in the area while working in town.
B次元官网网址淚 personally have a lot of trouble with people squatting on the backlands. I do understand this really is a housing problem that we canB次元官网网址檛 just solve at the snap of our fingers. This is something that our local communities have to sit down and work togetherB次元官网网址e have to try to figure this out,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 find it so tough when people are squatting on Tla-o-qui-aht lands because these lands I hold so close to my heartB次元官网网址�.My goal is to shut that off until we can properly find a solution to the problem.B次元官网网址�
He added his main focus on Tuesday will be to prevent tourists from accessing the area.
B次元官网网址淚 just want to try to stop that for now and then we can try to figure out the problem of those people that are living out there and we can hopefully find that solution,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e draw these lines between Ucluelet and Tofino and different residents, but this a problem that weB次元官网网址檙e all facing and we have to come up with that solution not as a Ucluelet resident or a Tofino resident or a Tla-o-qui-aht member, we have to do it together. We all live here on the West Coast.B次元官网网址�
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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