TheyB次元官网网址檙e historical landmarks and iconic navigational aids B次元官网网址� and their future has been in question.
But recently a ray of light shone down on Canadian lighthouses and those who have pushed to protect them, as the federal government announced it will not de-staff the structures.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e incredibly thrilled with that,B次元官网网址� said Meredith Dickman, lightkeeper at Oak BayB次元官网网址檚 Trial Island lighthouse for the last seven years. B次元官网网址淚t solidifies all the work that the lightkeepers and everyone else, all of the interested parties, have put in over the last years in ensuring that light stations remain staffed.B次元官网网址�
Minister for Fisheries and Oceans Canada Keith Ashfield issued a statement in response to Seeing the Light: Report on Staffed Lighthouses in Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia, stating that not only will lighthouses currently staffed remain so, but that government has no plans to further study lighthouse staffing.
While the staffing hurdle has been cleared, the future of Canadian lighthouses, many already de-staffed, is .
On May 27, 2010, Fisheries and Oceans Canada declared nearly 1,000 lighthouses on both the east and west coasts surplus.
Canadians have until May 30 to nominate lighthouses for heritage designation under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act. Many light stations have not had applications submitted, and could become vulnerable to de-staffing, Dickman said.
B次元官网网址淓ven though some of them are still active beacons, those ones still have the potential to be sold off,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not in the best interest of the Canadian people to have heritage light stations, whether they have been declared or not, sold off without heritage protection.B次元官网网址�
The Oak Bay Heritage Foundation submitted an application to protect the Trial Island lighthouse, built in 1906, and its associated buildings registered.
Dickman urges anyone interested in preserving lighthouses anywhere in the country to go online, learn more about the station and submit a nomination. The process requires the nominator to provide a petition with at least 25 signatures of support.
More information is available from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
