Right from the beginning, the 26 acre piece of land adjacent to the Haig-Brown farm has been a part of Roderick Haig-Brown's initial vision of rerouting, and restoring Haig-Brown Kingfisher Creek. This property was originally viewed as an essential link to preserving the health of the system due to its significant wetland and fish habitat value. In addition, this land is vital because of its direct influence on the rest of the creek. The story of the creek project hinges on the future of this land.

Since the restoration project's beginning, two different developers have owned this property. Originally Dennis Pease, of Pease and Son Holding Ltd., owned the property. In 1980, Dennis Pease, under pressure to create an industrial complex on the property, offered the newly formed Haig-Brown Kingfisher Creek Society a selling price of $250,000 for the acquisition of the land. A short September 1st deadline was imposed on the Society to produce the money - a few months. Funding was solicited from many different agencies, but the high asking price and short time-line prevented the sale at that time.

Through many meetings, involving the newly formed Haig-Brown Kingfisher Creek Society, business owners, and all levels of government, a new strategy was implemented to purchase the 26-acre property. A plan to raise the $250,000 was given verbal endorsement from virtually every bureaucratic body; including the then BC Ministry of Lands, Parks, Housing, and Fisheries. The initial $85,000 was to be raised through public pledges and donations, and would be matched dollar for dollar by both the Provincial and Federal governments. Public response was phenomenal and over $100,000 was publicly raised in time for the September deadline.

But the deal was not sealed yet - both senior governments failed to produce their said amounts causing the sale to fall through. The reasons given focused around policy, communication between ministries, time frame, responsibilities, and little actual commitment for financial support. Ultimately, the purchase of the property was not possible.

However, this did not stop the development of the earlier planned educational park on the Haig-Brown property. With additional funding and re-affirmed pledges, a new stream channel was constructed for the West Branch of the creek, restoration work was completed on the Haig-Brown house, and trails were developed on the Haig-Brown properties.

Barrie Brown of Sequoia Springs West Development Corp. now owns the adjacent 26-acre property, with residential development planned for this 250 acre block of land.

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Map of the Sequoia Springs
West Develpment land within the
Haig-Brown Kingfisher Creek Watershed.

His co-operation in the current phase of the creek restoration project has been invaluable during the process of negotiating an agreement that would satisfy the needs of all the stakeholders - with fish having at least three seats at the table. Agreement over realistic timelines and financial and administrative support have been more the norm this time around. Check out up coming issues of the Creekside News for more information on this topic.

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