Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

ADAM OLSEN: Dick Goin’s internal struggle as a mill worker, whose livelihood was supported by the industry poisoning the river he loved and fought for over decades, was evident as he shared his story

The late Dick Goin

Have you ever heard of Dick Goin?

Dick and his family moved to the Olympic Peninsula during the depression of the 1930's. He lived next to the Elwha River until he passed away in 2015.

On Thursday night (March 21st), I had the honour of being on a panel hosted Laura Brandes of the POLIS Water Sustainability Project at the University of Victoria. It was an event to celebrate World Water day.

Prior to discussing my salmon work alongside Tanis Gower (Project Biologist, of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society) and Tom Rutherford (Executive Director of the ), we viewed a screening of The Memory of Fish. It's another story of passion and persistence, the life's work of Dick Goin. This theme of passion and persistence has been emerging in this blog recently. Either I am finding it, or it is finding me. Nonetheless, these powerful stories are inescapable.

Frankly, the movie left me fragile. It tracked Goin's advocacy for the salmon in the Elwha River over decades. He lovingly catalogued his experience and his catches year after year, notebook after notebook, capturing the devastating impact of the two hydro-electric dams that were built on the river at the turn of the 20th century. The dams powered industry.

Goin's internal struggle as a mill worker, whose livelihood was supported by the industry poisoning the river he loved and fought for over decades, was evident as he shared his story.


The Elwha is free!   Those dams are gone now ... Dick Goin won ... and he saw the result.


Salmon returning to the upper reaches of the Elwha River in numbers he could only once imagine. That due to Goin's persistence, and the persistence of the Pacific salmon. It's an inspiring and encouraging story.

Just a few kilometres north, we struggle with the same pressures: industry, salmon and water. Indeed, we know we need to create jobs and products. And the salmon reminds us of the benefit and bounty that can come from living within the cycles of nature.

Water. While we have the blessing of plentiful water in our part of the world, droughts are increasing. Climate change is here. So, we must change how we relate and respond to these conflicts.

Dick Goin was a beautiful man. His story, is a beautiful story. I hope you get a chance to see it, and it inspires you to become a passionate warrior for those places that are special to you.

Meanwhile, I will continue to stand up for the Salish Sea and the Pacific salmon.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BC cannot regulate, redesign, and reinterpret its way to a stable forestry sector. Communities need clear rules, predictable timelines, and accountability for results.

Photo credit:  Atli Resources LP   BC’s Forestry Crisis Continues with Closure of Beaver Cove Chip Facility   As industry leaders, Indigenous partners, and contractors gather this week at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the gap between government rhetoric and reality could not be clearer. Just hours after the Eby government once again touted reconciliation, certainty, and economic opportunity under DRIPA, Atli Chip Ltd, a company wholly owned by the ’Na̱mg̱is First Nation, announced it is managing the orderly closure of its Beaver Cove chip facility. The closure comes despite public tax dollars, repeated government announcements, and assurances that new policy frameworks would stabilize forestry employment and create long-term opportunity in rural and coastal British Columbia. “British Columbians are being told one story, while communities are living another,” said Ward Stamer, Critic for Forests. “This closure makes it clear that announcement...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stamer: Hope for Forestry Completely Shattered After Another Provincial Review Driven by DRIPA

IMAGE CREDIT:  Provincial Forestry Advisory Council Conservative Critic for Forests Ward Stamer says the final report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council confirms the worst fears of forestry workers and communities; instead of addressing the real issues driving mill closures and job losses, the NDP has produced a report that ignores industry realities and doubles down on governance restructuring. Despite years of warnings from forestry workers, contractors, and industry organizations about permitting delays, regulatory costs, fibre access, and the failure of BC Timber Sales, the PFAC report offers no urgency, no timelines, and no concrete action to stop the ongoing decline of the sector. “ This report completely shatters any remaining hope that the government is serious about saving forestry ,” said Stamer.  “ We didn’t need another study to tell us what industry has been saying for years. While mills close and workers lose their livelihoods, the NDP is focused on re...
Post a Comment
Read more

FORSETH – My question is, ‘How do we decide who is blue enough to be called a Conservative?’

How do we decide who’s blue enough to be a Conservative? AS OF TODAY (Friday January 30 th ), there are now eight individuals who have put their names forward to lead the Conservative Party of British Columbia. Having been involved with BC’s Conservatives since 2010, and having seen MANY ups and downs, having 8 people say “I want to lead the party” is to me, an incredible turn-around from the past. Sadly, however, it seems that our party cannot seem to shake what I, and others, call a purity test of ‘what is a Conservative’. And that seems to have already come to the forefront of the campaign by a couple of candidates. Let me just say as a Conservative Party of BC member, and as someone active in the party, that frustrates me to no end. Conservatives, more than any other political philosophy or belief, at least to me, seems to have the widest and broadest spectrum of ideals.   For the most part, they are anchored by these central thoughts --- smaller and less intru...
1 comment
Read more

Labels

Show more