Editor,
Re: Article in Chief Friday Oct. 20 "District trapper kills 12 beavers," I thought that Eric Collier, 50 years ago, in his masterly, best-selling Canadian book Three against the Wilderness put a sharp, clear end to the insane slaughter of this useful animal.
But here we are, thundering into the 21st century, killing right and left anything that stands in our way.
Remember what happened to the ranchers and farmers along the Fraser near Riske Creek after they had killed and sold the last beaver in the whole region?
No? Then read about it in Collier's superb book, which is still available through your local library, and is still, amazingly, in print and can be purchased, new, and your local bookstore.
Instead of this senseless, cruel and ineffective slaughter right behind the Adventure Centre, why don't we organize guided tours and a hidden observation platform so that our tourists and other visitors can see how these ingenious hydraulic engineers live and improve their environment.
Yes, part of Loggers Lane might have to be raised slightly, but after what has been done recently all along Highway 99, this would be a mere trifle.
Or, do we prefer to wait and see if the Squamish Nation will put up a huge sign: "Come and see how the white man is trapping beavers, a dozen at a time, just across from our reserve"?
Chris Penn
Squamish
