The West Coast乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒楲ocks of Love乌鸦传媒� fence has again become a frustrating eyesore as visitors continue to bizarrely cover it with garbage in what乌鸦传媒檚 become a frustrating and harmful ritual.
Visitors have long been stopping at the chain link fence along Hwy. 4 at Wally Creek on their way in or out of the Tofino-Ucluelet region. Many have placed a padlock on the fence as a romantic gesture to commemorate their West Coast experiences.
But a horrifying trend of stringing up trash has also popped up in recent years, exacerbated by the pandemic as disposable face masks have become common 乌鸦传媒榤ementos乌鸦传媒� left behind.
A team from WestCoast WILD Adventures recently did its best to clean the fence as coworkers Anne-Marie Gosselin, Kelly Bedford and Teyah Little tackled the site on May 2.
Gosselin told the Westerly News they had seen a Facebook post showing the fence strewn with trash and were 乌鸦传媒渄isgusted乌鸦传媒� by it, agreeing to leave for work early the next day to remove as much as they could. They arrived at the fence a little before 9 a.m. armed with garbage bags, gloves, scissors and other debris-tackling tools.
乌鸦传媒淚t hit a few nerves. It really got us passionate about what was going on up there. Somebody had to do something and we had time乌鸦传媒� Gosselin said. 乌鸦传媒淲e all stood there for probably about two minutes not even knowing where to start. It was disgusting. We cut off as much as we could.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淭he creativity of what people use to put on that fence is amazing. What people find in their cars or have in their back pockets that they think is OK to leave, credit to them, they乌鸦传媒檙e being creative, but I had no idea how much junk was on that fence,乌鸦传媒� she said.
She said the area is an important wildlife habitat and the microplastics on the fence could be catastrophic.
乌鸦传媒淲e live and play in that water,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 really important for us that we keep it clean and pristine as much as possible.乌鸦传媒�
She said the WestCoast WILD Adventures team left signs asking people not to leave litter and plans to keep their eye on the spot.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檒l do our best, but I think it乌鸦传媒檚 going to take the entire community,乌鸦传媒� she said.
Goslin posted photos of the fence and the team乌鸦传媒檚 work to clean it on the company乌鸦传媒檚 Facebook page on May 2 and said she and her crew were surprised and inspired by the response they received.
乌鸦传媒淲hen I posted that, I had no idea it would go that far and reach that many people,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚t was great to hear the majority of the community celebrating what we had done. It made us feel good because you never know what reaction you乌鸦传媒檒l get for taking off peoples乌鸦传媒� potential memories.乌鸦传媒�
Local interest in removing the fence from the area gained momentum last September when and raised their concern about how grotesque it had become.
The area sits outside the jurisdictions of both Tofino and Ucluelet and is the responsibility of B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
A ministry spokesperson told the Westerly News last week that the ministry is aware of the COVID-19 masks and other garbage being hung on the fence and continues to investigate potential signage for the site.
乌鸦传媒淭here is no regular litter pick-up at this location, like there would be at a rest area. The ministry is looking at installing 乌鸦传媒榥o litter乌鸦传媒� signage to remind people not to leave garbage on the fence itself, and in the area. While there is no regular litter removal, the ministry does remove debris once it is over a certain size and in accordance with our provincial maintenance specifications,乌鸦传媒� the spokesperson wrote via email.
乌鸦传媒淓nforcement of regulatory signage, or any applicable laws, is the responsibility of the local police agency or RCMP.乌鸦传媒�
They added that the fence will not be removed.
乌鸦传媒淲ally Creek, at the Kennedy Love Locks location, can have dangerously heavy water flows, especially when the river is high. The chain link fence was installed as a safety measure to both limit people from accessing the water and to provide a small platform for people to view the river without danger of falling in,乌鸦传媒� the spokesperson wrote. 乌鸦传媒淭he ministry reminds people that littering is prohibited in British Columbia and encourages people to refrain from leaving face masks on the fence.乌鸦传媒�
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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