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#comoxvalley

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Update on the cougar sightings. Since it moved on, I can now disclose its location: it was right outside my apartment building. 😮 I live in a city near a wooded area with a creek and trails so it's perfect for a cougar on the move. We see black bears, otters, black-tailed deer and many birds but a cougar? That was a first. Unfortunately I never saw it myself.

I have been offering photo tours to locals and tourists in the Comox Valley and on Vancouver Island since 2018.

For some obscure reasons, my well-established business has never been featured in the Comox Valley Vacation Guide. I have been trying to get answers from the Comox Valley Tourism Office for 2 weeks now. Still waiting...

By the way, the guide features other tour operators, including some that are NOT located in our regional district.

Last week, I asked REMAX in the Comox Valley if I could present my photo book at their weekly meeting because I think that it would make a nice housewarming gift for their clients. Their answer: it's a tradition that guest speakers bring donuts. When I asked how many people will attend, the answer was 40. Today, I asked the same to another local realtor Engel&Völkers. They said yes and I don't need to feed them.

If I ever have the means to buy a house, guess who I'll call.

The only #ruins left at #abandoned No.8 coal mine in #Cumberland. There used to be a huge building here but it was demolished in the 90s. Before it was torn down, it was a popular party place for local #ComoxValley teenagers. All the old mine shafts have been blocked off for public safety. There is still a large abandoned building that was part of this former large coal mine site but it's really deep into the forest & you need to bushwhack your way there. We had very limited time on this past road trip so I stuck to showing my friends the 2 easiest accesses to cool #AbandonedPlaces.

Eight mines used to operate at Comox, named No. 1 Mine through to No. 8 Mine. The workings consisted of boreholes, air shafts, mine entries, & underground network of tunnels. A rail network was also developed to link the ore piles with the town & Union Bay. Old rail bed remain in place today as public trails. A series of survey monuments also remains on the surface today. These have been tracked down, beginning with a concrete monument located slightly below ground in the vicinity of Cumberland Park & recorded to match the maps of the underground workings with the surface-level features today.

The mines at #Comox were technically advanced for their time, with partial mechanization & electrification well before 1900. The first documented use of electricity underground was in the No. 4 Mine in 1891, when four electrically-driven coal-cutters were installed.

Canadian Collieries (owned by #Dunsmuir family) Ltd. operated coal mines on Vancouver Island, including the Wellington Mines near Nanaimo & Comox Mines at Cumberland. Comox Mines had earlier been operated by Union #Colliery Company, the first of the mines being opened in 1888. The last of the Comox Mines, the No.8 Mine, was closed in 1953.

I first went to this old timber mill ruins in #Merville in the early 90s - years before it was included as part of the present #HeadquartersTownsite Park. It's one of the easiest accessible #AbandonedPlaces you can visit in the #ComoxValley on #VancouverIsland. I've done many past photoshoots with models here & assisted in shooting some music videos & short films here many years ago.
Some folks built skateboard ramps & rail jumps inside the unroofed building ruins in the late 90s.

The mill was built between 1912-1913 for the Canadian Western Logging Company. There was an entire small mill town at this location with post office, schools, medical clinic & more. The Headquarters townsite survived until the late 1950’s when the school & houses were sold for $1 each with the proviso that they be moved off company property. #Ruins of the mill can be seen at Headquarters Townsite Park. The park is stewarded by local community citizens.

The old concrete building at the entrance to Headquarters Townsite Park from Farnham Road was built as a rough timber mill in 1912-1913. Despite being fully equipped, the mill was never used for reasons that remain unclear. Some say the mill was only built so that the company could gain certain concessions from the BC government. The recession of 1913 may have led the company to abandon it. Parts from the mill were later used to build a new mill in Courtenay.

#Moss covered big leaf maple trees are the main tree species growing in & around the trails & #riparian zones at #HeadquartersTownsite Park in #Merville on #VancouverIsland.

This is a view of part of the #TsolumRiver.

In 1964, Mount Washington Copper Mining Co. moved into its watershed & built a copper mine. By 1966, they left the area after extracting 940,000 tonnes of waste rock. Even though mining lasted only 3 years, repercussions of the mining practices can still be seen today. What was once a river that was sprawling with 15,000 coho salmon depleted to only 14 by 1984. In 1997, Tsolum River Task Force was formed by over 200 local residents with the goal of restoring Tsolum River's health & productivity.

The river previously supported large populations of salmon, steelhead & cutthroat trout & contributed significantly to the local economy. The economic benefit to the community, in 2007 dollars, was estimated at $2.7 million annually. Past remediation efforts have contributed to improved water quality in the Tsolum River. However, further improvement is needed in order to allow restoration of the fisheries resource.

A 6-ways partnership was founded in 2001 between the BC Ministry of Environment, Timber West, Tsolum River Restoration Society, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Environment Canada & Fisheries & Oceans Canada.
This partnership led to a successful wetland project, which reduced the copper levels to the point that fish stocks have now returned to the Tsolum River. The wetland has a limited life of 5-10 years, after which copper leachate will again impact the emerging fish populations.

Recommended reading:

thenarwhal.ca/three-years-of-m

charlesbrandt.ca/state-of-the-

tsolumriver.org/reports.html

tsolumriver.org/recovery-plan.

Access to this part of the river is on Farnham Rd.