Port Alberni has long been a gateway for me when travelling by road or by sea – a safe harbour in a storm, a place to grab a coffee before heading to Ucluelet or Bamfield, and more recently, a place to explore some more of the history of Vancouver Island.
You can see that forestry and fisheries are important to Port Alberni – they always have been and hopefully always will be. What you can’t see is that there is a real possibility that coal may once again factor heavily in the port, and that is somewhat scary from an environmental view.
Hopefully the development of coal on the Island will be closely regulated to ensure that, tourism and recreation and nature are not adversely impacted. I’m just a bit sceptical as they always are, yet at the same time I am optimistic as industry often opens up access to otherwise inaccessible areas.