Editor: The issue of cannons in agricultural areas has always disturbed me. Because I am now living in an agricultural area of California, mainly vineyards, I know our more environmentally-friendly population of the San Francisco Bay area would be appalled to see their use.
What I have seen in lieu of cannons is mylar strings waving in the wind. They are tied to stakes throughout vineyards. There are also some vineyards which use shorter wind turbines, thus creating an updraft and deterring landings.
My problem with Langley Township is that it rarely researches other areas as to what they have done. We are constantly re-inventing the proverbial wheel instead of learning from other areas’ mistakes. Even in the area of tree retention in agricultural areas, saving trees prevents soil erosion. Instead, we clear-cut even perimeter trees.
Saanich on Vancouver Island created a bylaw years ago saying that tree removal on agricultural land had to be done for agricultural purposes only. Each landowner had to sign an affidavit in order to clear. In Langley, we see 10 acres cleared, and then filled with concrete, cedar chips, clay soil and anything else contained in a parade of dump trucks. This disregards both neighbours or adjacent waterways.
Saanich found a way of making the community retain a sense of natural heritage and allow nature to do what it does better than we do. We must encourage agriculture in the most progressive ways we can.
Cathleen Chance Vecchiato,
Sonoma, California