Little Mountain
Sample Letters of Support
to your local MLA, Mayor & Council
Please be respectful in your communication. Harsh words don't help.
Don't have time to write it? Feel free to copy & paste one of our sample emails below!
SAMPLE LETTER #1
Mayor Popove & Chilliwack City Council,
There is an old forest in Chilliwack that very few people know about. Within this wooded area are some of the best trails to explore nature, to breath, to ride, to hike, and to wander. Located on "Little Mountain" (Mt. Shannon), it is the LAST and ONLY urban forest on the north side of Chilliwack. And it is mostly privately owned.
Little Mountain Preservation Project is raising funds to buy this land in cooperation with the City of Chilliwack to preserve this forested green space for a future park. This project includes protecting what is left now: the trees, the trails, the land, the wildlife, and it’s connecting pathways. This project is bringing people of all generations together with nature, educating each other. Preserving this forest now and conserving it for the future is what propels the Little Mountain Preservation Project.
A group of residents in the the surrounding community have come together with their concerns for this land, which is scheduled for development. In December 2019, clearcutting started on a parcel covering 30% of the forested area. By February 2020, not one tree was left standing. The City of Chilliwack has minimal tree protection bylaws, in contrast to Vancouver and Surrey.
This part of Little Mountain’s Forest was home to its oldest trees, the biggest, and the tallest. Now they are gone. Seeing these magnificent trees disappear motivates us to protect what remains.
Respectfully,
SAMPLE LETTER #2
Mayor Popove & Chilliwack City Council,
I am writing you today as a resident of Chilliwack to request that you work alongside the Chilliwack Park Society and local developers to explore every possible avenue to protect the last accessible urban forest area in North Chilliwack: Little Mountain.
Mature forests act as civic infrastructure. Their foliage cleans and cools our air while their root system stabilizes soil and prevents mudslides and floods. The incredible geographical positioning of Little Mountain provides tens of thousands of North Chilliwack residents easy access to elevation hiking and forest immersion which is important for lowering anxiety and supporting both mental and physical wellness.
For some of our residents, transportation barriers exclude them from enjoying other parks like the Community Forest, Rotary Trail & Vedder Mountain. In many cases, these are the families that can most acutely benefit from a no-cost amenity that increases mental wellness, lowers anxiety and promotes healthy exercise.
Access points to Little Mountain trails are within a 15-minute walk/bike radius for tens of thousands of families and residents. The new Little Mountain stairs are a 60-second walk from the closest bus stop, and an 8-minute walk from the Yale Menzies exchange, widening access all of North Chilliwack and beyond.
The Chilliwack Park Society has proven with the Community Forest, Lexw Qwò:m and other nature park areas that residents want and use this infrastructure. As our city grows in population and more of our greenspaces become neighbourhoods, more and more people are being squeezed into fewer natural areas. This is one of the last forests under City control.
I implore you to look very seriously at ways to not only preserve the City owned land on Little Mountain, but to find ways to expand the park, through park budgets, developer incentives, and local / provincial partnerships.
Time is truly of the essence. If you haven’t hiked on Little Mountain yet, please take the time to hike the trails and see the forest that is in danger as the clearcuts continue. Future generations will thank our efforts to preserve this land now.
Respectfully,