A positive step forward to preserve sensitive estuary land in Oceanside was accomplished in December of 2018 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between a landowner, a conservation society and a residents’ association. The Friends of French Creek Conservation Society (FFCCS), the French Creek Residents Association, (FCRA), and landowners, French Creek House Ltd. and French Creek Estates Ltd. signed the MOU in a brief ceremony December 11 at French Creek Harbour. The lands are located between Hwy 19A, Columbia Drive, Viking Way and French Creek.
The MOU will protect approximately 14 of the 23 acres of land which had been put up for sale in 2016 as development land. The protected park land will include the estuary, its associated wetlands and forested estuary lands adjacent to French Creek. The MOU outlines the very basics of what will be accomplished. The memorandum does not in any way limit the amount of land that can be accumulated through a purchase but does identify the lands that the present
owner is willing to contribute at no cost to the community.
Currently, in the greater community of Oceanside, green space is being destroyed to build large housing developments. At the French Creek estuary, we have a developer working in conjunction with a conservation group and a residents’ association to donate land for conservation. A very good news story!