Lytton First Nation targets truck traffic
Band airs nuisance concerns over compost operation at nearby ranch
The Lytton First Nation is issuing a stern warning to a private company delivering food scraps from the Lower Mainland to a commercial compost operation in the Botanie Valley in the Fraser Canyon.
Administrator Rosalin Miles said in a phone interview that her band has passed a bylaw requiring commercial trucks of more than 9,100 kilograms gross-vehicle weight to obtain a permit from the band before driving through their reserves.
The bylaw allows for fines of $1,000 for a violation, but for now only warning tickets are being issued. A gate has been erected on Botanie Creek Road leading to the controversial Revolution Ranch compost operation. On Wednesday, about 100 natives and non-natives held a rally, carrying placards with slogans such as “protect our sacred lands” and “all life is connected.”
Miles, who has aggressively tackled the issue since becoming administrator earlier this year, said she is in talks with the province in hopes of arranging a meeting with the ranch, arguing that the First Nation hasn’t been adequately consulted on the compost operation.
“We’re concerned about the nuisance being caused by the compost,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of complaints. It smells like rotting vegetables.”
She added the immediate game plan is to bring the ranch to the table to discuss the compost operation and to ensure that community concerns are incorporated into the management plan. Transportation Ministry spokesman Ryan Jabs said the province has agreed to pay for a facilitator agreeable to both parties.
Ralph McRae is president and CEO of the 280-hectare ranch, which converts table scraps from Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley into organic compost. He also runs Northwest Waste, a major trash hauling company in the Lower Mainland. McRae could not be reached to comment, but the ranch issued a written statement, saying it regrets the actions of the Lytton First Nation and that the “legal ownership of a public highway” needs to be resolved quickly between the natives and the province.
Revolution Ranch has been continuously farmed since the 1860s, before the creation of the nearby Lytton First Nation reserves, the statement said. (Natives note they have been in the region for thousands of years.)
“Before we purchased this historic property in 2009, the B.C. Government provided us with a clear, written assurance that the Botanie Creek Road was a public road for all users,” the ranch continued. “This statement was relied upon in making our decision to invest in the ranch and its subsequent development.”
The ranch noted it is certified organic, uses no biological waste, and has replaced chemical fertilizers and pesticides with composted food scraps and yard trimmings.
Residents have been fearful of commenting publicly on Revolution Ranch due to several defamation lawsuits McRae has launched in B.C. Supreme Court in recent years alleging untrue and harmful statements about his operation.
“People are allowed to say it stinks,” Miles said.