On Friday May 5th, 2017, 72 people gathered in Broughton Hall in Lions Bay for the Howe Sound Community Forum hosted by the Village of Lions Bay and Metro Vancouver Electoral Area A.

Now we have a real opportunity to move this vision forward thanks to the David Suzuki Foundation who set the initiative for a National Park on Gambier Island as a strategic goal.

On April 27th, the Future of Howe Sound Society and the David Suzuki Foundation are co-hosting an All Candidates Meeting for the West Vancouver Sea to Sky riding. On May 9th voters will cast their ballots in the Provincial Election. The future of Howe Sound will then be influenced by the new government for the next four years.

Howe Sound is a treasure and protection of the Salish Sea is protection for our fjord. We support the Salish Sea Trust in their efforts to achieve this legacy moment for the Salish Sea.

A report on how the Initiative is progressing since the last update in November.

In this issue: A View of What Lies Beneath; Ocean Watch - Howe Sound Edition is Published; Lions Bay and Metro Vancouver Team up to Host Spring 2017 Forum; Woodfibre LNG Project Amendment

Change to the Woodfibre LNG project triggered an amendment to the Environmental Assessment Certificate and a public comment period that ended March 11th, 2017.

Ruth Simons, executive director of the Future of Howe Sound Society (FHSS), was one of the authors of the section on stewardship and governance of the report OceanWatch-Howe Sound Edition

A glimpse into the future of the marine life growing in Howe Sound is made easier and more accessible thanks to the success of Aquatica Submarines.

The Future of Howe Sound Society is pleased to have contributed to the Comprehensive Planning chapter of the recently published OceanWatch - Howe Sound Edition report.

The Spring 2017 meeting of the Howe Sound Community Forum is being hosted by the Village of Lions Bay and Metro Vancouver.

The BC Environmental Assessment Office has granted BURNCO Rock Products a time-out in order for the company to respond to all the comments. The 180 review period was to end January 28, 2017.

Announcement that Woodfibre LNG "is a go" is premature considering the many outstanding conditions and changes yet to be approved.

We look forward to co-creating the Howe Sound Biosphere Initiative with First Nations groups and engaging all stakeholders in achieving the objectives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations vision for Biosphere Reserves as a model for sustainable development.

The study confirmed the Fixed Link options fail on the environmental scorecard. Studying more feasible ways to improve transportation safety, reliability and frequency without harming our environment must be a top priority for the benefit future generations.