“Why don’t you guys pop your heads out from behind that tree” says the E! News producer. Sam pipes up and says something along the lines of, is that really going to get the message out? How will that help the owl? Aren’t we here to talk about protecting habitat?
Let’s just say that was music to my ears because it came from a rock star with conviction and an interest in staying on message!
Saturday July 26th, before opening the main stage at the Pemberton Music Festival, Sam Roberts came out with me (and about 10 others) in search of old growth Douglas Firs. Now, this wasn’t just any grove of trees. Last year it was home to one of BC’s last Spotted Owls, a female about 13 years old. And when I say last, I mean there are less than 10 in the wild, with four captured by the provincial government to be bred in captivity. Once upon a time B.C. was home to about 500 pairs.
Sam and the group (his manager, a friend, label representative, E! News producer, cameraman, interviewer, guide from the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, and First Nations hosts) definitely got a sense of what extinction sounds like, smells like and feels like. It seemed quite pathetic and sad to be standing in a forest, staring up at a tree that was once home to an endangered species. It’s that sinking feeling that motivates me to work tirelessly at profiling the stunning fact that BC is without an Endangered Species Law. Sign our petition to get a law at www.lastplaceonearth.ca
So the experience in nature, which everyone must have to remind us of what we’re fighting to protect, was greatly appreciated by Sam. He lamented that he rarely gets beyond the tour bus, parking lot and concert venue when he’s on the road. And although I never delivered on getting him his first bear sighting EVER, we did see a lot of bear scat on the bumpy, boulder ridden, at times cliff hugging logging road east of Pemberton. Next time!
Here's the story from E! Online:
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