Imagine the devastation!Away off in a far corner of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, in an area shared by the Cariboo egional District, a small group of citizens - the Friends of Lac des Roches and Birch Lake - is struggling to stop or at least modify a proposal by Land and Water BC Inc., and Urban Systems Ltd., which will absolutely destroy this beautiful area. The proposal is public knowledge, and can be viewed on-line at Urban Systems/LWBC's website, Imagine the Possibilities where the scale and impact which this development will have on the region is immediately evident. The slogan “Imagine the Possibilities,” however, should be altered to read “Imagine the devastation.” That is why the Friends of Lac des Roches and Birch Lake have been formed: our purpose is to “form an organized opposition to the proposed development ... and to work for the future well-being of these lakes. This shows the area to be developed. Most of the foreground will be subdivisions, infrastructure, and access roads. Birch Lake is visible at the top right, and its shoreline will no longer look natural. The sensitive area between Lac des Roches and Birch Lakes will be developed, and the area around the small shallow bay at the bottom of the photo is extremely sensitive and will have its ecosystem destroyed by this development. Imagine this area with hotels, a golf course, 200+ houses and condos, and the lakes filled with power boats and seadoos. It will never be the same. In July 2005, the Government announced that its Crown corporation, Land and Water BC was dissolved. We should not consider that the end of LWBC means the end of the project ... we still need to be focused on continuing our opposition to this development proposal. We will update our web site with new information as it known.