Longtime resident John Dudley shares his thoughts on Howe Sound
“It's the smell of money” the skipper said, as we tied three chip scows up to the buoys at Woodfibre fifty-seven years ago.
All around us were large yellow bubbles floating on the surface of the deep brown water. A noxious smell filled the air, which had become familiar to me from the other pulp mills up and down the coast.
As we left with empty scows in tow we could see the deep brown water coming into the Sound from the creek flowing out of Britannia Mine, which was once the largest copper mine in the British Empire.
In those days Howe Sound was so polluted there was little marine life at the northern end. This was added to by the pulp mill at Port Mellon. If you purchased one of the new townhouses at Furry Creek in 1993, you had a view of two pulp mills belching their smoke into the air..
On the overcast November evening when we moved to Lions Bay in 1972, the stench of the pulp mills filled the car as we came around the corner at Horsehoe Bay. As we rushed from the carport to the house, it smelled as though the pulp mill was in the village.
When Britannia Mine closed in 1974 the Sound remained polluted for decades to come, until a massive cleanup of Britannia Creek finally achieved results. After the closure of Woodfibre in 2006 the Sound slowly started to recover.

After 2010, protective cladding was installed on pilings around Squamish and the herring population started to rebound. This resulted in the return of dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, humpback and killer whales after a nearly 100 year absence.
Whale watching tours now operate from Sewell's Marina in Horseshoe Bay, and it has become a common sight to see whales in Howe Sound off Lions Bay.
The big question is will the “smell of money” and the opening of an LNG facility at Woodfibre result in the whales and other larger marine life abandoning the Sound again?
It's hard to believe that our two major political parties are in favor of an LNG facility in this incredible wilderness, a mere half hour drive from Vancouver.
Have thoughts to share? Leave your comments below, or email us at editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca
Like what you're reading? For as little as $5/month, you can support local independent journalism by subscribing to The Watershed HERE.
Well written, John! Thought-provoking article! Let's hope the Green candidate is elected so the smell of money floats away.