10 of 15
While waiting for a car repair I took a 90 minute walk through an industrial
area of Campbell River, and then through the Baikie Island Nature Preserve.
The Nature Preserve is a relatively small area along the estuary of the Campbell River.
The Elk Falls paper mill opened in 1952 and the estuary was used as a staging point for
log booms. A number of beehive burners were located there. This resulted in a lot of
environmental damage to the area. Here is a short article on beehive burners:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive_burner
The mill cut production considerably by the turn of the century and completely
shut down in 2009. In 2000 the Nature Conservancy of Canada purchased the
area and together with the city of Campbell River they rehabilitated the estuary.
There is currently no visual evidence of the area’s industrial past.
Best viewed at original size.