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meet some of the landowners

Home is where the heart is.

Meet some of the landowners whose lives and homes will be affected by the proposed Site C.

"An estimated total of 106 private land holdings comprising 178 separate parcels of land would be affected by permanent statutory rights-of-way. Of these totals, 52 private land holdings and 79 separate parcels would also be affected by a required fee simple tenure". (BC Hydro EIS )

Click to enlarge photos.

Guy Armitage and Mary Brereton

 

Meet Guy and Mary: They have been residents of Hudson’s Hope for 18 years and enjoy their 1 acre property on the bank of the Peace River. They have operated a small honeybee operation in the valley for the past 17 seasons, enjoying the benefits of this beautiful valley, and the partnerships they have with various landowners that live here.

 

 

Ken and Arlene Boon
 
Meet Ken and Arlene Boon: They live at Bear Flat on Highway 29 where Cache Creek enters the Peace River. Arlene is third generation on this land and they live in her late grandfathers house. They farm, run the Bear Flat Campground, and operate Chinook Log Homes Ltd. from their home. They too are now grandparents. The proposed reservoir, highway realignment and impact lines will destroy their best farmland and home. They want to help save the valley for future generations. 
Ross and Deborah Peck

 

Meet Ross and Deborah Peck: The Peck family have lived in the Peace River valley since 1924, when grandparents Vic (Pappy) and Kathleen and their 4 boys rode into Hudson’s Hope and made it their home.  Construction of the “Bennett” dam in the 1960s led to family displacement, disruption, and a prolonged court battle with BC Hydro to obtain a fair price for impacted land. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ross’ father Don, and mother Alene, actively advocated for the values of the family land east of the Wilder Creek It is a battle that their children and grandchildren have inherited.
 
Fifteen years ago, Ross and Deborah moved to their Farrell Creek propertyto 'watch the river run by'. They enjoy living joff the bounty of the land, harvesting homegrown fruit and vegetables and the fish and game the valley provides. They are trying to learn how to retire, while raising "mountain horses" and hay for sale. The family grain land is leased out and produces quality canola and wheat crops. They have been heard to say that they "....sleep in their house, but live on their land." The Site C project would not only destroy so much of what brings quality to their lives but would result in irreplaceable losses for future generations.
Ardill Ranch
 
Meet the Ardill's: Dick, Irene, Renee, Don, Karen McKean and Michelle van Stam. They ranch along Highway 29 between the Halfway River and Farrell Creek. The ranch was founded in 1920 and has been family owned and operated ever since. They run a cow/calf operation and know how important the Peace River valley land is to agriculture and wildlife. The proposed reservoir, highway realighnment and impact lines will greatly impact their operation. They want to help save the valley and hope you will support the Peace Valley Landowner Association.
Heather Wilson
 
Meet Heather Wilson and her family: This is her home beside the Peace River and the beautiful garden she's nurtured lovingly for 40 years - a haven where her children and grandchildren learned to appreciate and marvel at the beauty of nature. If Site C proceeds, the reservour stablility line will go through the middle of the house, and her garden will becone a BC Hydro statutory right-of-way. Her family built this house in Hudson's Hope and cannot bear the thought of losing it. Please support the Peace Valley Landowner Association's legal challenges to stop Site C, so her home and the many others in jeopardy from this devastating project will be saved.
Derrek and Caroline Beam

 

Meet Derrek and Caroline Beam (more to add)
Steve Metzger/Grace Okada
 
Meet Steve Metzger and Grace Okada:  They drove into Hudson's Hope in 1999, and never left.  In the Peace River Valley they had discovered the perfect landscape and climate for them.  Near Hudson's Hope they found the perfect property - pine, aspen, birch, spruce, flowers, berries, mushrooms, birds, deer, elk, moose, bear  - with a south-facing building site in the only cleared area of their 25 acres.  They live two benches above the Peace River, so their land won't slough away if Site C goes ahead, but the reasons they stopped here to make a peaceful life in their retirement will be destroyed.  If everyone in BC drove through this valley just once, Site C would never be built.
Blane and Maryann Meek
 
Meet Blane and Maryann: Blane was born and raised on the breaks of the Peace River. His parents moved to their present property in 1961 which his grandparents homesteaded in 1932. The Meek family lived at different places along the Peace River since 1931. They spent a few years at Attachie or the Halfway as it is known today. We are landowners in the Peace River Valley, that not only will be affected by the actual flooding and sloughing, in the loss of prime agricultural land, but also we are in the path of highway realignment. We are bona fide farmers. We crop 4000 acres, 1300 of which lie in the valley. 1200 acres of hay and 120 head of mother cows. If this valley was made into a reservoir, it will definitely change the environment. The irreplaceable soil, gravel and forest will be gone forever. The wildlife habitat will be greatly altered and in some cases lost, as springs, licks and dens would be potentially under water.
SOIL IS OUR GREATEST RESOURCE
Dale, Clara and Brad London
 
Meet Dale, Clara and their son Brad.  They live at the top of the Bear Flat hills. Clara is a third generation on the land. They will lose land to the proposed reservoir, highway realignment and impact lines. Clara and Dale and Brad believe that every day on the land is a good day. They know that the valley is critical for the wildlife population and the people who thrive there and hope others will support the PVLA to save the valley.
Clay and Katy Peck

 

Meet Clay and Katy Peck. Clay is a fourth generation peace valley resident and the youngest land owner of the Peck family. He and his wife Katy have recently started a homestead on the family farm. Avid outdoor enthusiasts and animal lovers, these two spend most of their time taking care of their land and exploring the Peace Valley. They plan on establishing an orchard and market garden in the future, and share their home with chickens, horses, 2 dogs and a wealth of diverse wild species who would be the first victims of the Site C Dam. If Site C proceeds, they will lose valuable fertile farming land as well as grazing leases. Clay and Katy hope to preserve the Peace Valley for not only their children, but for the many generations to come.
Caroline Bentley

 

Meet Caroline Bentley:  My late husband, Irie Bentley and I came to Bear Flat November 1959. Irie and I raised 5 children. We ranched here and also owned and operated the Pineridge Campground. My son, Lloyd Jr. now owns and operates the ranch and my daughter and son-in-law operate the campground now called Bear Flat Campground.  When my husband passed away in 1998 I moved from our homestead to my oldest daughters yard, just a few miles down to the valley, towards the Peace River. My home is the historic Bear Flat Schoolhouse, built in 1920. My son-in-law restored the building in 1999 and it is still located on the original 1/4 section where it was built. My home and the campground will be destroyed if BC Hydro builds Site C. The relocated highway goes through everything. Five generations have lived and walked this land. Please support the Peace Valley Landowner's court cases, so BC can keep the Peace valley intact.
Ed and June Sykes - Lynx Creek Farm
 
Meet Ed and June Sykes: Their family has lived at Lynx Creek under the threat of the building fo Site C since 1976. They built their own log home over-loooking the Peace River. They have grown their own food over this time from their garden. This is their retreat where they have retired.
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