Otters spotted in Burnaby river near Trans Mountain tree cutting (video)

Mar. 8, 2021

There have been many visitors recently to land along the Brunette River in Burnaby where Trans Mountain is cutting down trees.

But not all of them are on land.

As the area has been the site of several recent protests, a group of river otters were also spotted hanging out near where the trees are being cut down by chainsaws.

You can watch the video below. Protesters have worried about the impact on the Brunette from Trans Mountain's work.

Trans Mountain was recently granted the ability to circumvent a section of the City of Burnaby’s tree bylaw, which requires a permit for anyone to damage or cut down any protected tree – those with 20.3-centimetre diameters or larger – in the city. However, the order, which came from the Canada Energy Regulator, said the project needed to comply with all other sections of the bylaw. Trans Mountain plans to cut down 1,308 protected trees in Burnaby, not including trees with smaller trunks.

The Brunette River area has been the most recent front line in a dispute between Trans Mountain and anti-pipeline activists, who say the pipeline will make it impossible for Canada to meet its climate targets and removing the trees will disrupt a sensitive ecosystem around the river.

“Trans Mountain has started the clearing work needed to safely construct the pipeline in the Brunette area - the work area is located in the transportation corridor between the CN Rail line and Highway 1 immediately west of the Brunette exit off-ramp in Burnaby,” said a statement by Trans Mountain. “This work is expected to take several weeks.”