Former Semiahmoo First Nation chief WILLARD COOK welcomes visiting paddlers to the pier

TNT The Naked Truth

April 13, 2026

Don Pitciarn

Hump Arborist Work Report

With the latest round of controversial vegetation control on the Hump taking place last week, I thought I should follow up last week's TNT titled "No More Stumps On The Hump" with this piece that examines exactly what was done so that it is part of the public record.  On Sunday evening I went to the Hump, checked out the work and spent time climbing down the slope to see for myself the work that had been done plus take some photos.

It would appear that the arborists have now completed their tree removal and blackberry control from past the viewpoint down to the parkade above the pier.  The blackberries around the viewpoint were mowed down to the ground in a wide semi-circle but surprisingly they were left mainly intact along the sidewalk beside Marine Drive.  In most places they are maybe a metre away from the safety railing and with no freeze damage from the warm winter we experienced, it will not be long before they are growing into the sidewalk.  The area that was cleared of trees was the top 10 metres of the slope down to the edge of the old slump slide with the trees there now regrowing from the 2015 clear-cut not being touched down to the tracks.  

In most of the work area, the only blackberries cut down were the areas of the hillside where the trees had been regrowing, which were cleared to allow the workers access.  I went onto the hillside to check out the work and can report that most of the trees cut down were shoots growing from tree stumps previously cut down, which was part of the contract.  Since this has now happened multiple times, the regrowth appears to be getting less and less as the roots die from not having enough branches to support their growth.  Cutting the trees down at the start of spring before any leaves appear guarantees that any regrowth will be slowed or possibly stopped.  I did find areas where single shoots growing from the ground had been cut but these may have been cut higher before and lower this time.  Without before and after photographs of the individual trees it is impossible to tell for sure if this is the case or not.

This latest clearing ensures that people walking on the Marine Drive sidewalk across the Hump will continue to do so in nearly full sunshine during the summer.  The eagle tree will still offer some shade but it is now suffering from drought with the protective trees around it cut down in 2015 and the top 10 metres of the tree are now dead.  It is still used by eagles as a view perch but there is no nesting and eventually the top branches will break off.  The trees on the bottom of the Hump continue to regrow, with the big leaf maples now getting tall enough that they will block the view of the Pier from Marine Drive this summer when they are in full leaf.  I would expect the residents of the Marine Drive condos who did not have an unobstructed water view before 2015 to once again push for more tree cutting to be done on this steep slope above the BNSF tracks.  I would expect this to once again become an election issue in the City By The Sea.

Compared to the previous clear-cut and tree trimming done since, this year's work on the Hump was done in a very controlled manner.  There are no trees visible on the top of the Hump from the viewpoint down to the parking lot and I would expect less regrowth as the tree roots retract or die completely.  It was a bit of a head-scratcher why most of the blackberries were left this time around as they are laden with garbage that includes real estate signs thrown from the street.  I would still like White Rock CAO or the head of Engineering to explain how the City of White Rock will not cut trees on private property and yet somehow can remove trees from the BNSF owned property?  Where this gets really mind-boggling is they have been warned by Transport Canada that tree-cutting for views is one of the top three causes of landslides onto the BNSF tracks.  Soil motion and slope instability on and around the Hump is well documented and still they keep cutting down trees regardless of the risks.

With this being an election year you can expect to see a full court press on social media to discredit and malign those councillors who support leaving the Hump alone and letting it revert into a natural forested state.  I have already seen several very public and brazen attacks posted to Facebook that appear linked to this ongoing battle.  Slope stability for the pipes running along Marine Drive and railway safety for the BNSF trains rolling along the Promenade should always trump individual views.  White Rock cannot say that it wants to increase the tree canopy and yet continue to cut down trees from what was once a mature green space.  White Rock cannot post signs stating the Hump will be replanted and then do nothing for ten years and counting, while telling us  "We appreciate your patience with its appearance while we go through this transition."  White Rock cannot  pretend to "protect existing trees and increase the number of healthy trees and amount of tree canopy and thus enhance and ensure the sustainability of the City’s urban forest and realization of the environmental and aesthetic benefits it provides", while cutting trees down.

I'm going to be very blunt and to the point on this.  A city must be able to follow the rules it has set out in its policies and on its website.  It cannot have one set of rules of conduct for its residents and somehow ignore the rules it has previously set for itself.  A city cannot blatantly lie to its residents and have staff misleading councillors or withholding information from then.  White Rock has enough problems with an area of two square miles, only 22,000 people, issues with City Hall staff retention and a tax base reliant on residential properties.  If they cannot run White Rock like a functional city and follow the rules it has set for itself, then maybe the time has come after nearly 70 years to end the charade and rejoin Surrey.  Don't worry, White Rock will still be White Rock, just like Crescent Beach is Crescent Beach and Ocean Park is Ocean Park.  The difference is having a functional civic government that does not say one thing while doing another.  

Naturally yours,

Don Pitcairn 

Museum of Surrey open submissions for Community Treasures exhibitions series

Museum of Surrey (MOS) is opening applications for the Community Treasures exhibition series, for 2027. Community Treasures is a gallery space for community members, individuals, and cultural organizations from Surrey to showcase their treasures and share their stories with the public.

These temporary, submission-based exhibits give visitors an inside look into Surrey’s unique stories and experiences – straight from you, the community. Visitors get to view items that would normally be unavailable to see elsewhere.

Slim & Kitten on Marine Drive heading to Semiahmoo Park

Editors Note: Do you realize Surrey once had its very own singing cowboy ALBERTA SLIM?

"Slim" took the backseat out of his big old Cadillac car in order to squeeze his trick horse kitten into where the backseat used to be in order to transport her to his singing and performing local gigs.

Final selections are chosen by the Museum’s Community Advisory Board. Members review in September and exhibits are scheduled for the following year.

All Surrey residents are invited to read the Community Treasures guidebook to learn more about application guidelines and send their submissions online 

.......or contacting the Exhibits Team on the website.