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Antenna vandalism serious: Park supervisor

Vandals who smashed the Rose Spit weather satellite antenna last month caused $10,000 worth of damage and endangered mariners who rely on weather reports, says Naikoon Park area supervisor Lucy Stefanyk.
The weather station has now been fixed, but it was out of order for several days. The Meteorological Service of Canada believes it was damaged the evening of Dec. 21, Ms Stefanyk said, because the equipment was functioning until that point.
"Those weather reports are extremely important for mariners," she said. "It seems like this was just an act of senseless vandalism."
The weather station is located on the environmentally-sensitive Rose Spit Ecological Reserve, and the sand dunes nearby have been torn up by tire tracks, Ms Stefanyk added.
"It's a sad thing for that to happen because it's a sensitive area," she said. "Most of the traffic that goes up there is local traffic... and most people are highly respectful of the area."
The ecological reserve supports rare and endangered plant communities and it vital habitat for migratory birds. Disturbances can result in the reduction or even the ultimate loss of species unique to Haida Gwaii, Ms Stefanyk said.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is encouraged to contact the RCMP at 626-3991, Ms Stefanyk at 557-4390, or the Meteorological Service of Canada at 604-664-9188.