A long-time resident living along the Peace River is urging local municipal leaders to stand against BC Hydro’s proposed Site E dam project, pointing to 15 years of severe ecological degradation in her backyard.
In a formal letter sent to Fort St. John Mayor Lilia Hansen and city council, Taylor resident Nicole O’Reilly voiced absolute opposition to the potential fourth megadam on the river, warning that further hydro development will bring local ecosystems to a breaking point.
O’Reilly, who lives adjacent to the Peace River near Peace Island Park, detailed a decade and a half of personal environmental observations—noting a dramatic shift in local wildlife and water stability since construction began on the upstream John Horgan Dam, formerly known as Site C.
“For over a decade, black bears safely visited our property every August and September to feed on local saskatoon berries,” O’Reilly wrote.
“Since dam construction began, we have not seen a single bear. Conversely, we are now seeing migrations of elk through Taylor that never occurred before.”
She added that an increased presence of male deer and displaced wildlife—including a new beaver colony—indicates upstream habitat destruction is driving animals out of their natural corridors and directly into residential areas.
Beyond wildlife disruptions, the letter raises alarms over hydrological instability and microclimate changes along the riverbank. O’Reilly highlighted wild day-to-day water level fluctuations at Peace Island Park, severe erosion of historic beach banks, increased local fog, and altered frost and wind patterns. She also cited continuous landslide threats facing the nearby community of Old Fort.
“If the upstream dams have already triggered this level of cumulative ecological damage, building Site E directly in our backyard will be the definitive tipping point,” she warned, raising concerns about potential impacts on Taylor’s alluvial drinking water aquifers.
Calling past environmental loss “a reason to protect what remains of the Peace River, not an excuse to destroy it,” O’Reilly requested that elected officials reject provincial compromises or compensation funds.
Instead, she urged council to align with local residents and Treaty 8 First Nations in demanding that the province pursue decentralized clean energy alternatives, including wind, solar, geothermal, and nuclear options over another hydro project.
