Flotsam & Jetsam

Definition: human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally become afloat in a lake, sea, ocean or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter.

Unlike my marketing blog, this is the home turf to the beach litter of my Internet surfing. There's no telling what might wash ashore here.

Thanks for stopping by and mind your step,
Adele

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June 22, 2010

I Want a Lighthouse

In May 2010, the Canadian government declared almost 1,000 lighthouses surplus. People and organizations interested in owning a lighthouse have 2 years to submit a proposal. They will then be responsible for all costs associated to the lighthouse.

Here’s a CBC report with more details. And a video.

If you want your own lighthouse, the system is a bit cumbersome to navigate.

Parks Canada on the sale and transfer of heritage lighthouses:

The Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act facilitates the sale or transfer of a heritage lighthouse, particularly to promote on-going or alternate uses for the building.

All non-federal owners of heritage lighthouses will be encouraged to adopt the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada to guide their conservation efforts.

Should the lighthouse contain an aid to navigation that will remain operational, the new owner would be required to enter into an agreement with the Canadian Coast Guard in order to provide for the maintenance and operation of the aid or to permit access to the site for such purposes.

Parks Canada on surplus lighthouses:

The Act requires that all federal Ministers who administer lighthouses maintain and make accessible to the public during the two-year petitioning period (May 29, 2010 – May 29, 2012) a list of all lighthouses that are surplus to operational requirements.

Department of Fisheries and Oceans: Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act Implementation:

Table of Active Lighthouses Declared Surplus (fixed aids to navigation) identification number in the Department’s List of Lights, Buoys and Fog Signals and in the Directory of Federal Real Property (DFRP). The DFRP is found on the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada website.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat: Information on each active lighthouse

Search by the DFRP identification number of the lighthouse (from Department of Fisheries and Oceans), to view a description of the lighthouse.

See it on a Google map with satellite view:

Step 1: http://maps.google.com/

Step 2: copy the Longitude and Latitude from the Treasury Board Property Description

Step 3: past the coordinates into the Google map search window as number, number

Table of inactive lighthouses (fixed aids to navigation) and their identification number in Fisheries and Oceans’ List of Lights, Buoys and Fog Signals.

There’s a problem with finding the locations of these lighthouses. The lighthouse number that is referenced in the table does not correspond to any number in the Directory of Federal Real Property (DFRP) search offered by the treasury. So there’s no easy way to get more information on each location. The only way to learn more is to contact the director of each region for more information. I’m sure that they’ll love fielding so many questions from the public.

When you purchase an inactive lighthouse, there is no obligation to the government to keep it functioning.

Caveat from the DFO:

Please note that there may be some administrative or legal issues to be addressed in relation to some of these listed lighthouses that would restrict the capacity of the Department to transfer ownership. We recommend that those interested in submitting a petition for a surplus lighthouse contact Andrew Anderson at (613) 990-8886 or andrew.anderson@dfo-mpo.gc.ca for further information prior to submitting a written commitment to acquire a surplus lighthouse.

1 year ago

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