Shore erosion threatens lighthouse

P.E.I.'s historic West Point Lighthouse is under increasing threat of falling into the sea.

'That point is virtually gone.' — Local MLA Robert Henderson

Only about 15 metres currently separates the lighthouse from the shore. The three snowstorms that have struck the Island since Christmas tore away more than a metre of sand dune.

Local MLA Robert Henderson told CBC News the extent of the erosion is evident even by looking at older maps.

"You can see where the West Point used to come down to here and go back up to the wharf and that point is virtually gone," said Henderson.

"We have to do something."

The West Point Lighthouse, built in 1875, is the tallest on P.E.I. at 20.6 metres. Apart from its historic significance it is an important tourist attraction in West Prince. It holds the provincial lighthouse museum, and has a restaurant and hotel attached. There are two rooms available for overnight stays in the lighthouse itself.

Ralph Bulger, 65, has been a community volunteer in West Point for most of his life, and runs the board that manages the building.

"It's not going to get lost. Never. Not in my lifetime or in anybody else's lifetime," he said.

Climate change blamed

Norm Catto, who studies soil erosion at Memorial University in Newfoundland, suspects climate change has played a role in what seems to be accelerated erosion.

"The cause of the erosion is the amount of storm activity and the amount of wave action that we have on the coastline," said Catto.

"If you have anything that increases that, for example, if you have more storms, you're going to get more erosion. Or if you have less ice cover in the area directly offshore, then when the waves come in the winter months there is nothing to interrupt them and they're going to be able to impact on the shoreline as well."

Fixing the problem would be expensive, and involve burying compressed tires or tubes filled with sand in the protecting dune in order to anchor it.

A spokesperson for Environment Minister George Webster said the department is monitoring the issue.