Following decades of advocacy, Hamilton Marsh near Qualicum Beach appears on its way to becoming a protected area. Earlier this month the Regional District of Nanaimo announced it had reached a conditional agreement with Mosaic Forest Management to buy 360 hectares of land for $30 million. That land includes the marsh itself, which is about 36 hectares in size, and a mature forest, that if undisturbed, will reach old growth status within 150 years…