Saltspring Island is the most populated, the most politically-influential, the best-known, and the most developed of the islands served by BC Ferries (except for Vancouver Island). Three ports and three ferry routes connect it to other places: Vancouver Island (Crofton and Swartz Bay), Pender Island, Mayne Island, Galiano Island, and the mainland. Even though it is beautiful and charming, many islanders all over the coast and on the island too view Saltspring as an example of what the future can hold for them too unless they are vigilant against rampant development. The “Saltpsring index,” a semi-serious measure of development, gauges how developed an island is in comparison to Saltspring. While its multiple ferry routes are obviously not the only cause of its development, they certainly play a role in it.