SLOCAN VALLEY—About 80 people determined to keep BC Timber Sales (BCTS) out of domestic watersheds in the Slocan Valley came together on Friday, August 27 on Fern Road, near the access road to the 94-hectare clearcut slated for this fall. Operations in this Winlaw/Trozzo Creek area include 2.9 kms of new road construction, which is currently underway by Sunshine Logging of Kaslo.
A Slocan Valley citizens’ group decided to block the road after Friday’s rally, according to spokesperson Grigg Stone. She reported that on Saturday morning, the group’s camp was destroyed, in front of women and children, by one or more of the road building crew.
“We hope peace can be held until negotiations can be set up with BCTS,” she said. The group is calling for a deferral of all operations until negotiations with BCTS are arranged.
In a telephone interview, Shane Bowden, Timber Sales Manager for the Kootenay Business Area, said, “I have not been approached by anyone yet...I would be open to having discussions with people with a legitimate interest in the area. I have concerns about having discussions while road blocking is going on, but am open to having dialogue on what can be done to remedy it.”
A document titled “Slocan Valley Citizen Accord,” handed out to rally attendees on Friday, states that the citizens’ group’s complaint is with BCTS, “operating under its narrow mandate to fill government coffers and serve corporate and US agendas, yet exclude meaningful consideration of community welfare, domestic water sources, local employment and non-timber economies.”
To say the sole purpose of BCTS is to make money is erroneous, says Bowden. “The vision for BCTS is to be an effective timber marketer for the purposes of optimizing revenue to the crown, but other things come into play as well. We are bound by legislative requirements and that legislation is intended to ensure sustainable forestry.”
The Slocan Valley group’s mistrust of BCTS comes partly from a 34-ha clearcut in the Trozzo drainage that was carried out last year. “The Winlaw Watershed Committee had recommendations about that cut that were totally ignored. They didn’t leave a buffer zone around the wetland areas,” Stone said. Two reports were written and sent to the Forest Practices Board asking for an investigation, according to Stone.
Jeff Mattes of Sunshine Logging arrived at the site of the rally on Friday to speak with the protestors. Stone was quick to tell him that the group was against BCTS, not the workers. Mattes said that about the only thing he agreed with them on was “no protection for local jobs.” He said that watersheds were in jeopardy because the forest was dying from mountain pine beetle and fire. “You people have more to worry about than logging and road building,” he said.
“We are not saying don’t log, but to log with intelligence and with policy that looks at water protection,” countered Ricardo Hubbs, Winlaw Watershed Committee spokesperson. The group is calling for an ecosystem based forest plan for watersheds, developed either by communities or by communities in co-operation with BCTS. Hubbs mentioned a community forest license.
Mattes said that from what he’s seen, the experts cannot agree on what ecosystem based planning entails. He said he had served on the board of the Kaslo and District Community Forest Society and although it created some good things, it also created a lot of dissension in the community. “With a community forest license, you have the same management issues,” he pointed out. He said that clearcutting in a pine beetle stand was “renewing the forest.”
“We’re logging unsustainably,” said Hubbs. “Beetles are an indicator of forest mismanagement.”
Bowden explained that the slated cutblocks would be clearcut with wildlife tree patches. “Approximately 20% of the timber in both the Winlaw/Trozzo and Pedro Creek areas is non-pine species. This component of these stands will be reserved,” he said.
The “United and Determined” Slocan Valley protestors will stage another rally on September 1 at 8 am at the bottom of Pedro Creek Road. There is a plan for logging two blocks for a total of 120 hectares and building 4.6 km of roads in the Pedro Creek area this year.
by Jan McMurray, VALLEY VOICE View all news articles |
