Concerns over logging in the North Fork Valley motivated 30 residents to meet with representatives of BC Timber Sales (BCTS) last week.
The concerns that were raised by the residents included the disruption of water sources for several residences, the harm done to the habitat of the Granby grizzly bear population, the noise generated by the logging, the visual impact of the clear cuts, as well as subsequent reduction in property values.
Dave Carlyle, one of the residents most seriously affected by the logging, recognized the inevitability of logging in the area, but hoped that those responsible would keep in mind the needs and concerns of the residents.
“I am an optimistic person,” Carlyle said, “and I am hopeful that this is the start of a process that will address our concerns, at least to some degree.”
Resident Larry Butler reflected the mood of some of the other residents and was not so optimistic. “The contractors are pinched so tight by the rates paid by the mills right now that they have no choice but to use the most expedient methods of getting the logs out, which often doesn’t leave the nicest results on the ground.”
Butler was especially concerned with the plans for logging in the area on the north side of Lynch Creek, including Jones and Cannon Creeks. “This is about the last unroaded area adjacent to Gladstone Provincial Park. Opening up these areas will leave the park an island, surrounded by increasingly fragmented habitat.”
The same area had been cited earlier by North Fork residents as part of the diminishing habitat for the 17 remaining Granby grizzly bears.
Carlyle’s main concern was preserving his water source, Hornet Creek, but BCTS Manager for the Kootenays, Shane Bowden, indicated to him that a reasonable buffer zone would be established to ensure the creek was not disrupted.
Carlyle commented that in an earlier discussion, BCTS representatives had told the residents that the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO) was feeling the pressure from government to generate revenue and that because of the low lumber prices, the size of the annual cuts was large, and they needed to be closer to urban centres and destination mills in order to reduce the cost to logging companies of harvesting.
In a phone interview, BCTS Planning Officer for the Kootenays, George Edney, said that the actual location of areas to be offered for auction by BC Timber Sales is determined by a complex formula developed in 2003 under Bill 28 that takes into account dozens of factors including terrain, type and volume of wood, proximity of housing development, distance to mills, water courses and other considerations. Edney said that the final decision on the amount of wood to be harvested overall rests with MFLNRO Minister Steve Thomson.
Edney reflected Carlyle’s positive reaction to the meeting. “I think it went well,” he said. “By and large the people there and the people in Grand Forks in general understand that the forest sector pays for the things that people enjoy. We were glad to hear people’s concerns about water, noise issues and the visuals.
The Timber Sales Manager (Shane Bowden) was there, and he doesn’t take these things lightly.”
Though no dates for future meetings were set, Edney said that BCTS hoped to meet with the individuals that are most affected after the site and harvest plans for the areas to be auctioned were complete. Carlyle confirmed that he had been promised further input at a later date.