Editor's note: Quotes from Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations spokesperson received after print edition went to press but have been included in online story.
Despite the efforts of the Friends and Residents of the North Fork (FRNF), BC Timber Sales (BCTS) has decided to proceed with plans to log the Lynch Creek North area.
“Work to upgrade the Gladstone Forestry Road began (Thursday, July 11),” Shane Bowden, BCTS timber sales manager for the Kootenay business region, said in an interview Friday.
Margaret Steele, spokesperson for the FRNF, responded, “I am totally disgusted that BCTS is going ahead with the road, when they know we have a meeting arranged in Victoria with senior ministry (Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operation) officials to discuss this issue on July 25.
This is a total disregard for the voices of 160 citizens of the Boundary who have signed a petition asking for a moratorium on this logging plan.”
According to Steele, the area that is to be logged is vital to the resident wildlife.
In a letter to Bowden she wrote, “This area is the last intact forest and wildlife corridor remaining in the Lower Granby and, if it is logged, Gladstone Park will become an ‘Island of Extinction’ for wildlife, just like Granby Park. Lynch Creek North is the only remaining wildlife corridor from high elevation to low valley ecosystems and includes valuable south facing habitat.”
Steele maintains that the Kettle-Granby grizzly population in particular is threatened if the logging proceeds in Lynch Creek North.
“There is speculation that the grizzlies have basically been ‘pushed’ into this area since the connectivity corridor between the two parks has been destroyed,” Steele stated. “Simply put, they have nowhere else to go. Grizzly bear biology clearly points to the need for buffer zones between and around protected areas to provide any meaningful protection and security for the animals.”
The FRNF hosted members of the BCTS staff recently in a tour of the area that is to be logged. During the tour, their concerns were expressed over the harm that logging would do in terms of animal habitat, disruption of the water supply and recreational use.
After the tour, Bowden emailed the FRNF. “I appreciate you and others taking time to visit the area with us and see first-hand what we are planning to do in the way of road upgrades and timber harvesting,” he wrote.
“From my review of events of the day nothing came forward that would cause me to reconsider our plans for the development of Lynch Creek. We are operating firmly within requirements of the Kootenay Boundary Land Use Plan and Forest Legislation and have applied sound professional judgment in the development of road and block prescriptions, with consideration to wildlife values including Grizzly bear.”
In his interview with the Gazette, Bowden referred comments to the ministry’s public relations department.
Brennan Clarke, public affairs officer for the ministry, described BCTS' plans, confirming minor upgrades to the existing Gladstone Fores Service Road had started "to facilitate safe log hauling" and after the logging is completed, the road will be deactivated he said.
"The timber sales are not expected to be awarded until fall or winter," Clarke told the Gazette in an email. "BC Timber Sales has an approved forest stewardship plan for the area. In order for the plan to be approved, BC Timber Sales needed to show how all resource values, including wildlife, would be protected. BC Timber Sales also needed to show how it addressed all public comments received before submitting its plan for approval," Clarke went on to say.