21st October 2008
EDITOR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8. 2008
BC TIMBER SALES SELLS OUT LOCAL WATERSHEDS
The citizens of the Slocan Valley turned out in droves at last night’s,
October 7, BC Timber Sales open house at Slocan Park Hall. They wanted to
understand the reason why Porcupine Barabanow has been given the green light
to extract 550 logging trucks full of timber out of four sizeable cutblocks
in their watersheds.
“BC Timber sales have come in and are walking all over us. If they get away
with creating these large, highly visible clearcuts in our back yard, it
will make it so much easier for them to decimate watersheds all over the
Kootenays, as well as in the rest of BC!” said local resident, Evelyn Kirkaldy. “And their plan in fact is to do just that!”
These plans came as a surprise to almost all residents, some receiving notices as late as last week. Over the next two years there will be logging trucks thundering down residential roads and school bus routes.
BC Timber Sales completed the transaction even before any geotechnical or
hydrological reports were made on blocks 1 and 2 and before surface water
licensees were formally contacted. Mapping of all surface water sources still has not been completed. According to MOF guidelines, logging plans do not have to take into consideration private or community wells. Folks with wells will lose water and there is no provision for compensation.
On all four cutblocks, the mass wasting hazard is designated by MOF as high,
which means there is a high risk for slides. The largest cutblock #1 has grades from 45% to 60% and higher. Jacob Creek already has a physical washout that’s eroding onto Cunningham Road.
Block 1 is 49.4HA total with 37.6HA to be logged
Block 2 is 9.3 HA total
with 5.9HA to be logged
Block 3 is 21.2HA total with 17.9 HA to be logged
Block 4 is 10.8HA total with 7.8 HA to be logged
A percentage of each cut block will be designated as wildlife areas, but
they have little or no timber value. Former 200 meter buffer zones around creeks, have been reduced to 20 meters. On top of that, fellerbunchers will be allowed to go into the riparian zone, within 5 meters of the stream and take the large merchantable timber. leaving little or no underbrush. “The
buffer zones are a joke,” said Kirkaldy “These blocks will be large clearcuts, right up to the streams.” Approximately 250+ people showed up at last night’s meeting and most left feeling helpless and infuriated. MOF has the power to retract the tenure, but denies it. A group of local citizens have been organizing and we will do whatever it takes to stop this
irresponsible example of unsustainable watershed logging in the heart of our
community.
Evelyn Kirkaldy eekbearsnetidea.com
250 359-6611
There is an APC meeting scheduled for October 8, 2008, Slocan Park Hall,
beginning at 7pm. This is a special meeting meant to discuss the proposed
forest development activity in the Slocan Park area. The outcome of this
discussion may be a recommendation to the RDCK Board. There will be an
opportunity for the public to speak for 30 minutes, starting at 8:30pm.
In My Backyard
Comment by Valley Resident on 21st October 2008
While I commend those who question these types of projects I feel that this cutting will have minimum impact on the valley.
I live directly adjacent to one of the blocks that save.radcliffe.ridge group members assure me is too steep but when I walk that very area, I have no concern. The slopes are 33% or 1 foot of rise for 3 feet of horizontal distance. Portions of my driveway are that steep and I and my elderly mother can both walk up my driveway without any issues.
North of Slocan Park, watersheds and the main valley wall have recently been put into a community forest license administered by an association of various watershed groups in the area. I feel that this area probably should have been included in that community forest license to allow locals more say on how it is logged. I am uncertain why that did not happen.
The timber is fantastic, it is a great growing site which sits mostly on a flat Kame Terrace left over from glaciation and faces due south. The families of many of those now opposed have historically harvested timber from this hillside and adjacent private land for building, milling and firewood. Many of those same families have clearcut logged their property to the boundary with crown land.
This matter has been entirely distorted by way of public meetings chaired by loggers who did not get the timber sale for themselves. They misinformed, used scare tactics, and refused to listen to anyone who had anything to say that did not fit with the picture they wanted the residents to hear. When there was a meeting held by MOF to address the concerns raised and answer questions with accurate and credible information, none of these loggers showed up. Funny thing that.
Also worthy of note is that the logger who convened local meetings has been after the MOF for years to let him log the whole hillside "lightly" but has been refused because the remaining hillside above the area in question is basically a cliff face in many spots and damned steep elsewhere. Slopes range from 50% to vertical.