The shíshálh Nation has been granted a stop-work order to halt logging on private land near Seaview, Skookumchuck, and Mt. Richardson roads in Sandy Hook.
The 90-acre (36-hectare) parcel is owned by a numbered company based in Vancouver, and was recently classified as private managed forest, a designation granted through BC Assessment. It’s listed now as Managed Forest #503.
Chief Warren Paull said shíshálh wanted the stop-work order, which was issued by the province, because the land was converted to private managed forest without undergoing the proper referrals to the shíshálh Nation to see if its traditional rights and title would be affected.
Paull said the band only found out about the issue when logging started earlier this month and a group of Sandy Hook residents went to the shíshálh Nation, District of Sechelt and the Managed Forest Council.
Among the concerns in a letter drafted by Cris Rowan and Linda Patrick, two residents of the 6800 block of Seaview Road, are that the logging could create the potential for mud slides because of the property’s steep slopes and that logging truck activity in the neighbourhood could pose safety risks, especially since there are no sidewalks in that area.
They also say the work “blocks multiple access points to day use trails which connect community members to Sechelt Heritage Forest and Hidden Grove Forest. No attempt has been made by [the] owner to provide alternate access to these two forests.”
The letter goes on to say, “[the] owner has made no attempt to liaise with community members regarding any aspect of his logging project, even though it will disrupt their use of access trails to two forests, frequented for recreation purposes.”
The residents also allege the same property owners “illegally logged [an] adjunct site to [the] new logging site, without a permit, and left a mess without replanting.”
While a private managed forest classification can bring tax benefits – the assessment in this case dropped from $1.6 million to just over $80,000 – it also imposes restrictions on land use and regulations on logging practices under the Private Managed Forest Land Act.
The Managed Forest Council was established to administer forestry practices under that act including “protection of key environmental values” and the requirement to file annual reports outlining the forest management activities, such as harvesting, road building and reforestation.
The Managed Forest Council’s policy on stop work orders is that they will be issued when there are “reasonable grounds to believe a person is currently contravening the legislation; and there is imminent or ongoing material adverse effect to fish or fish habitat; water quality, or critical wildlife habitat.”
In the case of Managed Forest #503, the Council said it has not issued any stop-work orders.
Although residents also complained to the District of Sechelt, local governments do not have the authority to regulate activity and land use on managed forest lots.
Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons said his office often gets complaints about cutting on managed forest land, but it’s unusual to get them about lots that are within municipal boundaries and close to built-up neighbourhoods.
Simons said the NDP, when it was in opposition, had managed forest regulations on its radar and he’s hoping to see some changes.
“The standards of forestry are not the same as on public lands,” Simons told Coast Reporter. “Safeguards and regulatory oversight was minimal and when it existed it was ‘the fox is in the henhouse.’ Members of that council are made up of people representing their own interests, which is understandable, but leads to some uncertainty in the public’s mind about whether it’s objective.”
Simons said the government is looking to strike a balance. “The importance of the forest industry in our community is pretty significant … but I think improvements can be made in the involvement of the community in more of the decision-making processes.”
Simons also said he sees the situation in Sandy Hook, as well as recent controversies over Community Forest operations and efforts to preserve DL 1313 in Elphinstone from being auctioned by BC Timber Sales, pointing to the need for a comprehensive land-use plan for the Sunshine Coast. He said after raising it for years with previous governments, he’s now hoping to get some momentum on the issue from his NDP colleagues in cabinet.
“It’s really not fair to a community to have these ongoing, repeating proposal-and-protest cycles.”
