Directors at the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) are reaffirming their opposition to logging in some areas, and asking BC Timber Sales (BCTS) for more time to negotiate a deal on a proposed cutblock in Area E.
Directors were given a briefing from staff on BCTS plans over the coming years at the June 16 planning and development committee meeting.
A motion, set for adoption at the June 23 regular board meeting, singles out three main issues, and indicates the SCRD “does not support logging in the community watersheds or watershed reserves for the purpose of protecting water used for drinking, … does not support logging licence A91376 located on District Lot (DL) 1313, which should be reserved for environmental protection as per ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations … [and] does not support logging within the 1,500-hectare area identified in the Roberts Creek Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 641, Map No. 2 as an area for ecological and recreational protection.”
The last part of the motion refers, in part, to the June 3 auction of cutblock A87125 on Mt. Elphinstone. The SCRD urged BCTS to delay that sale. The Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations told Coast Reporter there were three bidders, but it could be a few more weeks before the results are finalized and logging begins. The group Elphinstone Logging Focus has signaled its intention to try to blockade the road.
A blockade last year succeeded in stopping operations on blocks A92904 and A87126 in the Dakota Bowl area. SCRD staff told the committee BCTS has now delayed the sale of those blocks until 2018.
BCTS is also holding off on three cutblocks near the Pender Harbour Landfill to allow more time for a review by the shíshálh Nation.
The cutblock on DL 1313, part of an area designated as park in the Elphinstone Official Community Plan (OCP), is scheduled for auction in 2017.
Elphinstone director Lorne Lewis told the committee, “[DL 1313] is very important to us in Elphinstone, and I hope that we’re able to satisfy all needs and turn it into a park sometime soon.”
According to staff, however, the SCRD has not yet approached the province about acquiring the land. CAO Janette Loveys told directors the future of DL 1313 is part of the discussions around a protocol with the Squamish Nation.
“We are looking to sign that protocol with them within this year, and that would probably be the best approach,” said Loveys. “I’m sure the province would also require us to have those discussions with them as a first step.”
Mark Lebbell, director for Roberts Creek, said the section of the Roberts Creek OCP opposing logging in the area some people want folded into a bigger provincial park represents a broad base of community opinion.
“I want to note that at the time the [SCRD] board was passing that motion [calling for a delay on the auction of A87125] the BC Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution in favour of increased protection of old-growth forests in areas where they can have a greater net economic value where they’re left standing,” he said, adding that recent flooding on the North Shore also points to the value of forests in controlling storm water run-off.
