The following letter was sent to Forestry Minister Steve Thomson and copied to Coast Reporter.
It has come to our attention that the province has rejected the Sechelt Indian Band’s assertion of title over traditional lands that encompass the Elphinstone slopes east to Roberts Creek.
The proposed BC Timber Sales (BCTS) A87126, which lies in the Clack Creek area (Elphinstone 1,500Ha slopes), should be cancelled based on the shíshálh declaration of protecting the forest ecosystem throughout their portion of the Elphinstone territory, and for sound ecosystem concerns.
The planning process referred to (Lower Mainland Protected Area Strategy) in the Coast Reporter article of Dec. 5 included the Sunshine Coast. However, at the end of the day, the Lower Mainland received the bulk of new protected areas. The Sunshine Coast Forest District has only three per cent of its land base in the provincial park system. Nonetheless, this is a moot point now that the shíshálh Nation is asserting rights to re-obtain this land and take control over its future management.
To clarify a comment made by Vivian Thomas (Forests, Lands and Natural Resources) in the article, cutblock A87126 was scaled back due to the concerns raised by our group, Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF), due to extreme blowdown documented in adjacent BCTS blocks on these same slopes, not for some gracious move on the part of BCTS. They did acknowledge and realize that these forests, facing the Salish Sea, are subject to intense storm events and attempted to make the edges of the proposed logging more wind firm; however, it is still clearcut logging that destroys biodiversity.
If BCTS proceeds to sell this block to a local logging contractor, the province can expect push-back from the local community on numerous fronts, including legal and in support of shíshálh peoples.
The days of consulting and forcing logging activities on traditional territory appear to be over. This is an opportunity for the province to do the right thing.
Ross Muirhead, Elphinstone Logging Focus
