Editor:
I have been very concerned about the rampant logging of the Sunshine Coast over the years and particularly in the past six months. I believe there is an urgent need to have a moratorium on logging on the Coast and a review of the health of our wilderness areas.
Friends who hike in the bush frequently have been telling me that every time they go up the trails on Mount Elphinstone there is another clear cut. I have witnessed some of these myself, particularly on the road to Dakota Ridge, and the lower slopes of Mount Elphinstone.
Others tell me their favourite trails north of Sechelt are systematically being logged. Hundreds of logging trucks continue to ply our two-lane highway, with full loads heading south, some of them going on the ferry.
Many of our accessible trails are heavily used for recreational purposes by hikers and off-road bikers. Now people are getting discouraged from using them because these trails are being obliterated by logging. Hikers go to a favourite area like Homesite Creek or the Heritage Forest, and instead of wooden green trails, are faced with unsightly clear cuts.
Why do we have to log forests that are part of our community? Surely there is some recreational/tourist value in having beautiful intact areas that people can easily access and enjoy for their health and spiritual well being.
Many people come from off-Coast to use our trails, stay overnight and spend money in our communities. We are encouraging them to do so, yet doing nothing about keeping our trails healthy and intact.
We need a land use plan for the Sunshine Coast like other communities have, and the sooner the better.
Bette Chadwick, Sechelt
