A month after the Gambier Island Conservancy launched a petition to stop logging old growth on Gambier Island, the group has collected more than 26,800 signatures.
The petition, started in early June, calls on the woodlot operator, Gambier Forest Resources Ltd., to immediately stop logging the six-hectare cutblock known as Woodlot 0039 near the Whispering Creek watershed on Gambier Island. It raises concerns about the watershed, species at risk and old growth trees.
Of the response to the petition, Tim Turner of the Gambier Island Conservancy said, “I think it’s indicative of the sensitivity that British Columbians have now, regarding their old growth forests. I think the public awareness is now at a place where old growth means a lot more than it did even a month ago.”
Conservancy president Peter Scholefield said there are two unique features on Whispering Creek that are cause for concern: its use as a water source by some island residents and as a salmon-bearing stream.
“Never mind the loss of the old growth forest – which is a concern in itself – but we also have to be concerned about the quality of water that’s in the creek,” Scholefield said. A video created by Turner and his brother Bob acted as a “wake-up call,” Scholefield added.
Meanwhile, on July 4, members of the Gambier Guardians advocacy group noticed recent construction of a logging road approximately 20 feet from the Whispering Creek watershed, Lila Clift, a Gambier Guardian member and island resident, told Coast Reporter. A road and wooden box culvert crossing the creek is part of the company’s site plan for Kl-104.
When the Turners shot their video of Whispering Creek in April to accompany the petition, the road leading to the creek was not there yet, Turner said. While he’d prefer there not to be any logging near the watershed, Turner said crossing the creek seems to be a line in the sand for island residents.
“The fact that they have put that road in means that they remain committed to logging this cutblock,” he said.
Four members of the Gambier Guardians stayed at the site overnight on July 4 and hoisted a banner that read “Stay out of the Creek” across one of the woodlot operator’s machines. The next day, Clift set up a tent between the road construction and the creek, where she plans to forgo food and only drink from Whispering Creek for 10 days “to prove that water is an essential lifeforce, and that we all need it and without it would die,” Clift said.
The Gambier Guardians have been monitoring the logging in Woodlot W0039 since last fall, Clift said, creating a video series and raising public awareness. Clift said the group is not against sustainable logging.
“I don't want to step on people’s toes. We’re not trying to make enemies in our community,” Clift said. “We just want people's water to be protected and the salmon that run through it.”
For now, Clift said it’s unclear if machines will be able to operate amidst the dry weather and forest fire concerns.
“We heard that machines weren’t coming until the rain,” Clift said. Even so, she “just thought, better be safe than sorry and hold a presence.”
Gambier Forest Resources Ltd. did not return Coast Reporter’s requests for comment.
