After a protest at the District of Sechelt municipal hall and a blockade set up near Field Road on Monday morning, the community forest has cancelled a juvenile tree spacing program on a block partially within the Chapman Creek watershed.
But Kevin Davie, operations manager for Sechelt Community Projects Inc. (SCPI), said he cancelled the program on Tuesday, not because of the protest, but due to the meeting he had with B.C. Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell on Monday.
"I cancelled the program because I found out the interim protection measures may be going ahead," said Davie, referring to the Sunshine Coast Strategic Land and Resource Plan (SLRP) process, being pursued by the province and the Homalco, Klahoose, Sliammon, and Sechelt First Nations. As an interim measure of the process, the Sechelt Indian Band (SIB) have requested a moratorium on logging within the watersheds of Chapman and Gray Creeks. Davie said Bell informed him the SLRP will be voted on by cabinet in late spring. The fact interim measures could go into place means SCPI is hesitant to plan any management activity in either drinking watershed, Davie said.
"We know they're in negotiations right now, so as long as that's in progress, we're not going to do anything," he said.The 35-hectare cut block adjacent to Husdon and Chapman Creeks was in the early stages of a 16-day spacing program when the SIB first became aware of it.
"We're looking for interim protection; local governments and senior governments are well aware of that," said SIB Chief-elect Garry Feschuk, who said he only learned of the spacing program on March 8. He pointed out the Band wrote a letter of support for the community forest in 2005, conditional on a guarantee not to log in the watershed.
"As of now, I'm not in favour of anything within the watershed," Feschuk said. Nor are a familiar group of concerned citizens who recently became aware of the program. "The difference now, as compared to summer protests, is that people here are the actual shareholders," said John Keates, one of about 30 people gathered outside the District's municipal hall on Monday. The protest eventually moved inside, where administrator Bill Brown left a staff meeting to hear their concerns. He informed the crowd that although the District is SCPI's sole shareholder, council is "at arm's length" from the community forest board and has no direct control over the spacing - not a popular sentiment with those gathered.
"The logic of carrying out this spacing in the watershed after what happened last summer is political dynamite," said John Bebbington, who was acting as a spokesperson for the group. Brown offered to set up a meeting between the concerned citizens and the board of directors of the community forest, and suggested individuals join the community forest advisory committee (CFAC) to voice their concerns.
"We can talk about making a stand or we can talk about being effective," he said. "The place where you can be effective is at the CFAC."
At press deadline on Wednesday afternoon, about eight protestors remained on a blockade set up near the entrance to the cut block, located off the Sechelt Wilson Forest Service Road, awaiting official word of the program's status. On Tuesday, the protestors spoke with contractor Raymond Dixon and his work crew, who agreed not to work that day.
When asked how the spacing program juxtaposes with the District of Sechelt's September 2007 commitment to hold off from logging in the Chapman Creek watershed for 100 years, Davie said, "in 40 or 50 years, people will make a decision as to what to do with it."
"We're just attempting to manage it as good forest managers," said Davie, who emphasized the fact spacing is done to increase tree productivity, and is not the same as logging. "The community forest is on record as saying we will not be logging in the Chapman Creek watershed."
Davie said he feels the province will be responsible for replacing the Chapman Creek section in the community forest with other harvestable land if the interim measures go ahead.
"If they take [the watershed sections] away from us, they'll have to replace it somewhere," he said.
On Thursday afternoon, after Coast Reporter's deadline, the incoming council of the SIB were to have met with SCPI to discuss their concerns.
