Editor:
Re: “BCTS removes three blocks in Gibsons aquifer recharge zone from map ‘to ensure clarity’” May 28.
Removal of three blocks on the slopes of Mount Elphinstone is a very small step, but in the right direction. Can our government and BCTS go the full length and remove all cutblocks on Mount Elphinstone? Comparing the BCTS map of 2020 with their just-released 2021 map, I noted that the number of proposed blocks has overall increased and not decreased!
What’s more, many blocks are still located in the Chaster and Gibsons Creek aquifer recharge area. To protect the aquifer and wells of downslope residents there should be no logging in this area at all.
A serious second issue, raised also by others, is the risk of stormwater damage, that will be significantly increased once trees are removed. For instance, 50 per cent of the area of the unusually large block TA0519, located above Reed Road Forest, is drained by several creeks that combine into Shirley Creek, a fish-bearing feeder of Chaster Creek.
Excessive stormwater from Shirley Creek caused Russell Road to wash out in 2014 and 2018. Thus, any logging in sections of forest that are drained by Shirley Creek and its tributaries will significantly increase the risk of another washout.
BCTS will likely produce hydrology reports that state that logging will not have any negative impacts on the stability of the terrain they will log. These reports can only then be trusted, if 1) the points of reference of the hydrology assessment are written by affected residents (together with our local government) and not by BCTS, 2) the assessment includes long-term impact on downslope well water quality and stormwater damages and 3) there are mechanisms for BCTS officials as well as the engineering firms producing these assessments to be held responsible for any damages.
Hermann Ziltener, Gibsons
