An open letter to Sechelt Mayor and Council
If you have not already watched the movie 'The Wilson Creek Forest', please go to the Elphinstone Logging Focus web site and click on: http://www.loggingfocus.org/campaigns/protect-lower-elphinstone-slopes/wilson-creek-forest
We are making reasonable claims to see Wilson Creek Forest protected. The economic imperative is there to protect this forest and promote it as the Stanley Park of the Sunshine Coast. When you have 40-plus old-growth Douglas firs in one area this is something to celebrate - to make it into a tourism draw, like the incredible sea kayaking that the Coast is famous for. To log it, and receive a one-time dividend of $15,000 seems foolishly short-sighted to many residents. With the help of a little marketing, the Wilson Creek Forest could become a long-term economic driver for the local tourism industry.
When we have only four per cent of the Wilson Creek watershed left in old-growth and a bit more (10 per cent) in maturing older forests, then this watershed should be done with logging its intact forests. Does it make sense to lose it when we know having big trees close to a highway (think Cathedral Grove) is a tourism draw?
With a little effort, our group has taken more that 300 people through this forest. The town of Port Renfrew is acknowledging 'Big-Tree Tourism' with the marketing of the nearby The Avatar Grove.
The recent Wilson Creek watershed assessment report drew the conclusion that logging as usual can take place in the watershed. If we keep doing the same thing over and over again, then we can expect the economy of the Sunshine Coast to stagnate. The old-time logging industry will continue for a little while longer, while the potential for a green-sustainable tourism industry takes the hit.
We look forward to a wider public dialogue concerning the Wilson Creek Forest.
Ross Muirhead
Elphinstone Logging Focus
