SAVE OUR WATERSHED

FOE Letter...

2008-10-02T22:48:00.001-07:00

The following letter has been sent out on the Friends of Egmont mailing list:

Greetings,

On August 15, 2008 BC Timber Sales followed through on its plans to put two cutblocks in the Waugh Lake Watershed up for bidding. Those cutblocks representing close to 12,000 /m3 have been awarded to Sladey Timber Ltd in Pender Harbour. This will bring to total 5 cutblocks that will directly impact the Waugh Lake Watershed if you add the tenures held by Tsain-Ko Forest Development Corporation. To access three of those five cutblocks, it will require re-activating the North Lake logging road that has been dormant since 1990.

The awarding of these cutblocks by the Ministry of Forests and BC Timber Sales has created an ironic situation for the Egmont. Under threat of punitive sanctions by the BC government, the village must upgrade its water treatment system. Unable to afford to do so itself, the village has
appealed to the regional government. The SCRD has agreed to take over and upgrade the system and the new plant will involve both UV and chlorine treatment. While the SCRD has managed to defray some of the costs through provincial grants, each household on the waterline faces a bill of at least $4,000. For many, that will require taking out a loan through the regional government. For anyone who knows anything about chlorine treated water and who followed the Chapman Creek debates, it is the combination of chlorine and organic matter that poses the greatest health risk and yet the provincial government will allow logging in the watershed.

The Friends of Egmont and the Egmont community are preparing to battle this logging. The 'Concerned Citizens of the Sunshine Coast' who fought and continue to fight logging in the Chapman Creek watershed will stand by us in this fight for safe, clean drinking water; however, we also need your help. In the week ahead, protest letters will be added to the 'Save Our Watershed' blog and we ask that you forward these letters to recommended ministers and
agencies. As well, we are asking for donations to help us in this endeavour as we begin to work on a number of fronts. These donations can be done through the PayPal button on the blog or by sending a cheque made out 'Friends of Egmont' and addressed to:

Friends of Egmont
c/o General Delivery
Egmont, BC. V0N 1N0

or

c/o Sunshine Coast Credit Union
Box 28
Madeira Park, BC. V0N 2H0

We are grateful for any and all assistance you may be able to offer. For information concerning the watershed and what will happen in the days, weeks and months ahead, please visit www.saveourwatershed.com

*************************

(Anyone wishing to join the Friends of Egmont mailing list can do so on this page at the www.ravagedegmont.com website)

BC Timber Sales & Waugh Lake...

2008-09-27T15:43:00.000-07:00

Now that the summer is over, it is time to get back to blogging about this important issue. There is a lot of catching up to do but that will have be done gradually. At the moment, we face a new assault on the Waugh Lake Watershed. We've know for some time that BC Timber Sales had earmarked two blocks in the watershed for bidding. That bidding is over and on Aug 15, 2008 the contract for logging those two blocks was awarded to a Sunshine Coast logging company. Those two blocks are in the heart of the watershed and they can be viewed by scrolling down this page. Go to the second map under 'Tsain-Ko Logging - Part 3. The two BCTS blocks are the ones outlined in black.

These BC Timber Sales blocks made the news in the September 19 issue of the Coast Reporter in a story by Greg Amos. Unfortunately, I cannot link to the story so I will have to type it in. Here goes...

Logging Looms at Waugh Lake

A new tenure call from B.C. Timber Slaes for an 11.848 cubic metre logging block within the Waugh Lake watershed near Egmont is causing the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) board to strategize new approaches to dealing with the province.

"[B.C. Timber Sales] continue to have tender calls in important watershed areas," said Area A (Pender Harbour) director John Rees. "It's extremely disappointing."

The tender notice appeared in August, after a July request from the SCRD general manager of community services Paul Fenwick towards B.C. Timber Sales, asking them to stop advertising the sale of timber licences locatd within the Waugh Lake Community Watershed. So far, one bid has been received from Pender Harbour's Sladey Timber.

At a Sept. 11 planning and development committee meeting, the committee received word from the province's timber organization that advertising will go ahead as planned. B.C. Timber Sales aslo declined the SCRD's invitation for a representative to attend a meeting with the board.

"B.C. Timber Sales has done and will do a very thorough job of planning and monitoring of any operations considering the risks involved." wrote timber sales manager Bruce McKerricher in response. He also pointed out B.C. Timber Sales has "spent several hundred thousands of dollars rebuilding the public road along Waugh Lake."

Rees said the assurances miss the point, particularly when new water infrastructure is shcneduled to begin operation in the fall. "I'm always disappointed with B.C. Timber Sales and disappointed with the regional district's reaction to these issues," added a clearly frustrated Rees, who likened the Waugh Lake issues to a "mini-version of the Chapman problem. "The policy of not having logging in watersheds should be pursued equally at every opportunity."

So far, there's been no study looking a the impacts of logging on water quality at Waugh Lake. Area F (West Howe Sound) director Lee Turnbull noted the regional district remains responsible for providing clean drinking water. "We're totally under attack, the provincial government does not agree with us on logging in the watershed," she said. "I'm getting quite frustrated from us pushing against the provincial government, and B.C. Timber Sales says they're getting pushed from above."

Rees suggested the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) "should be picking up this quest of ours. It seems to me this is an opportunity for us to kind of work together." Local governments across B.C. will converge in Pentiction next week for the annual UBCM conference.

The Waugh Lake ares is not unfamiliar territory to logging contractors. The Sechelt Indian Band's Tsain-Ko Forest Products won a bid for five blocks in the watershed in February. At that time, shortly after last summer's controversy regarding loggin in the Chapman Creek watershed, Rees noted B.C. Timber Sales were getting very little interest in tenures they offered withing drinking watershed areas on the coast.

*******************************

Here are the two letters alluded to in the above Coast Reporter news story.

July 31, 2008

Bruce McKerricher
Timber Sales Manager
Strait of Georgia Timber Sales Office
370 S Dogwood
Campbell River, BC. V9W 6Y7

Dear Mr. McKerricher:

Re: Notice of Timber Sale Licence 58201, Waugh Lake, Egmont by Strait of Georgia Timber Sales Office

The Sunshine Coast Regional District is aware that the Strait of Georgia Timber Sales office has advertised the sale of TSL 58201. This TSL includes two blocks, both of which lie within the Waugh Lake Community Watershed. Block 2 appears to require new road construction to cross fish bearing streams. New road construction is worrisome as it may encourage more activity in the watershed.

The Regional District is on record with the Ministry of Forests and Range as being strongly opposed to logging within all Community Watersheds along the Sunshine Coast for purposes of protection the community watersheds, water quality and community water distribution systems (Board Resolution #027/00).

The Waugh Lake Community Watershed is the source of water for the nearby community of Egmont. Recently, the Regional District has been successful in securing funds to upgrade the existing substandard system. Constructing a water filtration system, upgrading the flows for
fire protection and fortifying the waterlines are part of the proposed upgrades. The Regional District received a petition signed by 90% of the community supporting these necessary upgrades.

The Regional District is investing to secure a safe water source for the community around Waugh Lake and we are disappointed to learn that part of the watershed is considered for harvesting. Based on discussion with the SCRD Directors, we ask that you rescind the notice for Timber Sale Licence 58201 immediately.

Due to the importance of this matter, we would like to invite you to address our Planning and Development Committee meting on September 11.2008. Please contact [...] to confirm your attendance.

Yours truly,

Paul Fenwick
General Manager Community Services

Cc: Brian Hawrys, Sunshine Coast Forest District manager, 7077 Duncan St., Powell River, BC, V8A 1W1

************************

BC Timber Sales responds...

Paul Fenwick
General Manager Community Services
Sunshine Coast Regional District
1975 Field Road
Sechelt, British Columbia
V0N 2A1

Dear Paul Fenwick:

I am in receipt of your July 21, 2008 letter asking us to rescind the advertisement of Timber Sale Licence A58201 which is located within the boundaries of the Waugh Lake Community Watershed. The letter raises the concerns that the harvesting, including road construction, within community watersheds is worrisome to the SCRD.

Provincial legislation, regulations and policy are clear in that harvesting is not precluded from occurring within watersheds such as the Waugh Lake Community Watershed. I want to emphasize that any harvesting related activities in community watersheds are held to higher standards than on non-watershed lands and BC Timber Sales has done and will do a very thorough job of planning and monitoring of any operations considering the risks involved. Preserving water quality is a cornerstone of our forest management endeavours and risks that involve water will be kept to an absolute minimum.

After our "Operations Plan" for the Sunshine Coast was referred to the SCRD in mid 2007, three of my staff met with the SCRD on December 13, 2007 and discussed many aspects of BC Timber Sales mandate and plans in the area. The Operating Plan did show our planned Waugh Lake timber sale licence and the notes we took from the meeting were later forwarded to your office. Please find attached copies of a portion of the minutes from that meeting and the speaking notes that one of my staffers, Bill Hughes, had prepared before he enterred the meeting and gave to Judy Skogstad upon leaving the session. You will note that Waugh Lake was referenced by us in our notes but was not specifically mentioned in the SCRD minutes.

I do recognize that the SCRD has stated their position on harvesting in designated community watershed in several forums but I need to reiterate that Forest Act tenure holders are not precluded from opertating within most community watersheds as long as the stringent requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and other applicable legislation and regulations are observed.

BC Timber Sales has been planning to harvest the two blocks withing the Waugh Lake watershed for several years and it has been discussed at local and regional levels over those years. Many members of the public have had several chances to comment on our plans and many have taken that opportunity. BC Timber Sales has incurred considerble expenses developing this harvesting opportunity and this includes having spent several hundred thousand dollars rebuilding the public road along Waugh Lake (which is used by a significant number of local residents) resulting in much better road and water management within the watershed.

Though I recognize this in not what you wish to hear, it is for the above reasons that I do intend to proceed with the advertisement of Timber Sale Licence A58201 and regretfully decline your invitation to attend the September 11, 2008 Planning and Development Committee meeting. If you have any further questions on the matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours truly,

Bruce McKeerricher
Timber Sales Manager
Strait of Georgia Business Area

Attachment(s): (minutes of the SCRD Dec 17 meeting and BCTS speaking notes prepared prior to that meeting

pc: Brian Hawrys, Sunshine Coast Forest District district manager

(FOE note: The road that Mr. McKerricher alludes to is the second last paragraph is not at Waugh Lake but at North Lake. You must use the North Lake forest road to access the inner Waugh Lake Watershed. Those repairs entailed laying a black cloth over a portion of the road closest to Egmont Road and then placing about six inches of road gravel on top. Within about six months all the pot holes were back in their usual spots. As for the road portion in front of most of homes, the regular practice of grading the road was employed with the usual results.)

*****************

Here is the bid result from the BC Timber Sale wesite:

Timber Sale Status for A58201

Auction Date Friday, August 15, 2008

Sec/Cat:... A
Location:... Waugh Lake
Volume:... 11,848 /m3
Upset Rate:... $19.84 /m3

Auction results have been approved

Status:... AWARDED
Client Name: SLADEY TIMBER LTD.
Bonus Bid:... $2.36 /m3

(FOE note: Rumour has it that there were only two bidders for this BC Timber Sale Licence. If this is so, then the 'Upset Rate' would play a role in the auction. Here is what is meant by the term 'Upset Rate'...

"An important element of timber auctions is the upset—the minimum acceptable price, often called the reserve price in other auction environments. The upset has three main purposes: (1) to guarantee substantial revenue in auctions where competition is weak but the upset is met, (2) to limit the incentive for—and the impact of—collusive bidding, and (3) to provide useful information to bidders."

(quoted from 'Setting the Upset Price in British Columbia Timber Auctions' by Susan Athey, Peter Cramton, and Allan Ingraham, Market Design Inc. and Criterion Auctions, 12 September 2002)

Therefore the stumpage price (upset rate + bonus bid) for the Waugh Lake Watershed logs will be $22.20 /merchantable m3.)

Ruby Lake logging update...

2008-02-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest news from Ruby Lake...

"Work continues, seven noisy days a week, on the Ruby Lake cutblock.

The "low impact roadbuilding" must be near completion, as we have had several days of blasting (I don't recall any mention of dynamite from Tsain-Ko et al). The road consists of 30 to 60 cm of well packed crushed rock - a better base than most of us have on the public roads in the area.

The ravens and jays in particular continue their raucous complaints while the workers are around, although I expect it will be a quiet spring with bird populations displaced.

I am attaching some recent photos of the area, painful as it is."

troch

Campbell's Secrecy...why?

2008-01-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

I have been browsing through Sean Holman's January postings over at the 'Public Eye Online' (see link in right column) and there are some real gems. Did you know that the Campbell government failed to inform the province's major news organizations that the Premier was delivering a keynote address at that Ottawa conference on climate change last week? Holman was the first to break the news in his posting "The price of Information" on January 22. Vaughn Palmer followed up on that news with this Vancouver Sun story the next day (the day Campbell was delivering his speech).

Palmer says this is just another example of provincial government's "systematic withholding of details on the climate change plan." Palmer says the media aren't the only affected, "On the "climate action plan," members of the premier's own caucus of MLAs have begun to complain quietly (and not so quietly) about being left out of the loop." A major reason for this secrecy according to Palmer is "Campbell displays increasing impatience for involving in decision-making anyone other than those who are ready to carry out his instructions without serious challenge."

Another gem by Holman posted that same day was "More Power to Plutonic" describing the number of Liberal aides who have recently gone to work for Plutonic Power Corporation Inc. I decided to check out that company's website and got an eyeful. Look at what is happening and proposed for the BC's hinterland just north of us.

The green lines are existing BC Hydro power lines. That dotted line from East Toba to Saltery Bay is according to the map the "proposed new 230 kV transmission line." The Saltery Bay substation will be the "point of interconnection." Here's a close-up of the map.

It looks like this new proposed transmission line will hook into the line that already runs the length of the Sunshine Coast.

So, we have Liberal aides who know first hand the workings of the Campbell government moving over to work for this private company that plans to tap numerous rivers to deliver "green" power. Well, would they be leaving a government job unless they were certain of the company's success? Yes, I am sure this company fits in quite nicely with Campbell's water management plans and how those plans can be linked quite nicely to climate change.

As for the Sunshine Coast, I would say the writing is on the wall. Not long ago, I looked out the window at the land across the Skookumchuck Narrows and thought to myself, "That will be our North Shore." So, it is good-bye coastal rainforest, hello pavement. Unless... say let's take a closer look at that map of the shishalh Nation Traditional Territory.

More on Gordon Campbell and water...

2008-01-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

The two-day summit has now wrapped up in Vancouver. The CBC offers this:

"B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said that while Ontario and Quebec will remain observers of the cap-and-trade initiative for now, they may decide to move in a similar direction down the road.

"We're really basically sharing information as we go through," he said during a news conference at the end of the Council of the Federation conference in Vancouver.

In addition, premiers and territorial leaders agreed Tuesday to establish a forest review, water agenda and flood-management program in their respective regions. Campbell said leaders will regroup to discuss their plans at their next session, scheduled for July in Quebec City.

"I felt like today was an important day. We recognized there are broad issues of national agreement that we have across the country," Campbell said."

A forest review? A water agenda? A flood-management programme? What are we to expect from these initiatives based on Campbell's comments posted below?

(Read the full CBC story here)

Gordon Cambell's Climate Speech...

2008-01-29T14:01:00.000-08:00

Folks, I can't leave this one alone. I am truly bedazzled by this one line in that excerpt from Campbell's speech posted below:

"You know there’s an awful lot of water in places that it’s not needed and not enough water in places where it is needed"

Can you believe that a provincial leader would make such a blatantly simplistic comment such as this at a national conference on climate? Can you give me one example of where water is not needed? I live in a coastal rainforest. In a rainforest there is an abundance of water, an extraordinary abundance of water which is why it is a rainforest! However, it would appear at least in Campbell's eyes that some of this water may not needed. Perhaps, if you plan on cutting down that rainforest and developing it you no longer need this abundance of water.

There is only one reason why a national leader (our provincial leader!) would reduce the issue of water to such a simplistic level: you plan to sell it. Or, perhaps, exchange it for future guarantees on oil and gas. (See this Vancouver Sun news article)

Water Initiative with Alberta???

2008-01-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

What is Gordon Campbell up to? I quote from an article in today's Globe & Mail:

"While the premiers made little progress on how to stem rising greenhouse gas emissions, Mr. Campbell's proposal was to focus on the results of global warming, such as extreme weather patterns that can lead to floods, fire and drought.

"“I would hope that we can move ahead and British Columbia will be moving ahead certainly with a water initiative with Alberta. We hope Saskatchewan and other provinces will join us,” he said moments before the closed-door session began,”"

Here is the link to that news article at the Globe & Mail.

I thought I would check the BC government website to see if there might be some details on this "initiative" buried there and in a speech at the Climate Adaptation Conference in Ottawa last week, Campbell had this to say...

"We take our water for granted in Canada. You know there’s an awful lot of water in places that it’s not needed and not enough water in places where it is needed. We’ve all watched as the flood-drought syndrome that’s starting to take place, certainly in western Canada. It’s important for us to look at how we deal with that, with those issues.

And it’s important for us to deal with it in concert. So next week as the Premiers come to Vancouver, I’m going to be encouraging them to work at least an inter-provincial and, hopefully, a national water conservation strategy. I believe we should have a national water security strategy, a national flood mitigation strategy. I think we should be looking at our forests across our country and saying how do we make sure that we know the kind of forests we should be replanting, how can we stop the level of deforestation we’ve had and move closer and closer to net deforestation across the country. All of those things are going to require all of us, all of us. It requires the forest industry, the federal government, the provincial governments of New Brunswick and British Columbia. It requires all of us. We can all learn from one another."

Hmmm, BC has a lot of water and southern Alberta needs water. Are you thinking what I am thinking? Does this water security strategy include transportation?

Oh, lordy, I just grabbed this (dorky) pic off the BC Government website.

This gives me so much more confidence knowing that these provincial leaders are dealing with such pressing issues. Hey, wait, they're all men! They're all dressed the same! They're clones! We're doomed.

North Carolina Visitors...

2008-01-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

This blog has been getting quite a few visits from North Carolina in the last few days. People there are searching watershed issues. Perhaps, someone could satisfy our curiosity and post a comment telling us why the search.

On the Shishalh Nation Statement...

2008-01-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

Well, what to make of this? If I were a Starbucks-sodden business pundit at a national newspaper today, I might write:

"The shishalh Nation is undertaking a robust approach to Aboriginal Title and Rights within its claimed Nation Territory. What we may be witnessing here is a paradigm shift..."

If I were Winston Churchill, I might write:

"Never have so many on the Sunshine Coast, been so annoyed by so few."

If I were I were Karl Marx, I might write:

"This is a perfect example of the dialectic at work. We have had the thesis and now we are to experience the anti-thesis. We wait for the synthesis of this materialistic struggle."

If I were Plato, I might write:

"The shadows we see reflected on the cave wall...oops, sorry, they're petroglyphs. My mistake."

Yes, I am having a bit of fun here and no, I do not take the shishalh Nation Statement lightly. In fact, I am trying to understand it and the Band's decision to release it in light of the political theories I have studied and by putting it into an historical context. I am actually quite excited by this Statement and must lean towards Marx by saying there is an opportunity here for an extraordinary synthesis if all sides in this issue are willing to set aside historical prejudices and differences and envision the possibilities.

Shishalh Nation Title & Rights...

2008-01-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

shishalh Band Councillors Garry Feschuck and Tom Paul elaborated on the Band's announcement regarding its title and rights in the January 18, 2008 edition of the 'Coast Reporter.' You can read that follow-up article by Staff Writer Stephanie Douglas here.

Shishalh Nation Speaks...

2008-01-26T23:04:00.000-08:00

Within the Tsain-Ko FSP Public Response Letter posted below there are references to the shishalh Nation and to the Shishalh Land Use Plan. To understand why this is so, it must be borne in mind that Tsain-Ko Forest Development Corporation is owned by members of the shishalh Nation and the logging cutblocks are within shishalh traditional territory.

On January 11, 2008, the following document appeared on page A26 of the 'Coast Reporter,' a newspaper that serves the Sunshine Coast. It will be quoted in its entirety:

Statement of the shishalh Nation on our Aboriginal title and rights to shishalh Nation Territory

On November 20, 2007 the BC Supreme Court released a landmark decision in the Tsilhqot'in Nation's Aboriginal Title and Rights trial. This decision confirms that Aboriginal Title in B.C. has never been extinguished and continues to aply to lands, resources and waters which have sustained First Nations culturally, spiritually, economicially and socially since time immemorial. The decision further clarifies that, where Aboriginal Title exists, Provincial Crown jurisdiction does not.

shishalh Nation Aboriginal Title is a legal interest in the lands and resources of our Territory, and includes the right to decide how those lands and resources will be used, and share in the benefits from the development of our Territory. The shishalh Nation does not accept the Province acting as if our Aboriginal Title does not exist. The Province must respect the law of this land. Once again, the Court calls upon governments to recognize our Aboriginal Title and Rights to our Territory and engage in meaningful negotiations.

The shishalh Nation is putting all residents, businesses and governments within our Territory on notice that we intend to continue to exercise, and defend, our Aboriginal Title and Rights.

It is our responsibility to protect shishalh Nation Aboriginal Title and Rights, so that our Territory will continue to sustain our present and future generations. The shishalh Nation is prepared to work with the residents, businesses and governments within our Territory on that basis. However, the law is now clear that there can be no further use of our lands and resources without the consent of the shishalh Nation, and without meaningful recognition and accommodation of our Title and Rights.

A copy of the Tsilhqot'in decision can be accessed through: http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/sc/

For more information on the shishalh Nation, please visit our website at: www.secheltnation.ca

Court Decisions Establishing Aborignial Title and Rights & Duty to Consult and Accommodate

Title Cases:

Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia, 2007 BCSC 1700 (.pdf - 485 pgs)

Delgamiuukw v. British Columbia, [1997] 3 S.C.R. 1010

Consultation and Accommodation Cases:

Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), 2004 SCC 73

Musqueam Indian Band v. British Columbia (Minister of Sustainable Resource Management), 2005 BCCA 128

Comments on Tsain-Ko's Public Response Letter

2008-01-26T22:11:00.000-08:00

I would just like to make a few initial comments on Tsain-Ko's FSP Public Response Letter. I notice in the timeline at the beginning of the letter Mr. Forester fails to mention that the Forest Stewardship Plan and maps were initially placed in the Sechelt Public Library which is an hour drive from the communities affected by the logging. Some library staff had no idea the documents were there and those that did pointed to a corner table where the maps were rolled up in a bundle. It was due to the initiative of the staff at the Egmont Museum that these documents finally became accessible to all community members. Because of this oversight, the period for public comment was extended.

The FSP document itself is a technical document and makes no sense to a lay person. This, of course, is no fault of Tsain-Ko and its management staff. It is the provincial government which bears responsibility for not requiring a document easily understandable by the public.

I would like to jump to the end of the letter to 'Comparisons with the "Courtnall" property.' The community was well aware that the Private Managed Forest Land Act governed those lands and that those laws differed substantially from the laws governing crown tenure. There was no animosity but frustration that we had to deal with more logging so soon after PNR had finished its fine forest management job across the Skookumchuck Narrows. Now, the community had more logging coming in from the backside. Did Tsain-Ko expect to be greeted with open arms? If the shishalh Nation or some of its members took this frustration personally then they should not be in the logging business. Perhaps the fault lies with Mr. Warren Hansen of Chartwell Consultants. He of all people as a former employee of Canfor knew what reaction to expect from the community since under Canfor he had presented those same cutblocks to us a few years back. Those logging plans weren't welcomed then; did he think they would be welcomed now?

Tsain-Ko Response Letter...cont'd

2008-01-26T14:36:00.000-08:00

(this is the continuation of the Tsain-Ko FSP Public Response Letter started in the post below)

Oppostition to forestry and road building around watersheds based on concerns for water users and water quality
We acknowledged the high sensitivity to this issue and have implemented the following measures for cutblocks where operations may have an impact on licensed watersworks:

- Retained a water quality expert to assess and make recommendations in cutblocks within the Ruby Lake, North Lake, and Waugh Lake watersheds.

- Postponed our harvesting within Waugh Lake watershed in order to complete a full range of planning initiatives (Shishalh Land Use Plan) and allow full consultation with the Egmont Advisory Group.

Using Equivalent Clear-cut Area as the principal indicator from the Coastal Watershed Assessment Procedure Guidebook, 1999, and combined with the other results/strategies in this FSP, the risk of road construction and cutblock harvesting to community watersheds can be managed at a level consistent with the objectives set by government. The CWAP guidebook also considers the effects of road density and the potential for mass wasting. Given advances in road construction techniques, company best practices and environmental monitoring systems, which include identifying sediment sources, prescribing sediment and erosion control measures, water quality drainage structures that provide for natural drainage, the use of geotextile fabric, rock ditches and ditch berms, rock sumps, revegetation of disturbed soils, timing of construction and deactivation of roads after use, it is felt that road density and harvesting effects are adequately managed through company BMPs and through the practice requirements of the FPPR.

The strategy also commits during the course of normal operations to utilize qualified professionals to assess terrain stability, to monitor CWAP factors and to design major stream crossing structures, which will reduce the risk of road and harvesting impacts to water quality. Risk rating (likelihood of sediment delivery or mass wasting events compbined with the consequences of those occurrences) will be done by qualified professionals such as hydrologists, foresters, engineers or geologists.

Where multiple licenses are operating in a CWS, the holder will take into consideration those factors that contribute to the overall amount of harvesting and road construction in the CWS and will n ot harvest or construct road(s) when the thresholds will be exceeded.

Logging adjacent to the Skookumchuck Provincial Park
To date, we have not completed our planning for the area; however, we offer the following comments:

- The Park both serves to provide for a robust tourist attraction and to provide for Old Growth management. The legal boundaries of the park have been established and we have determined that our harvest proposals will be at least 30m away from the nearest park boundary. It is our intentenion to have a windfirm boundary and will proscribe windthrow proofing techniques along the harvest boundary to further protect the park.

- All western red cedar and Douglas Fir veteran trees (old growth) will be left with the harvest area where safely possible.

- We have postponed our harvesting plans in Waugh Lake watershed until 2009 to allow several planning initiatives to take place (i.e. Advisory Group, Shishalh Land Use Plan).

Concerns over impacts to local recreation and tourism
We have developed a harvesting strategy that wi presented in the public meeting. This strategy was developled from past concerns about maintaining visual buffers from important recreational/tourism corridors in the Egmont area. OUr harvesting wll be consistent with this initiative.

Windthrow and visual management buffer issues for cutblock boundaries adjacent to Egmont Road shown the FSP maps (blog note: see 'Logging Maps' in right column)
We have employed a visual "thinning" of over 100m wide to help "hide" the harvesting along Egmont Road. Our advisory committee has walked some of these buffers for their input. concerns over windthrow hazard along the Egmont Road will require windthrow assessments on these corridors and potentially windfirming treatments will take place to reduce tree "sail" and silhouette of windthrow prone dominant and co-dominant coniferous (Fd, Cw, Hw) trees adjacent to the falling boundary. The treatment will consist of the removal of 30 - 70% of the tree crown (i.e. retaining 30 - 70% of the live crown) in a spiraling pattern, evenly distributed around the stem. Up to 50% of Hw can be topped, removing 30 - 50% of the live crown (i.e. retaining 50 - 70% of the live crown. Treatment of red alder is not required. All tree crown modifications shuld be done prior to feeling the block. (blog note: Fd = Douglas Fir, Cw = Western Cedar, Hw = Western Hemlock. Hemlock is very susceptible to windthrow).

Plan for other non-Egmont operating areas
Perception that the public consultation process was flawed
During the FSP consultation process, we endeavoured to seek comment from various members of the community to initially assist us with the plan. Although not perfect, the FSP process has given us a "jump point" to facilitate the community in a more meaningful and sincere manner. With help of the SCRD, we support the advisory group concept with the community and are committed to this process.

Interest in sustainable approach to forestry and logging
It is important to remember that a sustainable approach to means having a long-term tenure with meaningful long-term planning. Tsain-Ko, however, currently has a short-term tenure (five year) in order to fulfill an agreement with the Ministry of Forest and Shishalh Nation. It is our intention to be operating with the Egmont area for the long term and to be able to build on a sustainable approach (Eco-based Management) in the future. We believe with the community involvement, we can build a foundation towards this goal once a long-term agreement becomes a reality.

Comparisons with the "Courtnall" property
During our FSP consultation process, we have been compared to the harvesting on the Courtnall Property across the Skookumchuck Narrows from Egmont (blog note: See 'Friends of Egmont - Saving Egmont Point' under 'Sites Worth Visiting' in right column). This property is private land and is government by a whole different set of regulations. We feel this comparison crated community animosity against our planned development and developed unwarranted mistrust towards the shishalh Nation. On crown land, we operate within the forest and Range Practices Act legislative framework, which holds Forest Professionals and companies accountable to ensure that our harvesting will not look like the "Courtnall" property. Clearly our blocks will fit the landscape in a much more acceptable pattern, including high standards for visual, reparian and biodiversity management and reforestation. Please refer to [this website link (pdf)] which summarizes the regulatory framework government our operations.

The proposed Forest Stewardship Plan has been reviewed by yourselves and the affected First Nations. Your comments form a part of the information that was considered during preparation of the final document, which has now been submitted to the Ministry of Forests and Range with a request for approval.

Please do not hesitate to contact the undedrsigned at (604) 885-7142 or Warren Hansen, R.P.F. with Chartwell Consultants at (604) 740-7105.

Yours truly,
Cam Forrester, R.P.F.
Consulting Forester
_____________________

Chasken Management Group
Warren Hansen
Operations Forester
Chartwell Consultants Ltd.

Submitted on behalf of Ken Snedden, Sechelt Creek Contracting Ltd - Under Management Agreement of Tsain-Ko Development Corp., P.O. Box 740, Sechelt, B.C. Canada V0N 3A0. (604) 885-2273, Fax (604) 885-3490

Tsain-Ko's FSP Public Response Letter...

2008-01-24T22:59:00.000-08:00

The Forest Practices Act requires logging companies to present their Forest Stewardship Plans (i.e. logging plans) before the public who could have an interest in those plans. The public can comment on those plans and the logging companies are required to address any concerns and to respond back to members of the public who have made submissions. Well, we waited and waited for Tsain-Ko's response to our submissions but no response came and then a Friends of Egmont member received a call from Tsain-Ko's Consulting Forester. He, um, had lost all the emails sent to him. He had neglected to save them and when his ISP went down in in the summer....whoosh, all gone! Well, FOE obliged Mr. Cam Forrester (who by the way, has never formally thanked us) and he could now prepare the required FSP Public Response Letter and send it out. However, to give insult to injury, FOE has never received this response letter; but, someone gladly shared their letter with us and we are now going to post it to this blog. It is a long letter and so we recommend you grab a cup of coffee or tea and make yourself comfortable. Here goes...

December 13, 2007
FSP Public Response Letter
Tsain-ko Forest Stewardship Plan

Dear...

This letter is a general response to public input into the Tsain-Ko Forestry Development Corporation's (TKFDC) Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) for the Sunshine Coast and the shishalh Traditional Territory, received during May - June, 2007. The source of comments and concerns were overwhelmingly related to the Egmont, North Lake and Waugh Lake areas. There were also several general comments directed to concerns related to operating areas outside of the Egmont area. This letter relies on a review of all comments received but with emphasis on the June 6, 2007 "complaint" letter form the Friends of Egmont, which is considered to have solicited a broadly representative segment of the citizens of Egmont presented an exhaustive and articulate airing of concerns with the TKFDC's FSP and operating plans.

The form of the responses which were received by representatives of TKFDC were as follows:

1) Friends of Egmont, formal complaint letter and petition with approximately 469 signatures;
2) Approximately 63 e-mails;
3) 21 letters;
4) 3 phone calls; and
5) 35 post cards were received by representatives of TKFDC. (See attachment 1: TKFDC FSP Communication Ledger)

The TKFDC FSP consultation process has followed this timeline:
- March 30, 2007 draft FSP submitted to the Sunshine Coast Forest District;
- March 23 & 30, 2007 - Notice placed in the Coast Reporter announcing the public review and consultation period;
- April 05, 2007 - Copy of FSP deposited with the Egmont Museum
- April 05, 2007 - Open house held at the TKFDC office in Sechelt:
- May 4, 2007 - Notice placed in the Coast Reporter announcing a public meeting for May 23 and an extension of the official review and comment period to May 30, 2007. Notices also placed in public space in Egmont in early May, 2007;
- May - June, 2007 - Receipt of numerous responses mainly related to concerned residents and other concerned by forestry developments in the Egmont, North Lake and Waugh Lake areas.

Since the open house in Egmont, Chaskin Management has been working with an Sunshine Coast Regional District directed advisory group to review our current harvesting plans. This group is comprised of various members of the community within the Ruby Lake, North Lake and Egmont areas. To date, the group has met several times including three site visits of the proposed harvesting. Although the group is in its early inception, we are encouraged with the group's deep commitment to ensuring that community values are held paramount.

The comments received can be categorized into several main themes:

A. Opposition to forestry and road building around watersheds based on concerns for water users and water quality;
B. Logging adjacent to the Skookumchuck Provincial Park;
C. Concerns over impacts to local recreation and tourism;
D. Windthrow and visual management buffer issues for cutblock boundaries adjacent to Egmont Road shown on the FSP maps;
E. Plans for other non-Egmont operating areas;
F. Perception that the public consultation process is flawed;
G. Interest in a sustainable approach to forestry and logging;
H. Comparisons with the "Courtnall" property.

(to be continued)

BC Timber Sales & Sakinaw Lake

2008-01-24T21:58:00.001-08:00

The Friends of Egmont owes a big apology to the folks at Sakinaw Lake. News of a proposed cutblock for the area came just as we were running out of stream and we didn't get their story up on this blog. We will now make amends for this oversight.

When news first broke of this proposed cut, the property owners quickly organized and set up a great website. That site is now listed in the 'Sites Worth Visiting' column on the right (see: BBSA - Sakinaw Lake). It will supply you with all the background information.

Here is the latest word from Sakinaw:

Hi Everyone,

We are a couple months away now from the auctioning of the cut-block of in Bear Bay Forest to the logging companies. We were hoping that we have saved the forest and the Interpretive trail by this time however some progress has been made.

Guided Tours---
The weekly guided tours have been happening every Saturday at 2pm since October. Thanks to Carole Logtenberg, Tia Mclennan, John Dafoe, Anne Harmer and John Field for leading the tours! We've had a positive turn out throughout the weeks that included groups like the Pender Harbour Scouts and our MP Blair Wilson.

Cut Block Dimensions---
The latest cut-block map sent to us by BC Timber Sales has seen a decrease in the cut block size from 89 to 55 acres see map: http://www.bearbay.ca/index.php/bearbay/photograph/74/). Although we are encouraged by it's reduction and the saving of the Steam Donkey the new cut block dimensions still threaten the Coho Salmon in Mixal creek, it still destroys most of the Interpretive Trail, the same amount of Old-Forest ecosystem is being cut, the Red-Legged frog
habitat in the Riparian areas are still threatened, and visual impacts from Mixal Lk and Pender Hill continue to exist.

Pender Harbour Chamber of Commerce---
Based on the overwhelming positive response from people who have hiked the trail, Pender Harbour definitely has some going for it from an eco-tourism industry perspective that will help local businesses year after year if the Forest is saved. I have contacted the Chamber of Commerce and requested a meeting to discuss the natural assets of the community and how to properly market them. I hope to have a meeting with them in February or March.

Bear Bay Forest Video---
The music licensing rights have finally been granted to the BBSA to allow the public showing of the video on Coast Cable. Coast Cable has received the video and are anxious to get the video aired. The video is now available on the Internet (YouTube) and can be viewed from our website at www.bearbay.ca. Please check it out! DVD copies are also being sent out to key individuals.

More still needs to be done---
We need more letters to be written. If you haven't already - please visit the Take Action! page of our website to send out letters to the mentioned individuals http://www.bearbay.ca/bearbay/take_action/).
Letters to the editors are very effective as well. Donations allow us to put ads in the newspapers. YOUR IDEAS on how we can save the forest our most welcome! Please send me an email on your thoughts.

Thank you everyone - Be sure to check out the Bear Bay Forest video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUWRv8X7rV0

Ryan

Ruby Lake Logging Begins...

2008-01-24T21:24:00.000-08:00

The Friends of Egmont has received two updates today and it is time to catch up on events regarding the logging planned for the north end of the Sunshine Coast from Pender Harbour to Egmont.

The first update comes from 'Troch' at Ruby Lake:

"Losing the Battle"

It was with a heavy heart that I started up the road to Ambrose Lake with the sound of chain saws ringing in my ears. A pair of ravens perched in trees at the corner of Timberline and Cedarridge appeared to be as disconcerted as I was. My fears were confirmed as I walked up the road. Tsain-Ko is proceeding with their plans to "harvest" the cutblock at the north end of Ruby Lake.

For those of us who live in the area, the implications await. Bird, amphibian and other wildlife populations will be immediately impacted with the loss of valuable habitat. Anyone getting their drinking water from the north end of Ruby Lake now lives with the threat of changes to water quality, as the marked cutblock extends well down the slope to Ruby Lake. Timberline Road will continue to decay under the strain of loaded trucks. Our air is fouled with the noise and smell of the destruction, carefully orchestrated so as not to involve the summer tourist season - don't want the rest of the world to notice our shame until its too late.

Mature forest is becoming a rarity on the Sunshine Coast. Government sanctioned "management" consists of turning as many trees as possible into nearly worthless lumber as quickly as possible. Safe, clean drinking water is not a right of any resident and the current commitment to global warming can't see the forest for the dollar signs.

I weep with the earth.

troch

(for pre-forest management pics, click on 'Ruby Lake' in the postings column to the right)

Watershed Update...

2007-11-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

Hmm, I seem to have got a tad behind in my postings. One important fact I learned when we were trying to protect Egmont Point from the chainsaws was that leading a protest required either that you be retired with a guaranteed income or be independently wealthy. Well, since I am neither and since I could not find someone to lend a hand with this blog (it really isn't very difficult, dear friends), this blog was put on hold. For those who have returned on a regular basis looking for new information, I do apologize.

I will not be posting anything today; however, I am expecting some important information regarding the proposed logging in the Waugh Lake Watershed to come my way in the days ahead. As soon as it arrives, I will set aside a day and try to do a condensed update of events during theses past few months.

Blair Wilson's Town Hall Meeting

2007-08-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Mr. Wilson, who now sits as an independent in the House of Commons, has taken a leave of absence from this blog page.

(this one is for you, John)

B.C. Almanac to cover Watershed Issue

2007-08-14T23:46:00.000-07:00

CBC's noon hour show, BC Almanac, will cover the watershed logging issue tomorrow (Wed) . Mark Forsythe's guest will be Andrew Gage, a lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law (WCEL). Gage has made logging in watersheds his specialty. The show will be accepting calls beginning at 1 pm. Here are the phone numbers:

Toll free: 1-800-825-5950
Lower Mainland: 604-669-3733

It has been a busy day for media coverage of our regional government's steps to halt logging in the Chapman Creek watershed using the Health Act. The latest Vancouver Sun story covered Western Forest Products attempts to make an application for a 'stay' of the Local Health Board order. We have heard from the Concerned Citizens for the Sunshine Coast that the application was denied by the judge and the request held over until next Tuesday or Wednesday when the application will be heard. Someone should take that judge out to lunch.

Earlier in the day, the Sun's Jonathan Woodward put together a good piece illustrating how the SCRD's action is resonating throughout the province. The Globe and Mail made an attempt to cover the issue; but, unfortunately they came up a bit short. No, Mr. Hume, the Chapman Creek Watershed does not service the whole Sunshine Coast. We, here in Egmont have our very own watershed that is threatened by logging. It's the Waugh Lake Watershed Reserve.

SCRD Releases Update on LBH Order

2007-08-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, SCRD Acting-Chief Administrative Officer, Paul Fenwick, released the following update regarding the Local Board of Health Order to Western Forest Products:

Update to Complainants

LBH Order Update August 13, 2007

Western Forest Products has contacted the SCRD and is in discussions through our respective legal counsels regarding the Order Under the Health Act. WFP has advised that the company is respecting the Order.

Discussions are sensitive at this time and more information will be provided once known and as appropriate. In the meantime the company is continuing to freeze all logging activity in the watershed.

We appreciate the questions regarding “enforcement” /monitoring of the Order. Staff have some of the same questions and note that is premature to discuss this topic until the status of the Order is known. We also appreciate your kind thoughts to the Board and staff for their hard work and diligence over the hearings.

You can expect on going efforts by the SCRD once things settle out from the LBH Order. If the Order is unchallenged by WFP, SCRD staff will follow-up with WFP and take other measures as necessary to monitor compliance of the Order.

If the Order is challenged in the Courts, or in some other fashion, we shall work through SCRD legal counsel as required to assert our interests. As discussed, other watershed initiatives including ongoing dialogue with the Provincial Government are underway or planned separate to the LBH process.

Thank you for your patience at this critical stage in the process.

Paul Fenwick
GM Community Services A/CAO

Western Painted Turtle

2007-08-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

The Friends of Egmont has just learned that the Western Painted Turtle has been placed on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk by the federal government. This was announced in Canada Gazette this past Saturday (August 11th). This turtle is found in both North and Waugh Lakes here in the Egmont area. Now, when we see one of those turtles on Egmont Road, we should stop, get out and move it to a safer spot.

Today's Times Colonist out of Victoria has an article ('At-risk species risk grows by 36') giving the full details of the federal government's announcement and the reasons for it.

The Western Painted Turtle - Pacific Coast Population is on the BC Ministry of Environment's 'Red List'; however, there doesn't seem to be a great deal of data about the turtle on the site.

Welcome FSEEE Members!

2007-08-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

The Friends of Egmont would like to welcome members of the 'Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics' to our blog. The FSEEE has posted story links concerning logging in BC in its 'World News' section and one of those links is to our recent 'Hike into the Waugh Lake Watershed' posting.

This blog is now being followed by major environmental organizations and we welcome the worldwide attention to our fight to stop logging in the drinking water watershed reserves here on the Sunshine Coast and throughout British Columbia. If our provincial government refuses to listen to cries of its citizens, then maybe they will listen to words of condemnation from those beyond our provincial and national borders.

With that in mind, I would like to send the following message to those from the BC Legislature visiting this blog; "The world is watching!" Perhaps, you might like to consider that when you put your together your 'Global Warming Policies.'

Kudos to the SCRD

2007-08-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

The follolwing letter was sent to the SCRD Board of Directors on Sunday, August 12, by Dan Bouman, Executive Director of the Sunsbine Coast Conservation Association. The SCCA and the Concerned Citizens of the Sunshine Coast both made major submisstions to the SCRD Local Board of Health during a 5 day marathon of hearings regarding logging in the Chapman Creek Watershed.

Ed Steeves, Chair, SCRD and Local Board of Health,

Good Morning!
I am writing today to express my appreciation for the work of the SCRD board as a "local board of health" in regard to complaints that WFP's activities in the Chapman Watershed constitute a health hazard. I am completely satisfied that these complaints have been addressed in a diligent and intelligent manner and that the resulting Order is effective, far reaching, president-setting and defendable in every way.

This is a major event in the community's long struggle over drinking water; I'm sure that communities all over the province will also find your Order to be compelling. I believe that the SCRD, it's chair and each member of the Board richly deserves the recognition of the public for a job well done.

While the issue of management authority in drinking water source area is yet to be resolved, I look forward with renewed optimism and confidence that the will of the public for the watersheds is being reflected in the policy and decisions of the Sunshine Coast Regional District.

Thank you,
Daniel Bouman

The Local Board of Health's ruling on logging in the watershed as it pertains to Western Forest Products can be read in a posting below (SCRD Issues Order to Western Forest Products, Aug 11, 2007).

The Sunshine Coast's Sensitive Ecosystems

2007-08-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

I was on the hunt for some information and found myself in the BC's Ministry of Environment website. Now, this is site to get lost in! Eventually, I found my way to "The Ecological Reports Catalogue" which in turn to me to a report titled "Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory of the Sunshine Coast and Adjacent Islands." How many of us know this exists? Would anybody care? This report was published in October 2005 and I would like to quote from its first page:

"The Sunshine Coast, with its small population and limited urban development, provides the last opportunity in the Georgia Basin to conserve viable representation of the diverse ecosystems and species which occur here."

Now, given the way the coast is developing and the methods the developers are using, one has to wonder if anyone is even remotely aware of this extensive report and its maps despite the fact this is the very reason the report was undertaken: "The goal of the SEI is to encourage informed land-use decisions that will conserve sensitive ecosystems." According to this report, these ecosystems that are being completely erased from the face of the earth "regulate climate, clean water, generate and clean soils, recycle nutrients and pollinate our crops. To protect these areas, sensitive ecosystems must be located, identified and mapped." Was this done here on the coast? Have these areas been flagged for the APCs, and planning personnel of our towns and regional government? Or, does this fall on the shoulders of concerned citizens once again?

The report raises the question "What can be done to protect sensitive ecosystems?" and proceeds to list the following:

1) Retaining or creating vegetated buffers around sensitive ecosystems to isolate them from outside disturbance;
2) Controlling land and water access to fragile ecosystems;
3) Controlling invasive species;
4) Allowing natural disturbances to occur;
5) Maintaining water quality

That last point is interesting, isn't it? The report also makes suggestions for individuals depending on what 'hat' they are wearing. For example:

A developer: consider a design for your project that is creative and flexible enough to protect and enhance sensitive ecosystems. Treed lots and neighbourhood greenspaces can increase market values. (Hmmm, not many developers in and around Sechelt heeded that advice judging by their now totally cleared building sites).

Further roles are outlined for planners, decision-makers (i.e. politicians or resource manager), advocacy group member, etc. But, to what avail? So much tax money and effort went into this report and who is taking its message to heart? Yes, Sunshine Coast Conservation Association does but this is only one group of dedicated people who can only stretch themselves so far. It really is up to us to become involved and learn what is in our own backyard and make the effort to save these ecosystems while they still exist.

(If you would like to see what sensitive ecosystems exist near you or that have been lost to the Sunshine Coast, follow the blue link above. Scroll down until you get to the bottom of the list under 'Image Document' and download the 'SEI Map Index.' Find the number for the area of interest and download the map listed in that same column.)

SCRD Issues Order to Western Forest Products

2007-08-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

The Sunshine Coast Regional District sitting as a Local Board of Health reached a decision earlier today regarding logging in the Chapman Creek Watershed. For those looking for a complete shut down of logging in the Chapman Creek Watershed there is disappointment; however, others believe the ruling has put Western Forest Products into "an impossible money losing situation." The latter view is held by Dan Bouman, Executive Director of the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association who presented the major submission seeking to end logging in watershed.

The SCRD Board produced a Media Release and a 5-page "Order Under the Health Act." (These are .pdf files and we recommended a right click and save to your hard disc for perusing at your leisure). From this writer's quick read through of the documents, the SCRD hedged its bets by banning any further logging by WFP on slopes 60% or greater (Block WC-043, Block WC-043P); although, WFP will be able to remove the trees already felled and already prepared for removal by helicopter. The Board has also banned any road work plans by WFP in cutblock WC-043 and set road work restrictions during periods of heavy rain. It has also ordered WFP to perform daily water sampling at locations both parties must agree to. While the Board felt there was no compelling hazard to health evidence presented that could lead to a ban on logging in the more gentle slopes of WC-021 and WC-023, it did find enough evidence to support a hazard to the 'quality' of drinking water posed by steep slope logging.

This would appear to close one chapter in the battle to stop industrial activity in a watershed. Bouman says the SCRD went as far at they could acting as a Local Board of Health and now the issue will likely return to the BC Supreme Court if WFP seeks to over turn the Board's Order. As well, there will be the Ministry of Forests reaction to this move by a local government into its 'jurisdiction.'

Now, what are all those pesky protestors going to do in the meantime? Rumour has they might go wild blue berry picking. After all, it is that time of year here on the Sunshine Coast.