CORPORATE FACE-LIFTS CAN’T HIDE LOGGING SCARS!
by Richard Boyce •
The shuffle of papers between multi-national corporations attempts to hide what is actually going on in the forests of British Columbia but the scars just continue to destroy ecosystems on the brink of extiction.
A recent trip to the Walbran Valley near the South-West coast of Vancouver Island reminded me of the reality behind ‘changes’ in the logging industry in BC today. Fresh roads
have been blasted through granite to allow logging trucks to zig-zag up the steep northern slope of SAD HILL in the Walbran Valley. The forest of the lower slopes have been
felled and massive old growth Hemlock and Balsam Fir logs have been left to lie between the stumps. The road has been rammed up the steep slope.
Standing beside the stump and log of an ancient yellow cedar tree near the summit of Sad Hill I realize why all the lower trees had been left behind. Yellow Cedar is at a premium
today, with growth rings so tight that they can only be distinguished by polishing the wood and using a magnifying glass to count them, we estimate that a 3 foot wide stump is all that remains of a 700 to 900 year old Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. This dense rare wood is found only in the sub-alpine regions of coastal mountains in British Columbia. A
swath has been cut in two directions around Sad Lake, a lush alpine bog area with open water that is teeming with life, to allow the logging road to ring the edge of the Riparian
Zone. Recent road building and logging is being done by Benson View Contracting Ltd. out of Nanaimo, BC.
This is Tree Farm License #46, crown land publicly owned but privately logged. The Upper Walbran Valley is designated as a Special Management Zone where state of the art
logging practices are to be used to minimize significant damage to the environment. What I see is steep slopes being logged extensively with roads destroying the watershed
and causing an increase in landslides which sends silt into the Salmon rearing streams below. Rainforest extermination in the extreme!
Due to public pressure Fletcher Challenge abandoned their massive logging enterprise in the Walbran Valley and other forests throughout BC selling TFL#46 to TimberWest in
1992. TimberWest continued to log by targeting the biggest trees which grow along riverlet gullies, alpine bogs, and watershed tributaries. These are the most delicate
environments in this ancient rainforest and by BC legislated law they are to be afforded some protection.
Recently Timberwest sold TFL #46 to the Teal-Jones Group http://www.tealjones.com
It is of notable interest that Hayes Contracting has been doing most of the logging in the Upper Walbran for all these years despite the corporate changes above. The same
crews have been doing the work under the same forester, Steve Lorimer, and the same road engineer, Mark Charter. The crews are very small and they exact a great deal of
damage in very little time upon the ancient rainforest which makes the corporate investors a great deal of profit. Meanwhile the Youbou mill was shut down near Lake Cowichan
despite legislation tying it to the Walbran wood supply. See http://savebcjobs.com
Today I saw Benson trucks pull into the Errington Cedar mill with a big load of yellow cedar. Most likely from the Walbran. This none union mill exports large dimension cants or minimally processed wood to Japan & the USA. http://www.cobra-net.com/meeker/meekerr.htm
On the other side of the Walbran valley and all around BC there is another corporate face lift that is all about investment capital and cashing in on the equity of trees .
Weyerhaeuser sold its BC Timber assets (including TFL #44 Walbran/Carmanah) to Brascan http://www.brascancorp.com
Bracan’s mission statement: “Our objective is to earn a superior return on equity by generating consistent and sustainable cash flows.
So, despite the face lifts, globalization is getting the better of the ancient forests of British Columbia and they will be extinct soon unless we do something now.
There is a Witness Camp growing by the last bridge on Glad Lake Main in the Walbran Valley beside Fletcher Falls where it has been maintained for many years. If you have a
chance to visit and bring extra supplies to share that would be marvelous.
Please forward this information far and wide.
by Richard Boyce •
The shuffle of papers between multi-national corporations attempts to hide what is actually going on in the forests of British Columbia but the scars just continue to destroy ecosystems on the brink of extiction.
A recent trip to the Walbran Valley near the South-West coast of Vancouver Island reminded me of the reality behind ‘changes’ in the logging industry in BC today. Fresh roads
have been blasted through granite to allow logging trucks to zig-zag up the steep northern slope of SAD HILL in the Walbran Valley. The forest of the lower slopes have been
felled and massive old growth Hemlock and Balsam Fir logs have been left to lie between the stumps. The road has been rammed up the steep slope.
Standing beside the stump and log of an ancient yellow cedar tree near the summit of Sad Hill I realize why all the lower trees had been left behind. Yellow Cedar is at a premium
today, with growth rings so tight that they can only be distinguished by polishing the wood and using a magnifying glass to count them, we estimate that a 3 foot wide stump is all that remains of a 700 to 900 year old Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. This dense rare wood is found only in the sub-alpine regions of coastal mountains in British Columbia. A
swath has been cut in two directions around Sad Lake, a lush alpine bog area with open water that is teeming with life, to allow the logging road to ring the edge of the Riparian
Zone. Recent road building and logging is being done by Benson View Contracting Ltd. out of Nanaimo, BC.
This is Tree Farm License #46, crown land publicly owned but privately logged. The Upper Walbran Valley is designated as a Special Management Zone where state of the art
logging practices are to be used to minimize significant damage to the environment. What I see is steep slopes being logged extensively with roads destroying the watershed
and causing an increase in landslides which sends silt into the Salmon rearing streams below. Rainforest extermination in the extreme!
Due to public pressure Fletcher Challenge abandoned their massive logging enterprise in the Walbran Valley and other forests throughout BC selling TFL#46 to TimberWest in
1992. TimberWest continued to log by targeting the biggest trees which grow along riverlet gullies, alpine bogs, and watershed tributaries. These are the most delicate
environments in this ancient rainforest and by BC legislated law they are to be afforded some protection.
Recently Timberwest sold TFL #46 to the Teal-Jones Group http://www.tealjones.com
It is of notable interest that Hayes Contracting has been doing most of the logging in the Upper Walbran for all these years despite the corporate changes above. The same
crews have been doing the work under the same forester, Steve Lorimer, and the same road engineer, Mark Charter. The crews are very small and they exact a great deal of
damage in very little time upon the ancient rainforest which makes the corporate investors a great deal of profit. Meanwhile the Youbou mill was shut down near Lake Cowichan
despite legislation tying it to the Walbran wood supply. See http://savebcjobs.com
Today I saw Benson trucks pull into the Errington Cedar mill with a big load of yellow cedar. Most likely from the Walbran. This none union mill exports large dimension cants or minimally processed wood to Japan & the USA. http://www.cobra-net.com/meeker/meekerr.htm
On the other side of the Walbran valley and all around BC there is another corporate face lift that is all about investment capital and cashing in on the equity of trees .
Weyerhaeuser sold its BC Timber assets (including TFL #44 Walbran/Carmanah) to Brascan http://www.brascancorp.com
Bracan’s mission statement: “Our objective is to earn a superior return on equity by generating consistent and sustainable cash flows.
So, despite the face lifts, globalization is getting the better of the ancient forests of British Columbia and they will be extinct soon unless we do something now.
There is a Witness Camp growing by the last bridge on Glad Lake Main in the Walbran Valley beside Fletcher Falls where it has been maintained for many years. If you have a
chance to visit and bring extra supplies to share that would be marvelous.
Please forward this information far and wide.
