Old-growth logging plan sparks war-in-woods threat

Old-growth logging plan sparks war-in-woods threat
Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun
B.C. could see a return to protests and blockades in world-renowned Clayoquot Sound as a forestry company prepares to log an old-growth forest in the Hesquiat Point Creek watershed – the first time a company has begun logging in such a “pristine” valley in nearly 20 years.
And this time, first nations and environmentalists – allies in the 1993 protests – are on opposite sides.

Since the early 1990s, forestry companies have continued logging in the sound but have limited their activities to “developed” areas that had already been logged, staying out of about a dozen intact watersheds untouched by human development for more than 10,000 years.

But in March, first-nations-owned MaMook Natural Resources Ltd. and their partner Coulson Forest Products began building a logging road into one of those untouched valleys – Hesquiat Point Creek – with plans to start logging as early as this fall.

Maryjka Mychajlowycz, a campaigner with Friends of Clayoquot Sound, said if the companies start removing trees, it will be the first logging in an untouched valley since 1991.

Mychajlowycz said the valleys are some of the few remaining examples globally of complete ecosystems untouched by humans.

“All the environmental groups have been very clear … that these intact valleys are ecologically precious,” she said.

“That’s the line in the sand.”

If such logging goes ahead, said Mychajlowycz, it could mean a return to blockades in the sound and other types of protests and global marketing campaigns.

“The whole potential for conflict is open,” she said.

In response to environmentalists’ concerns, the companies temporarily halted construction of the logging road in May, although only after they felled a stand of trees in the valley 400 metres long and 20 metres wide.

But Ken Matthews, forestry manager for Coulson, said while the company and first nations are willing to talk to environmentalists, they plan eventually to move into untouched valleys.

“In the long term, the intention … is to log into the undeveloped watersheds,” said Matthews.

In 1993, 800 anti-logging protesters were arrested on blockades set up by the environmental movement, drawing worldwide attention to the region’s old-growth forests.

Following those protests, a voluntary moratorium was placed on logging in the sound’s untouched valleys while a scientific panel reviewed how the areas could be logged in an environmentally sustainable way.

In 2006, the Clayoquot Sound Central Region Board, made up of representatives from the province and first nations, endorsed development plans that opened up the untouched valleys to logging for the first time.

Environmentalists expressed concern at the time that the decision could reignite protests in the sound – designated a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2000 – but the move into Hesquiat Point Creek marks the first real attempt to log in the areas.

The political landscape in the sound has changed considerably since the 1990s.

In 1993, first nations and environmentalists stood shoulder to shoulder on the barricades in protest against forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel.

Since then, MacMillan Bloedel and Interfor have sold off their licences in Clayoquot to two small companies – MaMook and Iisaak – owned by five financially struggling first nations in the area: the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht, Ucluelet and Toquaht.

“It’s quite different than the situation that was there in the early 1990s, when you had outsiders logging and very little return going to first nations,” said Matthews. “The first nations are trying to build a local economy that gives them some basis for long-term economic activity and some good skilled jobs.”

Matthews added that of the 950 hectares in Hesquiat Point Creek, regulations mean less than 10 per cent will ever be logged.

Mychajlowycz acknowledged that the fact the forestry licences are now owned by first nations “introduces a level of complexity” to the debate.

But she said if logging goes ahead at Hesquiat Point, Clayoquot will once again become a centre of global protest.

“Clayoquot Sound is firmly lodged in people’s hearts,” she said.

“Anyone who has been here, they never forget it.”

She said her group would ideally like to see the provincial government step in to provide economic opportunities for the local first nations that don’t require logging in the sound.

B.C. Forestry Minister Pat Bell was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

Matthews said Coulson and MaMook are “extremely concerned” about the impact protests could have on their business, which is one of the reasons they agreed to temporarily halt construction of the road.

However, he said while the first nations are willing to talk to the environmental groups, they believe they have a right to use the land as they see fit.

“They feel like they’ve been the stewards of that forest for thousands of years,” said Matthews. “As owners, they want to be able to make decisions.”

Messages left for the chiefs of the the Ahousaht and Hesquiaht First Nations were not returned by late Tuesday.

Matthews said the first nations, along with Coulson, are planning to meet with environmental groups this summer, including the Friends of Clayoquot Sound and Forest Ethics.

Until then, he said, the company has committed not to do any logging in Hesquiat Point Creek.

However, Matthews acknowledged a number of trees were felled in an area of the watershed about 20 metres wide and 400 metres long as crews worked this spring to create a right of way into the valley.

Work on the road has also been halted for now, he said.

Forest Ethics spokeswoman Valerie Langer refused to say exactly what her group would do if it can’t find a negotiated solution with the companies.

“If we can’t arrive at a solution, then it’s Plan B,” she said.

Matthews said while Coulson and the first nations have agreed to talks with environmentalists, they see little choice but to eventually log the untouched valleys.

That’s because regulations require them to leave 40 per cent of all logged watersheds intact – meaning there is very little left to cut in the rest of the sound.

“They’re just running out of room,” said Matthews.

He said there is no deadline for when talks with the environmental groups will be concluded.

But he noted that the company already has a road permit from the government and a cutting permit usually takes about 30 to 60 days to process.

“If we applied today, we could build road tomorrow and we could be logging certainly by the first of September,” he said.