Squamish's forestry society is looking for a new home for the community's wooden history.
On Tuesday (Jan. 7), the Sea to Sky Forestry Centre Society came to District of Squamish officials with a plan. Members hope to move the 14 large tree trunks carved with descriptions of the province's forestry history from storage at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park to the Squamish Adventure Centre.
Finding a home for the nine-foot-tall wooden pages has plagued the structures since artist Glenn Greensides created them in 2003. Originally they were to be displayed at the Al McIntosh Squamish Days Loggers Sports Ground. In 2007, council of the time voted to temporarily move them to the Squamish Adventure Centre.
The forestry society is calling for them to be placed on the open margins beside Highway 99 and Squamish Adventure Centre.
They'll be a tourist attraction, the society's president Ken Pickering said. You'll be able to see them from the highway.
The society is dedicated to preserving the area's forestry heritage, he noted. The log books connect people to this while also educating them about the forestry practices of tomorrow, Pickering said.
Moving the log books to the Adventure Centre would be the first step in making a forestry museum happen, he added. Last March, council granted the non-profit group a lease on municipally owned land at the north end of Rose Park, on the condition that the area meets environmental assessment requirements. The society aims to develop a museum on the property. Over the holidays, Pickering received good news, he said, noting reports indicate there's no contamination on the site.
It's a relief we don't have to spend millions of dollars on cleanup, he said.
Council requested municipal staff work with the group to move the log books to their new home.
