I’d like to bring to public attention that an area of the upper Olson Creek drainage (Stawamus Chief area) is scheduled to be logged. The planning process has been underway for some time but it took the recent arrival of timber cruisers’ flagging the site for this news to become public. The final decision rests with B.C. Timber Sales office in Chilliwack (Forests [email protected]) so all comment and concern should be promptly directed their way.
I oppose the proposed logging, strictly on terms of its location and impacts on community assets. To be fair, I’d like to add that for many years now I think B.C. Timber Sales has done an admirable job in navigating the many interests and changing environment in order to maintain the local forestry industry. We all have friends and family who rely on forestry, but even they will tell you this particular cut block is a bad idea. The viewscape from the new gondola and the Chief will be significantly impacted, as will the network of hiking trails that exist there. One can’t help but wonder if the decision were to be made by the local office rather than Chilliwack, a better valuation of the new gondola and the ever-increasing hiker traffic from tourists would have nixed the whole plan before it started. Any local who has observed the overflow parking problem spilling onto the highway is fully aware of how quickly the hiking demand is changing, and that it is becoming as much a contributor to our economic base as logging.
In short, I applaud B.C. Timber Sales work to date, but this particular decision shows that their public consultation process needs another look, starting with a re-evaluation of upper Olson Creek. (Blocks: SW103/SW144)
Bruce Kay
Squamish
