SCRD Elphinstone director Lorne Lewis urges crowd of 60 at Frank West Hall to help protect Block 1313 from clearcut
By Margot Grant
There is a short window, until the middle of April, to convince the provincial government to protect the 118 acres of Block 1313, a stand of large Douglas fir in Elphinstone, Sunshine Coast Regional District Area E director Lorne Lewis told a crowd of 60 people in Frank West Hall this week. If nothing happens, the block will be clearcut.
“I have never worked on conservation issues before,” Lewis said. “But this is a wonderful area to hike in, and far too close to housing to log. It would be an excellent parcel to keep in its natural state for the benefit of the public. We must convince the provincial government to save this valuable lot.”
Elphinstone (Area E) has no protected nature area. Only 3 per cent of the forest on the Sunshine Coast is protected, the lowest percentage in B.C. The Elphinstone Community Plan has made mention of the block as a park for a long time.
BC Timber Sales wants to make the trees on the 118 acres of Block 1313 available for logging at the middle of April.
Block 1313 lies at the end of Henry and Highland Roads. Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF) cut a trail into the block at the west end of Reed a couple of years ago. The DL 1313 is dissected by Shirley Creek which runs into Chaster Creek.
Speaker after speaker at the meeting mentioned the beauty of the block, its proximity to houses and its easy accessibility. The area was never logged; after a fire 110 years ago, it filled with Douglas fir. It is one of the last parcels of natural growth on the Sunshine Coast.
Environmentalist and former Sunshine Coast Conservation Association director Dan Bouman explained that if left alone, the block will become a hemlock and cedar forest. He highly praised its biodiversity.
Local residents voiced concerns over the effect of a clearcut on their wells. British Columbia has no regulations to protect wells in connection with logging. Others feared erosion, uncontrolled water run-off, landslides and flooding of their properties.
Lewis wants the SCRD to manage the block as a nature area.
He urged everyone to send a letter to premier Horgan, Minister of Environment and Climate Strategy George Heyman, and Minister of Forests, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development Doug Donaldson, asking for the area to be protected.
Environmentalist George Smith believes the government may be willing to consider such a request: “After antagonizing First Nations, farmers and environmentalists with the decision to proceed with Site C, the government knows it needs to tilt the balance. They stopped the bear hunt, they stopped the Ajax mine, and they are aware the Sunshine Coast only has 3 per cent of its forests protected. We got the short end of the stick, and they know it.
“Write a letter, as soon as possible, and CC it to Nicholas Simons, (MLA Powell River-Sunshine Coast, NDP) and Lorne Lewis.”
The property is known as DL 1313 or A91376.
John Horgan:
premier@gov.bc.ca
Honourable George Heyman
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
PO Box 9047 Stn Prov Gov
Victoria, BC V8W 9E2
ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 250 387-1187
Honourable Doug Donaldson
Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
PO Box 9049 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9E2
FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 250 387-6240
Nicholas Simons:
Lorne Lewis: cell 604-741-7668, landline 604-886-9472