Out for a snowshoe trek in January, I found Tolko flagging ribbon for a planned cutblock on the steep terrain adjacent to our property on Yankee Flats Road. I am sure that our concerns reflect many other property owners that find themselves in similar situations, as Tolko depletes the marketable timber at higher elevations and their cutblocks creep down the mountainsides to the boundaries of private property.
The land behind us is diverse and supports a wide variety of plants, trees, birds and animal life. There is a swampy area and, in the spring, there is an abundance of ground water. We depend on two deep wells on our property for our water supply. We are restricted from developing the southwest corner of our property due to its steep grade. All of this supports our concerns for loss of habitat, ground movement and loss of water supply.
While we have had communication with both Tolko and the Ministry of Forests regarding our concerns, we are doubtful that our concerns are of importance to them.
Is it a coincidence that we are seeing extensive loss of private property due to massive landslides in areas that have been subject to recent logging? Who is looking out for the best interests of the private property owner? When concerns become a reality, there is no coverage from house insurance policies. There is no accountability.
The current logging practices are self-regulated, unsustainable and put private property owners at risk. We applaud the CSRD’s decision to call for a moratorium on logging in the area. It is long overdue that the B.C. Government review what is currently considered acceptable logging practices and make the protection of private property a priority.
Heather Turner