The decision on whether to list, further delay or forego the auction of logging rights for TA0521 (Joe Smith Creek cutblock) “will be coming in the next few weeks” according to an April 24 email from the Ministry of Forests to Coast Reporter.
Documents posted on BC Timber Sales’s (BCTS) website had the auction listed to occur by March 31. In the email the Ministry stated “initial timelines for cutblock decisions were estimates only. The Ministry will take as long as is necessary to ensure the proper reviews are conducted before decisions are released."
On April 25, Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF) ended an over three-week protest presence in opposition to logging the site at road access to the cutblock, just off the B & K logging road in the Roberts Creek area. Spokesperson Hans Penner told Coast Reporter the group would stand down “for now," while it would be “keeping a close eye on BCTS’s sales list.
“We’re hoping that the right decision will be made, however if the block is posted for sale, we’ll immediately resume the roadblock,” Penner stated.
The group set up the blockade on April 2. On April 6, it hosted an information event at the site, which it refers to as “The Watershed Protection Forest." That was attended by about 25 individuals. “We encourage everyone concerned about the impact of logging some of the last mature forest in our creeks watershed will have, to contact BCTS or the Ministry of Forests and request the cancellation of the sale,” said Penner.
