Local conservation groups were happy to hear this week that Sechelt Community Projects Inc. (SCPI) is deferring cutting in block EW002.
"We welcome it. It's the right thing to do," said Sunshine Coast Conservation Association (SCCA) executive director Dan Bouman.
Ross Muirhead of Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF) agreed.
"I think it's a good decision based on a number of reasons that we've put forward over the last three or four months, and we're really pleased that the community forest did have the ability to listen to all the various public input and delegation requests," he said.
Cutblock EW002 is located in Wilson Creek and both conservation groups have brought forward concerns over excessive logging in the area, asking SCPI not to log there.
"What's been happening in the Wilson watershed is there's two large private managed forest land owners and two Crown land licensees, and there's no co-ordination between them. They each have their turf and they each do whatever they want, so that's impacting the fish," Bouman said, noting the waterways in cutblock EW002 are home to two species of salmon and cutthroat trout.
"Now SCPI, they didn't cause the problem, they're not to blame per se, but now they want to go in and log. So what we were saying is we want to see some leadership. We want to see them recognize the problems, and we want to see them assess the creek and all its fish habitat and develop a management plan that's based on that creek assessment."
SCPI chair Glen Bonderud said they plan to do a thorough watershed assessment before approving any cutting in the area.
"We would like to emphasize that this is a deferral to allow us to undertake an updated review of this area including a Coastal watershed assessment procedure or equivalent hydrological survey," he said. "Our public consultation will include listening to input from all sources, including our community forest advisory committee. Our goal is to meet and satisfy both our regulatory obligations and community concerns."
SCPI's decision to defer cutting in Wilson Creek was made in consultation with the District of Sechelt.
SCPI is a subsidiary of the District and operates the community forest.
"Concerns have been raised by members of the public regarding forest harvesting in the EW002 area. Sechelt council supports SCPI's approach to planning for forest management in this area based on detailed research and science about the best way to maintain a healthy forest environment in this area," said Mayor Darren Inkster.
Muirhead hopes that during the deferral process, SCPI will decide to set aside area EW002 and save it from any logging in the future.
"ELF hopes that they will consider the Wilson Creek forest to be pretty much set aside forever because it's a high value recreational forest. It's an area that can provide additional recreational opportunities for local residents. So we hope to see full protection, to lock it away," Muirhead said.
