At November 22 – Blocks to be part of a 30% Reserve Design
ELF attended the SCCF November 20th Open House where SCCF revealed its next 5- year Operations Plan, that included all blocks that ELF has previously commented on. All the blocks we provided input on right up to the meeting, still appear on the operations plan, therefore none of our comments were considered.
We do know that members of the public commented on the current logging at AN3A because we hosted a Walk-in-the-Woods (advertised in the local paper), and people attending wanted to provide feedback, however those concerns were not considered.
Further to our Nov. 15th submission and our copy that was distributed at the Open House, we would like to present a revised letter highlighting a very critical issue that has been overlooked by SCCF and its EBM consultants. read more
At September 21 – Managing for Landslides at AN3A, AN03, and AN15
ELF report on Statlu AN assessment (revision)
After a review of the report “Terrain Stability Hazard Assessment for Blocks AN3A, AN03, and AN15 Gray Creek” by Statlu Environmental Consulting, submitted to SCCF on August 9, 2022, we are submitting additional information found within this report that should be reviewed with alterations made by Statlu and deferrals applied to the three blocks until an updated assess- ment is completed. We contend these blocks require a terrain stability assessment for all slopes adjacent to and outside of the cutblocks, as they show signs of existing instability, and with increased runoff from road ditches, will pose a significant risk of failure during extreme rain- fall events similar to the one that struck the Sunshine Coast November 2021. The risk is most pronounced on the slope adjacent to Blk AN3A due to the 50+ gradient… read more
At June 8 – Comments on SCCF’s AN03A, AN03 and AN15B or “Taking a closer look under the canopy.”
To Warren Hansen,
Please accept this report on field evidence gathered in the above proposed SCCF blocks currently engineered. Members of ELF have conducted a field review of blocks AN15B, AN03, and AN3A proposed for harvesting in 2023, and have prepared comments. In particular, we are requesting that AN3A be excluded from harvesting due to old growth characteristics that make it suitable, in our opinion, for old growth retention and recruitment. In addition, we request AN03 and AN15B be considered for selective harvesting prescriptions as they are currently providing several critical environmental services that should be respected, including ecological restoration, low fire rating and habitat connectivity… read more
At February 22 – Protect the Roberts Creek Corridor from Logging
BC Timber Sales (BCTS) has a series of 6 cutblocks making up Blks A9817 and TA0520 above the salmon spawning habitat of xwesam (Robert Creek, Sunshine Coast) on previously logged areas, which also serves as a habitat corridor to the backcountry extending into the Dakota Watershed. Black bears move down slope from winter den sites across the Dakota Watershed reaching areas like this Roberts Creek corridor from spring through to late fall. These recovering forests (Age Class 4) are in a repairing phase caused by clearcut logging of the old- growth red cedar. The slopes here are hydrologically-linked to downstream conditions in Roberts Creek. Blk A9817 could be logged in 2024, with TA0520 on a 2025 horizon… read more
At January 3 – The Mt. Elphinstone Water Protection Forest – at risk
This report is a supplement to the map produced by Applied Conservation GIS of the above referenced area adding detail to BCTS’ block maps and ground conditions from site visits. In November, ELF conducted a field visit to the G043B4P2 blocks (subset of Blk TA0521) following the 1km proposed logging road. This area is identified as Age Class 6 (120-140 years); however, site conditions show old forest features, including veteran overstory trees (VOT), nurse logs, wildlife trees and a well-established shrub layer. It’s not surprising that the provincial Old Growth Technical Panel (on Map 7) has the majority of this area labeled as “Recruitment Forests” to be protected as “tomorrow’s old-growth.” When all factors are weighed, it’s our conclusion that Blk TA0521 should be removed from BCTS’ 5-year plan… read more