The area under consideration for protection is called The Ɂiy shenchu (Trout Lake) Conservation Area – 1,182 hectares linking intact forests with restored zones. It is anchored by Ɂiy shenchu (Trout Lake) to the west and the Big Tree Rec Site to the east. In the shíshálh Nation’s language, this translates as “good hunting grounds,” according to hiwus Calvin Craigan, a shíshálh knowledge-keeper.
This area contains intact forests in the Coastal Western Hemlock xm 1 (CWH xm 1) zone and the Coastal Western Dry Maritime (CWH dm1) within the Sechelt Landscape Unit and includes previously cut areas to restore connectivity. Based on the best science available, this ecosystem is dangerously close to a biodiversity collapse with less than 1% (0.59%) remaining in an old- growth forest condition. Old forest conditions capture the highest biodiversity levels than other forest types, such as tree farms. A conservation opportunity exists here if planners look to the future and do not bend to short-term timber pressures. This proposal meets the definition of a “recovery plan.”
The CWH xm1 is a subzone to the Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) ecosystem, the most endangered ecosystem in the province due to logging and urban expansion. The CDF and CWH xm1 share similar soil & climatic conditions supporting ecosystem communities, such as Douglas-fir, Arbutus, Red-cedar, Oregon-grape, Salal, Ironwood, and plants such as Foamflower and Fairy Slipper orchids.
There is historic evidence that shíshálh Nation members used the area for cedar bark harvesting, besides current knowledge that it was used as hunting grounds and for the gathering of medicines and other resource uses.
The Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) has a proposed cutblock (Blk HM70) in the heart of this proposed conservation area and this must be cancelled so that the area doesn’t become further fragmented. Most of the block is on south-facing steep slopes (50% – 60% grades), which poses a risk for future landslides if the tree and root support system is removed. Since this block could be sold some time in 2022, it is considered at high risk of being lost.
ELF’s submission calls for an immediate deferral on SCCF’s logging block proposal (Blk HM 70) until the planning table meets again and an independent conservation review is completed.
TAKE ACTION
Contact SCCF Board of Directors Chair and the SCCF office via email and inform the Board that the social objective to protect endangered forests is more important than a one-time cash grab.
Direct your message to SCCF’s Board of Directors’ Chair Kathleen Suddes.
Check out the detailed report on this conservation proposal.
For a photo album of pictures go to ELF’s Facebook page.