Interior Lumber Manufacturers Association (ILMA) pleads to the public (“Help free up timber,” August 7) for access to clear cut ancient old growth temperate rainforest biodiversity. They also want easier access to steep unstable domestic watersheds such as Perry’s Ridge, Duhamel and Liard creek.
The ILMA is one of BC’s most powerful lobbying forces. They, along with Nelson’s mayor, BC Timber Sales, Ministry of Forestry, Forest Practise Board, Ministry of Environment and regional district representatives will dilute reality to road/clear-cut every steep West Kootenay domestic watershed, extirpate southern Selkirk/Purcell grizzly and extinct Mountain Caribou.
Ninety-eight per cent of these original ancient pre-pilgrim temperate red cedar/hemlock rainforest have been manufactured into shingles, boards, toilet paper or magazine or Victoria’s Secret catalogues to sell women’s panties.
During the 1990s, a half dozen local wilderness activists risked their lives and freedom to bring attention to large intact stands of our misty rainforest in the Incommappleuax and Westfall rivers.
Their efforts and the economic reality of gas prices, logging road maintenance, market collapse and a couple miracles prevented hellish clearcuts in Boyd, Kelly and other mostly intact primitive creek drainages.
It is important for the public to remember deforestation is the single largest source of human caused carbon release on planet earth. It far out weighs all human transport CO2 release.
Our temperate forest sequester at least ten times as much CO2 per hectre as tropical forest. This fact, along with our relatively well-educated citizenry, should make us leaders in the struggle to address what appears to be a political, pollution and climate crisis of biblical proportions.
I grew up in a logging family. I am not opposed to sensible forestry that addresses the modern reality of a planet in peril.
Local political pundits should encourage the ILMA too stop bullying their way into domestic watersheds and intact ancient temperate mist/rain forest.
There are dozens of ways we can keep and increase forestry employment but it will take a real commitment from our political elite, business leaders, environmental groups and activists.
ILMA members and their BC forestry minister counterparts seem to advocate for the continued genocide against the Sinixt First Nation. They have made no effort to address Canada’s continued brutal conquest of non-ceded indian territory.
When or will we have a real public forum to address these issues on lands that legally have not been surrendered?
Tom Prior
Nelson