I have known Kootenay Lake and in particular the Kaslo area since the late 1950’s when I was a child camping with my parents. I continued this tradition for almost 20 years with my own children until they left home but my wife and I still holiday in the Kaslo area up to the present day. In my late teens and early 20’s, I also fought fires for the BC Forest Service in the Kaslo and Lardeau areas as well as around Castlegar.
I live in Cranbrook now, but I plan to retire soon in Kaslo. I’ve provided this information to let you know how much I care about this area and why I’m totally opposed to the logging plans BC Timber Sales has for the areas of Mt. Loki, Hawkins Creek and Sproule Creek. I tried to get mapping details of the logging, but the email provided for this purpose didn’t connect for me.
Regardless of this, I remain opposed to any logging within sight of Kootenay Lake because industry has already extensively logged both sides of the lake and any more clearcut logging along the lake will greatly diminish the value of the lake for the tourist industry and the people who live in this special spot that is renowned world-wide for its beauty, biological diversity, fishing, agricultural and recreational values.
At the very least, I think a moratorium should be placed on Kootenay Lake logging until a plan is developed which would categorize all the values provided by the Kootenay Lake region including timber to ensure that a balance is reached that would be fair and beneficial to all. As you must know, the provincial government hasn’t acted yet on the 14 recommendations of its own report on old growth logging. Kootenay Lake would be a good place to start.
Gerry Warner
Cranbrook