The Village of Pemberton has enlisted regional district backing in its fight against a proposal that would see C.R.B Logging take 154,000 cubic metres of wood off the hills that serve as a backdrop to the community.
The area destined to be harvested covers 150 acres of hillside. Pemberton Mayor Elinor Warner said the logging would scar the village backdrop and have a significant impact on recreation in the area.
Warner noted 60 per cent of the work in the Pemberton community comes from logging. However, the town couldn’t support scarring the hillside.
In a letter to Squamish Forest District manager, Paul Kuster, and C.R.B Logging, which is contracted by Weyerhaeuser, Warner stated that the Village of Pemberton recognizes the importance of the forestry industry to the economic well-being of the region. "However, there appears to be far more costs than benefits in harvesting this particular area."
Warner told the SLRD board that even loggers, logging contractors and their families who attended the public hearing in Pemberton were not in favour of the plan.
The SLRD board voted to support Pemberton but director Corinne Lonsdale, mayor of Squamish, wanted to make sure the wording of their motion did not preclude logging in timber licence T0741.
The final motion put forward by Lonsdale was that the SLRD board will advise the Squamish Forest District that the regional district opposes the logging, as proposed, because of the potential significant impact on viewscapes and recreation. The board asked that the 15,000 cubic metres of wood be sourced elsewhere in the Soo Timber Supply Area and that this particular timber licence be considered as a possible community forest for Pemberton and Electoral Area C.
That way, said Lonsdale, small truck-loads of timber can still be brought out of the area.
"It sees that the area remains as a working forest and not as a protected area," said Lonsdale. "Because, that is where I can’t go."
