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Land use management a success in corridor… sort of

Issues still exist, but interested parties are in a better position to handle them While there are still literally hundreds of land use conflicts to resolve in Sea to Sky country/Squamish Forest District, when you consider the number of diverse inter

Issues still exist, but interested parties are in a better position to handle them

While there are still literally hundreds of land use conflicts to resolve in Sea to Sky country/Squamish Forest District, when you consider the number of diverse interests at work in the area and the pressure the land base is under from the Lower Mainland population, the corridor is a good example of co-operation between governments, corporations and the public.

At least that was the conclusion all three panel members reached at a discussion on "Managing the public/forest interface," one of dozens of sessions held at the 93 rd Canadian Institute of Forestry Annual General Meeting and Conference in Whistler this week.

"If we can manage all he forest pressures and people pressures in this area we could manage these pressures anywhere else in the province," says Squamish Forest District manager Paul Kuster, the panel’s moderator.

The panel included Ric Slaco of International Forest Products, Peter Jones of the B.C. Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, and Don MacLaurin who represented the Resort Municipality of Whistler. Lyle Leo of the Mount Currie Band, and chief executive officer of Creekside Resources, was supposed to round out the panel, but broke his wrist the previous weekend in an accident and could not attend.

The Squamish Forest District is unique in B.C., with the resource towns of Squamish and Pemberton bookending Whistler, one of the top mountain resorts in the world. The same area provides recreation to many of the 2.2 million people who live in the Lower Mainland. There are also the needs of First Nations to balance in the equation and respect in the absence of a treaty or a solution to native land claims.

"The population in this area is expected to double in the next 20 years," says Jones, the co-ordinator for the Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plan which is expected to be completed in fall of 2002. "How well we handle that growth will depend on how well we manage the interface between the public and resource industries.

"At the same time, the answers we come up with will have to deal with the transportation issues, with the 2010 Olympic Bid, with the continuing debate over old growth forests."

Jones points to the number of studies that have already been done in the corridor, on everything from grizzly bear management to forest practices, as a means of achieving a balance between interests. The Sea to Sky LRMP table already has close to 20 different maps of the area to consider when making recommendations and decisions.

"There are a lot of studies, there is a lot of expertise, and there is a tremendous amount of knowledge already in place that can help us work with the public, work with First Nations, work with business. The challenge is not that we don’t have the information, it’s trying to manage that information," says Jones.

While in other regions of the province there is a clear separation between recreational-tourism interests and industries such as forestry and mining, in the Squamish Forest District, tourism and resources are tied in terms of economic importance. As a result, resource industries have to work in ways to limit impacts on tourism, such as switching to variable retention logging to preserve the view, and limiting recreation within the working forest.

Representing the town of Whistler, MacLaurin believes Whistler has managed keep its integrity, although it’s right in the middle of the working forest, by being vigilant and working with government and resource industries that hold rights to work within Whistler.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler is now in a position where council has some proxy power over resource extraction in the immediate area, whereby "recreation is considered first, and forestry is to be considered second," says MacLaurin. Whistler has attempted to gain real power over a greater area, but failed to achieve it through the 1994 Protected Areas Strategy and their 1998 Whistler Community Forest Proposal.

"It was a large proposal, and that was probably one of the reasons for its downfall," says MacLaurin. "It would have put timber, gravel extraction, the range of opportunities existing within the forest under our control. I still feel the first concept is the right one, and should still be pursued."

While Whistler has achieved a balance between resource industries and tourism, within the tourism industry there is another balance to strike between commercial recreation and the public.

"Recreation has placed large demands on the infrastructure of this area. Not only are the numbers just massive and increasing, the diversity of activities is changing all the time," MacLaurin says. The growth of ATV operations and mountain biking in the community are two examples of recreational activities that have grown with little or no control.

There is currently an initiative underway to educate commercial operators on the nature of the backcountry, and to make sure they understand that they are allowed to operate in what is still classified as a working forest.

"We’re concerned what they’re telling visitors. You read a lot of brochures that talk about pristine wilderness when it’s not. It’s working forest. You have to explain that they’re in a working forest, get them to understand that, and then accept it," says MacLaurin.

Reducing the conflicts between public users and commercial users is more challenging, and the solution may be to limit the number of tours that commercial companies can run.

Not enough is known about trail impact in the area, and the municipality is conducting a pilot study on the carrying capacity of trails.

"I’ve gone through about 80 proposals for commercial backcountry tenures, and some of them are just ridiculous. Some of the projections these people have regarding capacities are just amazing. A pilot study would help us to know what we should be doing in this Land and Resource Management Plan," says MacLaurin.

For his part, Slaco believes that Interfor is making an honest effort to be a good neighbour – to understand and respond to the needs of tourism while running a profitable business.

"In simple terms, this company’s business is based on having access to an economical wood supply, but there has to be an underlying philosophy or strategy in achieving that – we need a public that is understanding of our perspective, and a customer that wants to buy our products," says Slaco.

"As a company, it’s sometimes difficult to focus away from the matter of business to someone else’s interests, but that’s what we have to do. Our community partnership is based on emotions, on changing values, different perceptions. For some this relationship represents a pay cheque, while some have spiritual connections to the forest."

In its coastal operations, Interfor deals with 50 different First Nations, and has had to reach a memorandum of understanding in order to have a good working relationship until treaty claims can be settled. "It’s about mutual recognition and respect," says Slaco.

As for accommodating the tourism industry, Slaco points to the fact that all of Whistler’s rafting companies use the Elaho River and Interfor’s roads in Tree Farm License 38.

"We decided that we want the rafters in there. We see there presence as a good opportunity for the company to showcase our work. We’re trying to get people to make the connection that they’re in a working forest," says Slaco. "The benefit for us is that hopefully companies involved in that program can talk about this company in a favourable light. It goes back to having a public who supports you and a customer who wants to buy your product."

In areas where rafting companies go, Interfor uses variable retention logging techniques that leave up to 40 per cent of the trees in place.

Kuster also spoke on the challenges ahead for the Sea to Sky area, but felt that the working relationships that have evolved and the direction that the LRMP will give the area will go a long way to resolving those issues.

"The roads they use are often logging roads, and (tour operators) should keep in mind who built them," says Kuster. "At the same time, the forest industry’s activities must blend in. We’re basically on a level basis with the tourism industry, and must ensure were going to be in harmony with all these other values."