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City Councillor and Son Narrowly Escape Island Timberlands’
Helicopter Logging Adjacent to Englishman River Provincial Park
by WCWC
Parksville City Councillor, Chris Burger, his eight-year old son and two local filmmakers had to run for their lives and dive under logs in the thick waste-high understory of what was once a pristine oldgrowth forest on a small island in the Englishman River upstream of Rathtrevor Provincial Park.
Helicopter Logging Adjacent to Englishman River Provincial Park
by WCWC
Parksville City Councillor, Chris Burger, his eight-year old son and two local filmmakers had to run for their lives and dive under logs in the thick waste-high understory of what was once a pristine oldgrowth forest on a small island in the Englishman River upstream of Rathtrevor Provincial Park. Photo Credit: Scott Tanner – felled 350 year-old Douglas-fir in foreground, standing Douglas-fir, skycrane- ready with undercuts at stump level and felled 500-year old habitat tree in background.
On Sunday afternoon an Island Timberlands’ skycrane helicopter suddenly appeared and began removing the massive 300 – 500 year old giant Douglas-fir trees from this tiny island in the Englishman River, where the group had been hiking.
“Councillor Burger, his son and two well-known local filmmakers, Richard Boyce and Phil Carson, were hiking on the island, located approximately 1 km from the provincial park, explains Annette Tanner, Wilderness Committee spokesperson. “They were assessing and documenting the damage to the oldgrowth forest on the island, located in the middle of the Englishman River just a brief 15 minute walk from Englishman River Provincial Park. Over $2 million has been spent on salmon habitat restoration in this officially designated community drinking watershed for the city of Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Nanoose, French Creek and surrounding communities.”
“Councillor Burger, his son and two well-known local filmmakers, Richard Boyce and Phil Carson, were hiking on the island, located approximately 1 km from the provincial park, explains Annette Tanner, Wilderness Committee spokesperson. “They were assessing and documenting the damage to the oldgrowth forest on the island, located in the middle of the Englishman River just a brief 15 minute walk from Englishman River Provincial Park. Over $2 million has been spent on salmon habitat restoration in this officially designated community drinking watershed for the city of Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Nanoose, French Creek and surrounding communities.”
Parksville, BC – “The island’s oldgrowth Coastal Douglas-fir forest was one of the best examples of the most endangered forest ecosystem in the province,” continues Tanner. “Only 110 hectares of this oldgrowth forest ecosystem type, which occurs along the east coast of Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands and the Sunshine Coast, have been protected in the entire province.”
“Past generations of logging companies have respected this rare island ecosystem and surrounding river riparian zone by not harvesting within these buffer zones. Island Timberlands clearly has little or no respect for community values such as community drinking watersheds or fishery habitat protection,” concludes Tanner.
- 30 –
Press Release - Monday, February 16, 2008 - for immediate release -- for more information, photos, or video footage, contact Annette Tanner 250 752-6585 or cell 250 240-7470 –
Boyce was able to capture Island Timberlands’ helicopter logging video footage while trying to escape
and can be contacted at Island Bound Media Works, 250 248-3682
To view background video of the Island before Sunday’s helicopter incident, please see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxddTtoXxrs
Backgrounder: see attached press release from Arrowsmith Parks and Land-Use Council
“Past generations of logging companies have respected this rare island ecosystem and surrounding river riparian zone by not harvesting within these buffer zones. Island Timberlands clearly has little or no respect for community values such as community drinking watersheds or fishery habitat protection,” concludes Tanner.
- 30 –
Press Release - Monday, February 16, 2008 - for immediate release -- for more information, photos, or video footage, contact Annette Tanner 250 752-6585 or cell 250 240-7470 –
Boyce was able to capture Island Timberlands’ helicopter logging video footage while trying to escape
and can be contacted at Island Bound Media Works, 250 248-3682
To view background video of the Island before Sunday’s helicopter incident, please see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxddTtoXxrs
Backgrounder: see attached press release from Arrowsmith Parks and Land-Use Council
Wilderness Committee, Mid-Island
Box 442, Qualicum Beach, BC, V9K lS9,
ph. 250 752-6585, fax: 250 752-7085 email: wcwcqb@shaw.ca
www.cathedralgrovecanyon.com
Box 442, Qualicum Beach, BC, V9K lS9,
ph. 250 752-6585, fax: 250 752-7085 email: wcwcqb@shaw.ca
www.cathedralgrovecanyon.com
Comments (3)
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written by Robert K, March 11, 2009
Maybe the writer of the above comment and the producers of the video should take their opinions and camera crew to the construction sprawl of Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler where it appears to be okay to denude landscapes in favor of hotels and condominiums.
Logging was, and for the most part still is, the backbone that built this province. The so called old growth that existed in Vancouver many years ago is now a Starbucks, yet logging protestors still buy their venti decaf soy lattes. If you want to see old growth, just climb to the top of the most inhospitable mountain terrain and enjoy your day.
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Unfortunately for Canada, the largest and most ecologically diverse Douglas-fir forests (the dominant forest tree of North West America) have long since been harvested. If there is only 1% of pure old growth left in British Columbia today, you can count on it being logged within this generation so long as the rules remain the same. And isn't that a shame.
Since most of what we see today is 80 to 150 years old, it's going to take hundreds of years before British Columbia has any real and definite Old Growth Douglas fir forest.