Friends of Clayoquot Sound: News 012509

December 23, 2008

No Helicopter Logging / Water Drops in Wildlife Area

An application to allow the logging company Coulson Forest Products to drop logs into the water at four sites as part of a helicopter logging operation near Tofino is being opposed by environmentalists and tour operators.

Aside from the logging itself, which we are strongly opposed to, Friends of Clayquot Sound’s concerns of this operation are both environmental and economic. Eco tourism has prospered in the area, and Tofino is officially designated a Resort Community by the province. Heli-logging operations will negatively impact hundreds of people who are employed in the eco-tourism sector.

Extreme helicopter noise and boat traffic of the log drops, processing and towing and debris will hinder local commercial tourism operators such as kayak, bear / nature watching companies. These companies are essential to the local economy.

The environmental impacts of water drop and storage logging operations are well known, unacceptable and long lasting after the operations have ceased. These include habitat destruction and water quality issues.

3 of 4 sites in the application have been identified to us as seal haul outs and are areas frequented and or inhabited by many sea mammals including transient orca.

Coulson Forest Products has stated it will do what it can to retrieve floating wood material such as bark and other wood debris, however we believe that such material will still be a significant issue in the area. Additionally, there are no plans to deal with the sunken bark material that will smother the ocean floor and bottom sea life for several decades.

It makes no sense to put the environment and the local economy at such risk. We ask the BC government to deny the permit.

**** TELL THE BC GOVERNMENT TO DENY THE PERMIT ****

Please keep your opposition to the impacts of heli-logging to the environment and to your commercial operations in the area. Obviously, the logging itself is a major and permanent impact but this permit is only for the lease of public waters for a log drop.

Click these links to download the documents from FOCS

http://www.focs.ca/logging/Coulson-Heli-Log1.pdf

http://www.focs.ca/logging/Coulson-Heli-Log2.pdf

******* The permit input period ends on Sunday February 1st *****

Please send your response to Mark Harvey, Land Officer, at Mark.Harvey@gov.bc.ca before the end of day on Sunday February 1

Contact us!

Friends of Clayoquot Sound
PO Box 489, 331 Neill St., Tofino BC V0R 2Z0
Tel: 250-725-4218 Fax: 250-725-2527
Email: info@focs.ca