Raw responses to logging practices
No bus to Vancouver? That’s Victoria’s fault.
To the editor, I wanted to thank you, once again, for the quality and choice of material in your publication. Specifically, this time, Stephanie Reed’s letter (November 2023) on our current logging practices. I am currently talking about advocacy in class with my students where they reach out for responses from various entities regarding a marine debris project we have currently completed. This letter served as a great example of advocacy (in a slightly different format). I often use your content/stories in my class. Thank you. – Graham Cocksedge Dear qathet Living, Heartfelt thanks to you for publishing Stephanie Reed’s “A Letter from the Slash.” It is so important voices like hers are heard. She exstylish presses the profound grief that I and so many others feel about the loss of familiar forests, and names so clearHappy ly the consequences for the web of Holidays! life as we approach planetary tipping points. It is also so important that we acknowledge the perspectives and needs of people who work in the forestry sector and the generations that have been proud of their work in logging, falling, pulp and paper and more. My grandfather ran a pulp and paper operation in Maniwaki, Quebec and growing up I was proud to be descended from hewers of wood – for their strength, courage and savvy. We need to find a way for everyone to be part of how we move forward. What are the ways to meet the needs of people who work in the forestry sector while also ensuring that the biodiversity and resilience of our forest ecosystems are not just maintained but restored? In this New Year, I would love to join with others to have this conversation locally. – Kate Sutherland Be & full of holiday cheer!
MAIL BAG We welcome feedback from our readers. Letters may be edited for length. Email your comments to isabelle@prliving.ca, or mail an old-school letter in the post to qathet Living, 7053E Glacier St, Powell River, BC V8A 5J7.
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From her running shoes and gravel bike, Stephanie Reed has observed forestry in this region’s backcountry for more than 40 years.
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34 December 2023 • qathetliving.ca
To the editor, One of my favorite hiking and biking trails is called “Howling Wolf” which runs from Cable Trail to W8 Trail. This is an abandoned railroad line and it runs along the edge of a gentle shallow valley. The valley is filled with an abundance of growth divided by a little year-round stream wandering quietly through it. A wood grove that is one of a few examples of a forest struggling to become a true “Living Forest.” But, you guessed it, it is scheduled to be completely cleared, cut down just as it is gaining its small foothold on life.
qathet Living • December 2023 • 35
Will we ever stop? Unfortunately we seem unable to do so as long as we continue to put ourselves before Nature and ignore the damage we are doing on all fronts. Can we practice some restraint in destroying what little we still have left in nature? Can we take a step back and see what we are doing to nature and to ourselves? Have you ever walked in a forest that had never seen a road, that had never been subject to logging or mining or any other intrusion by man, that was truly unspoiled by modern man’s hand? If not, you have truly missed a wondrous opportunity to experience one of the true wonders of this earth; innocent unspoiled nature. – Jerry Eskes To the editor, ‘A Letter From The Slash’ was beautifully composed and entirely depressing. I was left with the following thoughts: We “choose” not to help ourselves by failing to recognize and acknowledge the vital life-support systems which trees provide. We will continue to dramatically shrink the forest canopy to the point of no return. Finally, we will all look around and ask each other, “Now what?” – Steve Perkins
January Clearance!
34 January 2024 • qathetliving.ca
To the editor, RE: No Public Bus to Van, still (November 2023) It has become painfully clear that the Sunshine Coast Connector (SCC) solution to providing bus service between qathet and Vancouver is a dismal public/private partnership failure. When the BC Transit/SCC agreement was announced in May of 2021, SCC owner Dmitry Tyunin said the service will operate five days a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, year-round. The service launched on June 28 of that year. That summer ridership was strong and the service grew in popularity. Once the tourist season was over, ridership dropped and SCC suddenly cut back on service days. Now they only offer seven days of service over Christmas and a few days a week from May 15 to September 15. With that schedule and the price of a ticket from Langdale to Earls Cove set at $60, any growth in ridership would be surprising. The SCC operator makes it quite clear that he will not increase the frequency of his schedule without a considerable subsidy. There is a BC Transit solution to this problem, and it has been developing for some time. Contrary to what your article states, the qRD did make a concerted effort to do its part to make the service to the Lower Coast possible. Prior to June 28th, 2021, the #12 Stillwater bus would only go to Saltery Bay for ferry connections on demand. As of June 28th, the Powell River schedule featured two trips a day, five days a week in order to make Vancouver service possible. The qRD made the commitment then and is keeping it today. BC Transit’s 2022 Future Action Plan for the Sunshine Coast included a new route to Earls Cove to better serve residents in the north end of the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) and to close the gap in the qathet to Vancouver service. The SCRD had budgeted for the service to start in September of this year. At the last minute, BC Transit told the SCRD that the province would not be providing their share of the funds to operate the service, thereby scuttling the effort. The local governments on both ends of the coast have done their job to see Vancouver/Powell River bus service realized. The problem lies with our provincial government. BC Transit gets its marching orders from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. It is MOTI that should be feeling the heat. – Tim Larsen Editor’s note: See Page 26 for more on this story.
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