Bragg Creek group raises concerns about logging

A group of Bragg Creek and Calgary residents, campers, trail users and outdoor enthusiasts is raising awareness about scheduled logging to take place near the community.

Sustain Kananaskis, made up of about a dozen volunteers, is seeking public consultation before the logging starts. The group�s website states the logging will have a direct impact on 90 per cent of the area�s local trails.

�We want to see the public be consulted about forest management,� said Ralph Cartar, Sustain Kananaskis member.

�This is an incredibly important forest� let�s talk about it. Right now we aren�t being listened to.�

As part of Alberta�s forest management plan to reduce the threat of forest fires near Bragg Creek, Spray Lake Sawmills will begin work this summer logging more than 1,700 acres of trees, the equivalent of seven square kilometres, in the West Bragg Creek area.

According to the group�s website, the logging blocks will be located directly next to or surrounding at least 25 kilometres of recreational ski, cycling, equestrian, hiking and snowshoeing trails.

According to Cartar, a University of Calgary biology professor and member of the Bragg Creek Environmental Coalition, selectively removing old growth forests, mainly lodge pole pine in this case, will not keep the community safe from fires.

�They are misinforming the process,� said Cartar.

�Logging doesn�t decrease the risk of fire at all. They aren�t being protected� by doing this logging. The only thing that would protect us is to remove the (entire) forest.�

Cartar, who has been a professor for 18 years, is particularly concerned about the loss of biodiversity should the logging take place.

�I like nature and what offends me about Spray�s logging plans and the Spray Lakes plan in general� is what they are doing to biodiversity,� he said. �They aren�t allowing old growth in the system. As an ecologist, I am deeply offended by the lack of biodiversity.�

Cartar said the group�s other concerns include loss of recreation, an impact on the economy of Bragg Creek and the possible impact on downstream water quality.

�This is the most important public forest possibly anywhere in North America, used hugely by recreationalists, and it has a huge economic value to Bragg Creek,� he said.

�This is too important to rush through.�

Dwayne Zaba, an area realtor, agreed.

�The appeal of Kananaskis is as a world-class mountain park,� he said. �(Logging) radically affects the appeal and absolutely affects property values. It is really short-sighted. It just seems absurd that they would even comtemplate allowing Spray Lakes to (log) that area.�

Cartar said the group is encouraging people to share their concerns with representatives from Spray Lakes Sawmills and Alberta�s Sustainable Resources Development (SRD), the government department that approves logging permits.

Gord Lehn, Spray Lakes Sawmills� woodlands manager, said the company is interested in the group�s concerns.

�We want to work together with them,� he said. �We are all in this together. We want to do what is right out there as well.�

Spray Lakes forest management plan has been in place for decades, said Lehn, and is a combination plan for grazing, logging, recreation and fire protection.

�It is not just a logging plan, it is also a firesmart plan to help provide some fire protection for the community,� he said, adding that a number of stakeholders, such as members of the ranching community, recreational groups and nearby municipalities had a hand in its creation.

Lehn said many of the area�s current trails were originally logging roads.

�A good chunk were originally intended for logging,� he said. �As a company, we have been logging in the east slopes since 1943. If this is still regarded as pristine (land with) high watershed values, to me that is an indication that we have been doing something right.�

The lands under question were identified for logging about five years ago and the broader community was given a chance to speak out at that time, said Lehn. However, Spray Lakes is hosting another open house on Jan. 26 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Bragg Creek Community Centre to allow residents to view the proposed plan, raise concerns and bring suggestions.

Lehn encourages people to come out to the meeting to hear the plan, which he says will help bring the forest to a more natural state through patch cutting and reclamation.

Company staff will be on hand to answer questions and gather feedback and maps showing the cut blocks will be on display at the open house.

For more information on the proposal and the Sustain Kananaskis group, visit www.sustaink.ca