Canada is about to spend huge money on innovation. Let us here in the Kootenays join that sentiment and look at our forest with new eyes.
There is a total lack of innovation in our forest because we are not tapping into the vast talent of Kootenay residents. Our forests are totally controlled by Victoria, Ottawa and the timber corporations. Locally we have virtually no access to the timber that surrounds us. We need local control.
In the entire history of humanity, never have there been tools to work with wood like we have today. Plus with the computer and the internet, we can manage each watershed on literally a tree by tree basis. Selling small timber lots of selectively logged timber would be a cake-walk in a world where Kootenay talent was allowed to work with our wood.
At present, our forest is managed by timber corporations where their production untouched by a human hand leaves our valleys.
Global economy and trade agreements are all about taking control of resources out of the hands of the people who live upon the land. This is wrong in so many ways.
The timber is leaving. The wildlife and fish are leaving. We have not been stewards of this land. It is time for us to look after the gift and become the stewards. It is our destiny. End the corporate domination of our forest and allow local control to spur the innovation that we so badly need in Canadian forests, watershed by watershed.
Dick Murphy
Nelson
