As a resident of the White Lake community, I would like to share my thoughts regarding the recent logging in White Lake. What began as a possible disaster for our community, has turned out to be an acceptable part of living within a working forest.
Even though there was a rough start with the BC Timber Sales regarding some of the internal legal aspects of the old logging plan, in the end, the BCTS worked diligently with the White Lake Residents Association team, Bryon Every and Alf Davy, to resolve the critical issues our community had.
George Abbott quickly realized the importance and offered immediate support.
The Minister of Forests’ Steve Thompson, put a lot of effort into analyzing the situation and worked with the BCTS to help with a resolution.
As for the contractor who did the job, my understanding is he has had previous experience with this kind of select logging. He was fully aware of the importance of this Block K1K7 to our community, and he and his crew went the extra mile to follow the strict guidelines placed in the licence and used their ability to produce a clean, effective and signified product that benefitted everyone involved.
The Ministry of Forests should recognize the value of a conscientious logger and offer incentives to promote what we have witnessed. I hope White Lake would be considered a model for future forest-related plans within communities and that other communities organize with a committee that has the ability to bring forward reasonable concerns and reap the benefit of such.
It is rewarding to see this change, that government and community can get together, with reasonable concerns and work together to resolve those concerns.
It also gives the residents of White Lake a real opportunity to witness that much of the fear tactics that flow from anti-logging groups and individuals is exactly that: non-beneficial fear tactics. The sky is not going to fall.
Jack McInally
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