Tolko’s head office had some unscheduled visitors Monday.
Earth Strike Vernon, a climate advocacy group in Vernon who have staged a handful of peaceful demonstrations over the past year, protested outside the Vernon headquarters from noon to 3 p.m.
The move, said group co-founder Kieran Grandbois, is to protest what he said is Tolko’s plan to log an area close to Vernon’s water supply.
“A scientific report from the Regional District of the North Okanagan concluded that the results could be ‘catastrophic’ for the drinking water,” said Grandbois. “A third-party corporation also conducted a report that rates the consequences on the water as ‘very high.’ The proposition outlines plans to clear-cut an area that is only 500 meters away from the Duteau Creek water intake.”
Grandbois said that while clear-cutting is an economical process that involves cutting all trees in a certain manner, it’s not without “devastating environmental impacts.”
“Loose topsoil gets exposed and events such as debris flows and landslides are made more likely,” he said. “A landslide into Duteau Creek would irreparably damage the water supply that we depend on.
“We cannot stand by idly and let a logging corporation threaten the very water that we drink. We are committed to fighting for forests and our water.”
READ MORE: Vernon climate advocacy group protests against Tolko
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