Editor, The Times:
This summer has been so wonderful. We’ve taken friends and family up the Clearwater River corridor to view the falls and Clearwater Lake, and we searched for the clues to the treasure by locating the geocaches. What fun for the family and visitors to the area.
Coming down from Wells Gray Park, when the sun had set, I observed that there was indeed logging happening on the far side of the valley. I was sure that there was an agreement to have public consultation prior to logging. What is happening with those talks? I’ve not seen any public notices.
I understand the theory behind the clearcut logging: get the most money with the least amount of effort in the shortest amount of time And we can even justify that by saying that a fire would wipe out all the trees that are gone in a clearcut, so what is the difference?
Could it be the roads that cut through the landscape diverting the water from its natural path? How about the large machinery and the weight of that must disturb the soil and all that live in and on that?
Even an old housewife can see that things are being damaged. So I worry about my grocery bill. ‘Sure is getting dry in the USA – price of fresh veggies is going up due to lack of water.’
And then there is the tourism aspect. Being a volunteer in the Aboriginal Gift Shop affords me an opportunity to listen to those folks. They come from countries where these same decisions were made many years ago. They cannot believe the pristine wilderness areas! They take pictures; talk about it – encouraging more visitors and return many times themselves.
Personally I’m a little worried that we are in the process of giving away our future. I would like to see the forests surrounding Clearwater managed in a more sustainable manner. Sustainable to the earth: the animals and birds whose homes are being decimated, sustainable to provide water for our neighbors downstream, sustainable to attract the tourism industry and the film industry.
That’s my two cents worth. What do other’s think? Lets get a public debate going on in the Times!
Cheryl Thomas
Clearwater, B.C.
