okanagan similkameen box 787 0 c · 2018-02-21 · okanagan similkameen parks society box 787...

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Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society Box 787 Summer13nd,B0 C„ VOH 1ZO December 1981 since t he re s e em ed to b e n o im i; e d ia to threat to the valley at that time0 In 1972, the Okanagan Historical Society and the Okanagan Sinil= kameon Parks Society submitted a brief to the government, asking for protection of a 70 0 000 ha area to the north and west of Manning i-ark0 This was known as the "Manning Park Extension" «, In subsequent discussions, we were told that the principle of a wilderness was allright, but the size was too big0 So we corapro= raised and submitted a new reduced proposal in 1976 0 Again, dis= cussions took place, but th^re was no action„ When a new government took over, we re—submitted th,j reduced proposal in 1979 » The pro^ posal was accompanied by maps showing the area which we considered absolutely ©ssentiol, and a "reasonable extension1' , which would g r e a 11y e n hanc e th o wi1d e rne s s va1u e, with o u t t a king i n a n u n= reasonable amount of timber0 This proposal was presented to the Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC) of the cabinet , and it has been studied by the Ministry of forests since0 They chose to do tho-ir detailed planning not on our proposed area, but on a larger In order to £*et seme public input, the Ministry of Forests asked its Tulamoen Advisory Committee to have a look at tbe proposal. This step, unfortunately, has not worked out wll, for various reasons, One was the inability of the ministry to come up with the required baseline data; another was the f^t that none of the other ministries (Environment, Parks, Tourism, History) were invited. Thirdly, the "gruon" side and the logging interests were constantly at each ethers throats- and a constructive look at the

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Page 1: Okanagan Similkameen Box 787 0 C · 2018-02-21 · Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society Box 787 Summer13nd,B 0 C „ VOH 1ZO December 1981 since t he r e s e em ed to b e n o im i;

Okanagan SimilkameenParks SocietyBox 787Summer13nd,B 0 C„VOH 1ZODecember 1981

since t he r e s e em ed to b e n o im i ; e d ia to threat to the valley at that

time 0

In 1972, the Okanagan Historical Society and the Okanagan Sinil=

kameon Parks Society submitted a brief to the government, asking

for protection of a 700000 ha area to the north and west of

Manning i-ark0 This was known as the "Manning Park Extension" «, In

subsequent discussions, we were told that the principle of a

wilderness was allright, but the size was too big0 So we corapro=

raised and submitted a new reduced proposal in 19760 Again, dis=

cussions took place, but th^re was no action„ When a new government

took over, we re—submitted th,j reduced proposal in 1979» The pro^

posal was accompanied by maps showing the area which we considered

absolutely ©ssentiol, and a "reasonable extension1' , which would

g r e a 11y e n h an c e th o wi1d e rn e s s v a1u e, with o u t t a king i n • • a n u n=

reasonable amount of timber0 This proposal was presented to the

Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC) of the cabinet , and it

has been studied by the Ministry of forests since0 They chose to do

tho-ir detailed planning not on our proposed area, but on a larger

In order to £*et seme public input, the Ministry of Forests

asked its Tulamoen Advisory Committee to have a look at tbe

proposal. This step, unfortunately, has not worked out wll, for

various reasons, One was the inability of the ministry to come up

with the required baseline data; another was the f^t that none of

the other ministries (Environment, Parks, Tourism, History) were

invited. Thirdly, the "gruon" side and the logging interests were

constantly at each ethers throats- and a constructive look at the

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details of the proposal never materialized <, AS ? result, the planning

process for the wilderness lacked public input arid reverted to ELUG „T

IL, v e n t u n 1 ly , K r« P 0 /alto n (t h & n o f ELU C's secretariat) w as ask c-: d to

compile ?nd inventory, based on the data submitted by the various

ministries,, This is the './alton report, which is now available from

the government 0 Unfortunately, much of the data submitted to Mr c

17 a 11 o n w as e r r o n e o u s , a n d our s u g g e s t i o n s for corrections w e r e

accepted only in the last moment 0 As of this writing, they arc being

Incorporated into the final version*. We do hope that the data will

be correct by t h e t i m e t h e r e p o r t a p p e a r s in public,,

L::sed on the Walton report, the ministries have come up with

three options, one of which could be used to administer the area in

question. We urge you to take a look at them0 A detailed description

of th^ options and the implications will be available following the

i n essence: 1 ) C o 13 pie t e p r e s e r v a t i o n of t h e w i- 1 d e r n e s s a n d t h e trails

2) ClenTcut logging of most of the ar^a and protection for about 1/3 ;

3) clear cut lodging of the whole area „ Once you have looked at the

details and implications , we hope you will support our proposal to

about ito It will be even core important to tell the ministers how

you feel0 They claim that th^-y are interested in input from the

g e n e r a 1 public; the o u t c o 1:1 e o f 1 1 1 e f u t u r o d iscussions w ill sh o w

whether they really are, or whether this is a deal made already

behind closed doors „ Either way 5 your input can only help the do =

c i s i o n - m a k i n g process. 1 f y o u do n ' t speak up n o w , d o n ' t b 1 a rn e t h e

politicians later for net acting,, How are they supposed, to know

what people think, if everybody leaves it up to the proverbial

George to do the writing? If y^u require details of the brief,

please as k us for a c o py I

The politicians and the ministries claim that they want to find out

how you think about the ]_roposal0 They are not interested in a

polished essay, but in the what and why of your opinion,,

We suggest you state your opinion cleorly and briefIy0 If you

know the area from personal experience, mention the features you

like besto Give' the reasons why the wilderness should be protected,,

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If yO'U need more la cts than we can present hero, ask us for further

detqils -, we have spent a lot of time on this proj ect and we do have-

more figures. Or contact the ministries concerned. It's fine to

argue, but it' s better to ha.vo the details, which put the issue

Into perspective. If anybody claims that our proposal endangers

.jobs or industries, look at the facts a

We suggest that you refer specifically, to tho three options pre =

-sented. The., ministries are. supposed to h:3va comparable sets of data

for each of them.

Our preference is, of ccurs:;, for the complete preservation option,

and on the following.page^ we would like to give you the reasons0

His tor i c p_l ys 1 u e s „

As explained in our brief, the Cascades are of unique historical

omportance, not only to B.C„ but to the whole of Canada 0 The fur

t r a d e a nd the canoe routes h a ve op ened up the castern and c ent ra1

parts of our country0 The land, trails have played a similar role

in B aC a, whore rivers were generally too risky for navigation (ever

trie*], to shoot the Era ser?) 0 Originally, these trails spanned more

than 2000 miles, from the coast to the various trading pests in the

interioro Most of them have b^en destroyed in the last 100 years

by road building, Logging and other human activities0 In the Cas=

cades, 5$ remain, ofton covered by brush a.nd windfalls, but clearly

there, on the ground, if you want to look. For the last 12 years,

volunteers from the various outdoor groups have spen^ many months

tracing these old trails, clearing them for hiking, comparing evi=

dence on the ground with maps from the 1860s, new in the Victoria

archives. Even the Ministry of i?crests Is gradually acknowledging

that the trails exist, and uhat they are of historical significance.

i arts of five g r e a. t 3? a 11 s c r n b e s a v e d , t h e D e w d n e y, t h e K u d son1 s

Bay Brigade, The Wha.tcom, the Hope and Blackeyer So Ea.ch has its

own historical importance: a way of keeping E0Ca in Jonfederation,

a route for fur traders, an attempt by American businessmen to

gain a foothold in B0C., or as an Indian trail dating back to the

d^ys before white domination e riere are the last remnants of these

trails, the last 5/55 snd we want to see them protected 0

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._„ 4- --

In specific answer to the "evaluation" done by the Recreation

Branch of the Ministry of Forests for the Walton report, we would

like to stress that these historical values are inieed of concern

to all of B 0C 0, in fact are unique in Canada. The Branch's repeated

use of phrases like "a. .not unique on a regional basis" seems to

reflect complete ignorance of this situation^ 'The trails and the

landscape are one. In fact, if logging is allowed to continue at

the present accelerating pace, these valleys will soon be unique

even on a regional basis. Or are there other areas of consequence

between ^aribaldi and Okanagan Mountain that will be spared from the

chainsaw (except for Manning -^ark, which is not a .wilderness)?

, not- everybody is interested in the outdoors* Nor in

baseball, or politics, or computers, or stamp collecting,, But the

last 10 years definitely have seen an awakening in regard to out-

door values o Many city people escape the hustle and bustle of dgily

routine for a weekend in a more peaceful setting. 1Lesidents of the

area have seen that the pioneer days are over, that the bull-in-the-

woods approach to land use has to give way to better planning „ There

simply is not enough untouched land around any more* Our famous

tourist slogan about Super-natural B.C e is bringing increasing

numbers of visitors from Northamerica and Overseas to the pr ovine e-

but if loggings keeps going on an ever-increasing rate, there will

be very few "super-natural" areas left within a decade or two* And

unless we protect the Cascades now, there will be no wilderness area

of any size in that part of B.C.

We don't expect everybody to share our interest in the outdoors,

but we do know that more and more people are interested in the pre=

servation of a few pieces of land, within reach of the average - .

resident. In a society where most of the political life- is dominated

by haggling over money and power, it's hard to get other values

across "to politicians. But do we really nave to chainsaw every last

square mile of forest before we realize that we could have saved some,

not only for later generations , but even for ourselves? V/e don1 1

accept the claim that you can put all wilderness values into dollars

and centSo There is suchja thing as "quality of life", a yearning for

peace , tranquility , for being in contact with nature , physically and

spiritually a Maybe politicians don't feel that way, but enough other

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people dai Are these people not entitled to a fair share of the pie?

We hope that they will make their voices heard, loudlj

even if they would mucKrather [50 hiking, trail riding, backpacking

or cross-country skiing!

Once the wilderness is established, it will protect these values

Once the wilderness is officialy established, it will offer

almost unlimited opportunities for non-destructive multiple use , In

fact , much of this use is already taking place D Where else in' B.tC. ,

or in anada , can you find a combination of true historical trails,

wilderness values and opportunities for outdoor activities?

Long stretches oi the major trails are being used every summer

by hikers, trail riders, hunters and other outdoor people 0 Scouts

have helped to clear the trails, school classes have gone in for

nature studies , and tourists have enjoyed the solitude 0 Once the

area has a few trail signs , it will be even easier to get around «.

S JL _? LO n p m ic pi c t ur e o

As we have said before , a Wilderness by its very nature cannot

be evaluated strictly in dollar terras., How do you measure the dollar

value of a clear mountain stream , a glance at on eagle , a wild lily

in flower, or an undisturbed stand of mature douglas fir? But eco=

nornics obviously have to play a part in the decision-making process,,

We have therefore tried to convince the advisory committee that such

a study should be undertaken by someone qualified in economics , who

could make a realistic evaluation of such-factors as logging jobs

affected , time when this will occur, effect of total volume of logs

on mills and secondary manufacturing, trends in job development in

logging , trucking, milling, and secondary manufacturing, potential

for tourism, influence of diversification on the economies of Prince^

ton and Hope , role of intensive silviculture , cost of restocking ,

etc 0 We did not get very far e And a cursory glance at the gross

economic figures presented to the advisory committee showed that

they were highly erroneous ; this will likely be corrected before the

Walton report is published „ As of this writing, there is also hope

that the in-depth evaluation of the raw figures which we have re=

quested will indeed be carried out „ We feel that the potential for

economic development of tourism has been completely neglected in the

Walton report, although the trails would seem to fit ideally into

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the "theme11 approach which the Ministry of Tourism is taking,,

According to their data Prtd policy, the "fur trade theme" is the

sedond most important drawing card in B0C, A wilderness with

historical trails and plenty of outdoor opportunities would seem

to fir right into it.

And tourism is, after all, one of the few industries that keeps

growing as if we had no recession.

Backpacking, by the way, has seen an even more rapid rise in

popularity in BCC0 than any other form of outdoor vacationing„

At the same time, it's a good way to get to know the Cascades.

Do people really appreciate th£s£ outdoor opportunities? Look at

-the Pacific. Rim trail, where hikers now have to book.air-advance -

who even .knew it existed, 15 years ago? Look at...the. Cathedral. Lakes

Park, which is "barely- 10 years old and already fully.used! Commercial

interests always seem to oppose such park plans in the beginning,

almost a-s a matter of routine.

Logging aspects.

We have had a merry time trying to discuss the logging and timber

aspects, but it-looks as if we are finally getting down to facts. The

major .-opposition has, of course, come from the big logging companies

who would, like to get into the area. So let's try to see things in

perspective; the following data are taken from official records:

Land area covered

Cascade "study" 42a105 haarea

Our "basicproposal"

Wita -"re a s onable• extension

If, you are interested in the precise outline of the three areas,

please' contact us. vJe have a few copies of the maps we submitted,,

but since they cost time and effort to- prepare, we' don't want- to

make more than we need. Anyway, the table shows you the total

size of the areas in question.

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Breakdown o£ land areas in the CascadeWilderness

Total

Forested 24,800 ha

Non-forest "17.700 ha

Good andmediumsites -

Poor andlow sites

20400 ha (matureonly)

14.600 ha

6*700 ha(incl. NSR)

8 ..100 ha(mature andimmature)

6.900 ha ( " ) 6.500 ha- (")

Whole Fraaer-TSA Whole Merritt TSA

Forest landwhich needs.replanting

Reducedfigures '(see text)

Actual plantingrate, per year

113.000 ha 65-000 ha

74.000 ha 43.000 ha

3Potential Annual 382.000 m^ 300.000Allowable Cut(AAC)from these (NSR+DSD+NC) areas

Potential AACif Wilderness-were logged

88.000 m5 40.000 m3

48.800 ha

31oOOO "ha

850 ha

48,000 m

3

3

Sorry we have to get into so muctidetail, but these figures' are

needed to understand some of the discussion surrounding the logging

aspects, and to get a perspective,, Here are some more which will

help you to understand the size of logging increases during the last10

* Total volume logged in B*C« , aver0 per year,(in million m )

1970 to 1973 1974 - 1976 1977 - 197955-9. 62.9 ' 72.8

Now let's have a look at what these figures mean0

Of the total study area,,- 3/5 are at present in forest, while

2/5 are not forested 0

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or imediura stands, while slightly over one-half is in poor or low

stands «> Some of the poor stands can be logged; in fact, they do

contain a .fair amount of standing timber. Since the forest service

has a policy of allowing logging only in areas where natural re-

growth occurs 5 or where re-planting can be successful, the question

arises on how many of these sites forests can be grown in perpetuity,

and how many would remain denuded forever„ It is both a .biological

("Can forest be grown?") and an economic ("Is it profitable to restock?'

questiono Apparently, neither the companies nor the ministry have a

systematic way of evaluating either one of these questions. We do

know, however, what their present capacity and track record for

replanting are. And we do hope that the optimists are right who

predict -that the replanting rate will double- in the next 5 years.

The topic is quite crucial3 not only because many people thought that

•denuded land was already being replanted right away if it does not

grow back naturally within 5 years, but also because there are vast

tracTt; of such land in the Eraser and Merritt Timber Supply Areas

(TSAs)a Would-be productive forest land (classified as NSR, DSD and

NO in the statistics) in the two TSAs amounts to 113.000 ha, according

to the published figures. However, this figure includes not only

land that has been denuded and has needed restocking for decades, but

also some recently—logged land which will in all likelyhood grow

back into forest by natural means «• So what are the correct figures?

What is the true"backlog.NSR ("No sufficient regrowth"), what is

recent NSR? And how much land;_has been wrecked for .good' by" logging

that should never have taken place,, Nobody seems to know, nobody-

"even has a rough figure, and that in itself shows a lack of real

concern for future shortages,- -••

So let's deduct an - arbitrary and likely conservative 1/3 for

natural regrowth. That still leaves us v/ith about 75-000 ha of would-

be productive forest land that is not being'psed .right now. estocking

in the Merritt TSA proceeds at the rate (1979) of 850 ha per year, on

a baaklog..NSR pf about 31-000" ha. In other words, at the present

planting rate, it would take about 30 years .to restock the existing

backlog. Even if the opotimists are right, and" funds are made avail=

.able, it would still-take 15 years oust to catch up.

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Since nobody has bothered to restock these 75.00(3 ha., v/e find

it hard to believe that anybody is really all that concerned about

the 24-0 800 ha which will remain in the Cascade Wilderness, Or are

they serious in asking the people of E0C. to give up a priceless

piece of wilderness, to make up for the sloppy planning and over^

cutting of the past? By their own figures, the NSR lands in the5two TSRs could yield an annual allowable cut of 382.000 m , versus

a potential of at the most 88 = 000 m for the total ^ascad.^ Wilderness.

We are convinced - and many people in the forest service and the

logging companies agree - that the future of forestry in B.C. lies

with intensive silviculture. In practical terms , this means that the

scarce public and private resources should be concentrated on the

best sites, where returns per invested dollar are highest 0 For details,

see the silvi cultural and economic MUSYC report , prepared for the

Ministry of Forests by Crown Zellerbactu Intensive silviculture has

in fact been government intention for several years , but the action

has been partly lagging* Replanting continues to increase , but only

at a very slow pace = Most ToAs are far behind in this respect, al=

though not all reach the deplorably low levels of the two we are

concerned with0

This may all sound a little theoretical, and now that we have

it off our chest, let us look at the actual present logging comittment

which the forest service has made to the lumber companies 0 Luckily,

there still Is a good amount of first-growth timber in the Merritt

TSA (which we have studied in more detail), and the Chief Forester

can adjust present logging patterns and rights in such a way that

there Is no reduction in logging for the next 4-8 years In the Merritt

TSA a The TSA report states that "the

be maintained, for t he_next 50 y ear s 'j and an analysis of the data

confirms that this is Indeed so0 After that time, most or all of the

first-growth timber will have been harvested, and B.C. logging will

have to change to rely on second-growth timber. This is the famous

"fall-down" effect., It will come, inevitably, even if the wilderness

were cut.

So what will hapyjen if the wilderness is protected? There will

have to be no reduction of logging in the near future, but the "fall

down" will come approximately 2 years earlier, in the year 2030

instead of 2032. We hope that by that time the many silvicultural

promises which we hear about will have been put into effect, so that

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serious reductions of lodging can be avoided

scare people with rumours of imminent mill closures and layoffs „

Pre s ent c ommi tment s can 'be maint a iried „

A last word about " commitments1'1 : some companies tried to feive

us the impression tha b these were something almost sacred , etched

in stone, set for long times, the basis of their logging operations

at the facts 5 it turned, out that the longest commitment the ministries

can make (except for tree farm licenses, which play no role in the

proposal area) is for 20 years, and many are only for 10 e When they

come up for renewal, they can indeed be changed by the ministry* And

indeed they have been changed in recent years 5 ujDj ard at the rate

of aboutJO^ between. 1970 and I960 (for details, see table) „ Although

it should have been obvious that this level could not be maintained

on a long-range sustained yield basis. In other words, where so-

called over commit merits now occur , they are mostly the result of

recent quota increases , and there is nothing sacred about them*

Still, we are glad that no suchjreductions are needed „

During the discussions on this topic, we have encountered this

funny notion that all crown land automatic ally should only be

alienated for forestry use , and that all other residents of B«C 0

should then come on bended knees to ask the Ministry of Forests for

their share of B0 C0 How so?

Since you as individuals , and we as societies , have been asked

to give some public input, we would like to explain what has

happened in the last 18 rnontns & Some of it has been described in

~ohe opening page already 0

The Tulameen Tublic Advisory Committee , which was established

by the Ministry of Forests, has made an ateernpt to get at the real

issues ,, vie have learned a lot of factual details during these meetings,

but it looks as if the committee is a poor vehicle for discussions

on major resource decisions ,-> The fact that only one ministry was re =

presented (Forestry) meant that other concerned agencies had little

or no input (Environment , Parks , History , Tourism) , and major concerns

remained unsolved „

Parallel to the Tulameen committee, a government steering committee

looked at the issues. I t was su'.rocsed to come ut> with the missing

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information, and was asked to develop several alternate options for

management of the area*

They did finally come up with the thre_§_ 9P_5i2ILs which were ex=

plained, at the hearings in Princeton and Vancouver„ We trust you have

received a copy0 If not, please request one from the Ministry of

forests o

You can guess our reaction: we were "delighted to see the JTull

_Pres_ervation option included, and it is obviously our preference,

especially if it includes the "reasonable extension" which we had

advocated-,The.;Gl£^rcut^Logjgin£-option for the whole area is not

acceptable „ Parti a 1 loj:-,fpi.nE a d preservation of about 1/3 of the

wilderness is a token concession, which has three major drawbacks:

1) the area is too small for wilderness, since you can hike through

it in a very short time; 2) this part is the most heavily grazed,

and the vegetation is changing under this imoact, and 3) - and most

important - this"solution" would leave out the whole remaining length

of the Hudson ^ay Brigade Trail, and stretches of others0 These trails

are acknowledged even by the Mnistry of Porests to be of prime

historical importance. The proposal will likely (we have not had a

chance to study it in detail) call for the protection of these sections

under a "trail' s agreement"«, Sounds good at first glance0 Except we

have experience with that mode of protection: is is administered by

the F.inistry of Forests, which insists that logging roads should be

allowed to cross historical trails at random0 In the one case where

the agreement was supposed to be applied, that piece of trail h.gs

become a victim of the chainsaw and the bulldozer„ A new improved

agreement may be in the works, but we are certain that it will again

contain the lodging road clause„

In addition to these three specific objections, we feel that the

Il£§Eii _J £SiS£l option misses the major point of our propose^.,

namely that we have a splendid chance to l) save the historical

trails j 2) make active rather than museum use of them by providing

opportunities for hiking, trail riding, backpacking and many other

non-destructive uses and 3) preserve the last practically untouched

piece of wilderness between the coast and the Okanagan, with several

easy accesses, and within reach of our major centers of population

and tourism.

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According to the official version, the three options are open for

discussion, and the "preferred option"of the steering committee is

just that, a preference of civil servants, not a decision made behind

closed doors. Let's tell them what the people want, and let's see

how serious they are!

Do the Cascades have a chance?

YOU BET l

The Forest Service and the Parks Branch are finally beginning to

see that there is a tremendous public interest in this wilderness,

that the much-touted "loss" to the logging industry and the local

economy is not inevitable, arid that the need for a major change in

logging patterns is several decades down the road«

There are some signs that both ministries are looking at our

proposals with a new sense of perspective and that the siege men-

tality ("We cannot afford to lose another acre") is giving way to

more rational approaches 0

The important thing at this point is not to scream and not to

dwell on the sins of the past, but to make clear why we want the area

protected, and how0 If you. are concerned about this, get the detailsfrom the ministries and from us; read the information; think it over;

and then make absolutely clear that the politicians (including your

local MIA I) and the civil servants get the message„

"We're talking about making decisions for use of the landscape

that are going to persist for generations"

Dr0 Bruce Eraser, Ministry of Forests

REMEMBER: We can always grow and cut another tree*

But nobody makes historical trails

or wilderness anymore!

Okanagan Historical .Society Okanagan SimilkameenParks Society

Box 78?ierlandvon izo

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Cascade Wilderness Proposal

Ten years ago,Similkameen Parks Society suggested to the provincial governmentthat a beautiful and unique piece of British Columbia be preservedand protected., This area, the Cascade .wilderness, lies adjacent toManning Park and covers approximately 10 x 12 miles of untouchedforest""and breathtaking alpine scenery,, Wo are asking for yoursupport in protecting this wilderness, since powerful commercialinterests are trying to obtain permission to log it0 We havenothing against logging in general, but we also feel that 3 fewpieces of B0C0 should bs sovcd from the chainsaw, and should beprotected in their natural state, for the people of B.C.

could be used to manage the Cascades„ They are asking for 770uropinion regarding these options« We urge you to vote for completepreservation, and to make your voice heard in Victoria 0 The areais protected by a moratorium until May of 1982, but unless we get

Why do we propose protection for this wilderness?

The area is in an £ i%i,L13A. .Sl:3. .,9. J 116:3 includingmountains 9 rivers, lakes, meadows and forests. Wilderness is aheritage in its own right. Logging would destroy it for goods

20 In the Cascade Wilderness are the remaining sections of fivemajor trails of historical significance, which can still bes.;on on the- ground"/" under windfalls and brush„

(1) Hudson's Bay brigade Trail, 1849 to 1860. Forty miles remainin the Cascades =

(II)Dewdney Trail, built 186o - 61 to link the coast with theInterior.

(III)Hope Trail, built 1861-62, used for 80 years*(IV)Blackeye's Trail, a native Indian hunting trail0(V)Whatcom Trail, a miners' trail from Bellingham Bay to the

goldfields of British Columbia

Nowhere else in Canada is there such a concentration of historictrails in a wilderness setting. Nowhere else can we protect suchtrails and create an outdoor paradise ot the same time.

]h120 square miles

No funds would be necessary for the acquisition as the entireares is crown land a

No extra funds would be needed for development, since we are notasking for a fancy park, but for a protected wilderness. We

ire willing

The Cascades are within a few hours of all major points in south=western a" d southern British Columbia, The wilderness is accessibleto most of the avergare citizens of the province with little ex=penditure. You can drive right up to the trail heads in at least7 locations. Where else do we have this opportunity?

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Much of the timber within the area is at high elevation, or onsteep slopes , or on sites classified as poor by the forestservice a On many of those sites, re growth would likely not takeplace 5 arid reforestation, which is sad-ly lacking already wouldbe very expensive.

The tr will be allowed to remain unlogged represent a

for the next 50 years11 e After that, a change of logging patternswill have to take piece anyway. Establishment of the wildernessmay change the changeover date from the year 2032 to 2030 0 Noneed for mill closures now, no need for layoffs!

9o The wilderness will provide quality recreation for residentsand tourists alike, Tourism is just about the only industry inB0C 0 which keeps growing in spite of the recession„

If y_ou feel that the Cascade Wilderness should be saved in itspresent state, we ask you to write to Victoria and state youropinion. The ministries would like to know what the public thinks0Please tell them that you are in favour of the "complete preser=vatlon'1 option! Letters should be directed to:

The Honourable T0 Waterland, Minister of .ForestsThe- Honourable J0 R. Chsbot, Minister of Lands, Parks and HousingThe Honourable S0 Rogers, Choirman, ELUC

All are located in the Porlioment Buildings, Victoria, B0C0 V8V 1X4-

If you have hiked any of the trails, please mention this is as ape_r_sonal note, -be fairly brief 0 Letters ne^d not be typed „ Thesame letter can go to all three ministers„ If you foe-1 ambitious,send another letter to the premier.

For those of you'who would like to learn uore about the issue atstake, we have prepared a detailed summary; it's yours for the

someonesome of

Remember

Okanagan

els<

Okanagan Sirailkameen Parkssociety