Watershed Protection at Anderson Lake
A resident of Anderson Lake wrote to the Board with concerns that logging south of McGillivray Creek would harm mule deer winter habitat and a local water supply. The complainant stated that he did not have an adequate opportunity to review a watershed assessment report describing the risk to water, and that the logging may compromise the area’s potential designation as a community watershed.
Watershed Protection at Anderson Lake
Small Business Forest Enterprise Program (SBFEP) – Squamish Forest District
Audit of Forest Planning and Practices: Small Business Forest Enterprise Program (SBFEP) – Squamish Forest District
This is the Board’s report on a compliance audit of the Ministry of Forests SBFEP in the Squamish Forest District. The Squamish SBFEP operates within the Soo Timber Supply Area and Tree Farm Licence 38, and awards timber sale licences to small business operators.
Protection of Water Quality and Scenic Values from the effects of Logging at Gun Lake in the Lillooet Forest District
Gun Lake is a 530-hectare lake on the eastern side of the Coast Mountains, approximately 100 kilometres west of Lillooet. Proposed logging close to Gun Lake raised concerns with the Gun Lake Ratepayer’s Association (the complainant) about impacts on the visual landscape and water quality.
In 1993, Ainsworth Lumber Company (the licensee) proposed cutting permit 143 for a cutblock on the northwest face of Mount Zola, at the southwest end of the lake. A unique feature of the area is a layer of volcanic ash soil. The thin ash layer is the reason for much of the concern about the potential impacts from harvesting in the area. The complainant was concerned that the ash would be easily eroded following harvesting and that this would result in visible scars on the landscape and the transportation of sediment into Gun Lake, the water source for the residents.
Protection of Water Quality and Scenic Values from the effects of Logging at Gun Lake
Water Pipeline right-of-way construction
The complaint related to the construction of a water pipeline right‐of‐way on Crown land near Mt. Currie in 1996. The right‐of‐way accessed two water licences on a stream. During periods of high water in the spring of 1996 and 1997 the complainant noticed that water was being diverted from the stream down the right‐of‐way onto a public road. The complainant asserted that this water flow was causing erosion damage to the road and introducing sediment into a nearby lake. The complaint also asserted that the damage to the road resulted in a situation potentially dangerous to vehicle traffic.
The complainant had contacted the Ministry of Forests (MoF) in September 1996 regarding the concerns about safety. The Ministry of Forests visited the site to investigate in May 1997. The MoF investigation found no substantive safety issues and no apparent issues of non‐compliance with any legislation. The complainant then filed a complaint with the Board in August 1997.
