Dear editor:
Enough is enough! As a young person born and raised in the Cochrane area, I must express my anger regarding mismanagement of the public forests surrounding our community.
Bragg Creek and Kananaskis have been clear-cut beyond recognition. Now the machines are headed for the Ghost.
I am not against logging done sustainably, but it is not sustainable to clear-cut massive parcels of land in a watershed upstream of a major population centre. In some countries, it would be illegal. Yet, ESRD (Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development) permits Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) to cut 900 hectares in an upper watershed – a slap in the face of best management practices and without environmental integrity.
Clear-cutting this upper watershed raises many questions:
- What is the motivation behind our government’s overall forestry plan?
- Where is the accountability to communities and individuals affected by these forestry practices?
- What about biodiversity and wildlife?
- How much will it cost us to clean up from the next flood, exponentially worse because of a mistreated landscape?
- What quality of life do we have when the places providing recreation and reconnection with nature are decimated for private profit?
I have witnessed profound transformation of the landscape in my short lifetime. It is overwhelmingly difficult to grasp. It is time to demand environmental accountability from industries with the potential to ruin our publicly owned lands. We are responsible to our children and the next generations to ensure they have a healthy, viable environment in which to live, work and play.
To say I am saddened by the proposed 900 hectare clear-cut in the Ghost watershed is an understatement. I have ties to these lands through my extended ranching family – rodeo contractors Doug and Jill Richards – who have paid lease rights on these lands for decades. As stewards of the forestlands surrounding their ranch, they have exemplified sustainable management. Every year, the Richards host a Christmas tree cutting for friends and family. The Christmas cut rotates to different areas to keep the overall forest healthy and viable. This tradition began before I was born, but this year was perhaps the last time if SLS is allowed to clear-cut as planned. I sincerely hope our community stands to its feet and collectively says ‘enough.’ We need a new set of forestry standards – one that is accountable to all of us.
Lara Kruger
