A representative of Friends of Valentine Mountain has requested City of Powell River council look into Island Timberlands’ proposed logging in the area.
Daniel Rajala, who addressed council recently, expressed concern about the visual impact logging will have, particularly to the park. He requested that the city review the original land deal to determine “how we acquired this park area and how much of that property is ours.”
As well, Rajala said, his group thought it would be good to have a 50-metre buffer zone on either side of the trail that leads up to the park at the top. “I think Island Timberlands wants to log as much as they can get away with,” he said. “Just above the parking lot, in the first steep climb, if you’ve ever hiked along there, it’s just smaller trees. They’re not even worth logging.”
His vision is that the park will be a popular recreation area in the future, Rajala said. “To let Island Timberlands just get away with logging as much as they can is crazy, because they don’t even put any money into this community, really,” he said. “It would be of more value to keep that park as a recreational area, to keep the beauty and enjoyment of that park.”
Mayor Dave Formosa explained that city officials have met with Island Timberlands’ representatives to discuss the proposed logging at Valentine Mountain, as well as other issues. “They are allowed to do what they are doing,” he said. “They did give us a presentation. We did give them sentiments that we felt here today, that we would like them to be more community motivated.”
Councillor Russell Brewer explained that the park has a legal boundary, which Island Timberlands is aware of, which includes the trail leading to the stairs, the stairs, and the loop trail at the top. He also said Island Timberlands’ property adjacent to the park is private managed forest land, which has different requirements than Crown land. “When we met with them, we conveyed that the visuals around the park were probably the most important factor for their property to consider for the community,” he said. “Second would be the Sunshine Coast Trail that also goes through there. Thirdly would be the visuals from other areas.”
While the message was clear, Brewer added, there is little the city can do to influence the logging plan.
Morgan Kennah, manager of sustainable timberlands and community affairs with Island Timberlands, told the Peak the company doesn’t currently have any logging plans for the Valentine Mountain area, which she said is less than 100 hectares, but it will be developing plans over the next year. “We’re very aware that it is a highly used park by both residents and visitors,” she said.
The majority of concerns centre on the visual impact of logging, Kennah also said, for people enjoying the park as well as residents who live adjacent to the area. “The Sunshine Coast Trail also travels through that area,” she said. “We’re definitely taking into consideration those different values.” The potential visual impact and the recreation values will be included in the draft plans the company creates, Kennah said. “Once we have them developed, we’ll be bringing them to our community advisory group, the Stillwater CAG, to discuss and see if they have any input,” she said. “As well, we’ll meet with any concerned members of the public that have shown an interest. We have a couple members of the public that have shown a strong interest in the area for a period of time now. We’ll review those plans with them and see if they have any feedback they’d like to share.”
Kennah said she expects the logging plan will be developed over the winter and Island Timberlands will have information to share with its CAG in the spring.
