In 2019, the residents of Glade, B.C., learned they had no right to clean drinking water, after members of the Kootenay community waged a legal battle against forestry companies logging in their watershed. A judge sided with the timber companies, arguing that their economic interests outweighed the community’s concerns about its water supply.
A similar story has emerged in Wynndel, B.C. — another town in the drought-stricken region — as residents worry about planned logging in their watershed, Duck Creek. Here, in the Kootenays, logging on both private and Crown land is pretty widespread. One resident told reporter Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood that forestry in the area has gotten out of hand, and lack of management on sustainable practices has turned the practice into “corporate slaughter.”
“Watersheds are integral to ecosystems,” Steph told me, adding that the prospect of more logging has amplified concerns about water supply.
“The application to log the watershed has raised many questions around forestry practices in general: how much can be logged on privately-owned forests, and are private land rights or rights to a healthy environment prioritized?” Steph said. “An operator may try to operate sustainably, but just as easily can choose to leave nothing behind. The real point is B.C.’s system allows either outcome.”
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As it turns out, about five per cent (or 4.5 million hectares) of B.C.’s forests are privately owned, which means that the public has little insight, and even less say, into what happens. One conservationist from Wildsight told Steph private land meant to be kept as forest can easily be switched for other purposes like real estate: “It’s a strip and flip mentality.”
Speaking of private forests, freelancer Julie Gordon published an explainer this week on just how logging is managed on private land in B.C., what protections exist and how First Nations rights are impacted.
We’ll keep watch over how forestry practices affect communities and the natural world around them — and keep you posted. Until then, read Steph’s story over here, and Julie’s explainer over here.
Take care and keep a water log,
Karan Saxena
Audience engagement editor
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This week in The Narwhal
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POV: Narwhal readers when they remember our reporters are keeping an eye on impacts to their water supply — and the environment around them. Tell a friend to sign up for our newsletter so they feel just as peaceful and relaxed!
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