A member of Chapman Lake Hoary Marmot colony basks in the Fall sunshine prior to beginning his annual eight month hibernation.
HABITAT
Logging is always a shock to any wilderness ecosystem. Areas like alpine regions are large, single living entities, kept alive in a unique high altitude life-support system. Though much of the wildlife that lives there can survive outside this particular ecosystem, alpine species are totally dependent on it.
Although all ecosystems are in themselves very gently balanced, alpine regions are even more so. In short, dramatic changes such as those brought about by logging (especially clear-cut) can throw such areas into environmental chaos.
The Hoary Marmot, Rock Ptarmigan, Cougars and Pikas (to name a few) rely on the alpine ecosystems of the Tetrahedron Wilderness for survival. What we have to ask ourselves is, what is worth more, the money generated by logging in such a small area, or survival of these creatures.
Don't Let this Continue in the Tetrahedron
Before
Tannis Lake, Winter 1987
After
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Tannis Lake, Spring 1990
"Into the solitary yet vital spaces we go for inspiration and renewal; from them we return refreshed and unburdened always with a clearer sense of what really matters."
- St. George's School
"Our membership has reacted with great concern to the news that the Ministry of Forests has
decided to proceed with the logging of approximately 60 hectares in the Batchelor and Edwards
Lake area of the Tetrahedron Plateau."
- The Sechelt Marsh Protection Society
SOUND FORESTRY PRACTICE?
The B.C. Ministry of Forests adheres to a policy of logging on a sustainable basis. This means that forest blocks may only be cut if successful regeneration is anticipated, either naturally or by replanting. However, the Tetrahedron area is almost entirely above 3,000 feet, and both forestry professionals and research findings question the success of natural or fill planting regeneration at these altitudes.
According to a 1989 Federal-Provincial report on high-elevation regeneration, replanting of Yellow Cedar is of low reliability and poor productivity. Natural regeneration of logged areas depends on "cone showers" that fall from surrounding trees at widely spaced time intervals, up to twenty years apart. During this time ground cover can have become too thick for the successful growth of Yellow Cedar seedlings.
Even if nothing else is valued in the Tetrahedron forest except timber, the wisdom of logging here is open to serious question. If you are concerned that the Sunshine Coast Forest District is not adhering to soundly based, sustainable forest practices, please write to the Minister of Forests.
