Sunpine is in Default of FMA - No extension should be granted, FMA should be scrapped!
Grandeur of the West country Photo credit: W. Shane Smith/WCWC
Clearcutting near Sunpine FMA. Photo credit: W. Shane Smith/WCWC
By Gray Jones, Executive Director, Western Canada Wilderness Committee-Alberta Branch
The Western Canada Wilderness Committee has been working with the Friends of the West Country on the Sunpine issue for over a year.
When I first went down to Rocky Mountain House, I found a group of local people opposed to the Sunpine Laminated Veneer Lumber plant site.
People from Strachan, which is located in a beautiful little valley, became environmentalists overnight when their immediate environment, quality of life and property values were threatened by the proposed plant site. Since that time, their concerns have spread beyond their own homes, extending to the entire Sunpine Forest Management Agreement (FMA) and indeed forest management issues in all of Alberta.
The Sunpine FMA is about the size of Prince Edward Island and extends from pine forests interspersed with natural meadows and stream environments west of Rocky Mountain House, through the rugged grandeur of the Ram River to the deep wilderness of Nordegg. This wild land is situated between Edmonton and Calgary and west from Red Deer.
Part of the forest in the Sunpine FMA represents the most southerly tip of the Boreal Forest in Alberta. Along the Ram River are mighty stands of old growth pine in excess of 220 years old.
Last summer with the help of Dr. Jim Butler of the University of Alberta, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee set up a biodiversity camp and did a comprehensive wildlife study within the FMA.
"The provincial government has once again demonstrated its desire to "play ball" with their own rules. It's a game played between big business and provincial politicians- the people of Alberta have not been asked to participate, nor were they even asked to observe form the side lines."
- Gray Jones
"The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders."
-Edward Abbey
"I have many friends living in this special area. With them I have camped and fished, heard the howling of the wolves at night and watched owls flying under starlight. This area is under immediate threat by clearcut logging and could be destroyed in a few short years. Please join with us to stop this madness."
- Gray Jones, WCWC-Alberta
Gray Jones. Photo credit: W. Shane Smith - WCWC
We recorded 123 species of birds, including six species of owls, two of which are the boreal and the great grey owls, and 23 species of mammals including wolves, elk and grizzly bears. Golden eagles hover over creeks and the howls of wolves can be heard deep in the forest at night. The area west of Rocky Mountain House boasts some of the finest brook trout fishing in the world and is home to the highly prized brown trout.
The Rocky Mountain/Clearwater Forest is in the heart of the historic David Thomson Country and forms a natural triangle for tourism with Banff and Jasper National Parks.
There are over 30 tourist and eco-tourism operations in the FMA ranging from a world class lodge to river rafting and a helicopter tour operation.
When I first went into this country I noticed that every available campsite from Rocky Mountain House to Nordegg was occupied on the weekend. An informal survey showed 97% of the campers did not want the area to be logged!
According to Faith Popcorn, a leading trend analyst, the primary pursuit of people in developed countries in the next 10 years will be "experiencing wilderness."
People from highly industrialized countries like Japan and Germany, with virtually no wilderness, seek out wilderness experiences in other countries. They bring their money along. Wilderness in itself has sustainable economic value way into the future!
The government's own statistics show tourism has increased by 17% in the area west of Rocky Mountain House in the past couple of years.
The economy of the area is already diversified with oil and gas, farming and ranching, small mill operations and the tourist sector. The diversity of the area will be destroyed by Sunpine clear cut logging!
We already know Sunpine is a poor corporate citizen. They've drastically overcut their quota and consequently are almost out of wood in Sundre. They've cut five years worth of wood in two years. Sunpine has held Friends of the West Country hostage over their constantly changing development plans. The Friends of the West Country out of desperation have mounted expensive court cases. They need your support.
I walked Sunpine logging areas, west of Sundre in the Spray Lakes Area. It is not quality logging; machinery has been driven through streams and massive soil disturbance has occurred. It is cut and run. Sunpine will trash the wilderness west of Rocky Mountain house in a similar way.
Please join Western Canada Wilderness Committee and Friends of the West Country in fighting Sunpine!
