In 2002 the Wilderness Committee recommended the expansion of the Golden Ears Provincial Park to include Blue Mountain, the spectacular backyard wilderness of Maple Ridge, BC. The committee's recommendation was in response to BC Forest Service's plans to log this area. Read the argument that Blue Mountain's forests have more economic value standing. Golden Ears is a popular boating, hiking, camping and mountain biking destination.

Blue Mountain

Wilderness Committee Educational Report Vol.20 - No.05, Winter 2001 - 2002

Maple Ridge group calls for Blue Mountain logging moratorium

Recent clearcut in woodlot on lower southern slopes of Blue Mountain. Photo credit: WCWC

The Kanaka Creek-Blue Mountain Conservation Group is mostly made up of local residents who live at the foot of Blue Mountain, near Dewdney Trunk Road. This group has called for a logging moratorium on Blue Mountain until the natural area's future can be properly determined through a community-based planning process. They've collected over 500 names on a petition calling for a moratorium and the list of signatures continues to grow.

Group spokesperson Mike Gildersleeve says, "We value the idea of community input with all stake-holders in the area because we're looking at this as a relatively undeveloped area of Maple Ridge. It has a huge potential for an ecological reserve, recreation, trails and maintaining green space"

One of the group's big concerns is water quality. Blue Mountain is the headwaters source for a number of local streams, including Kanaka Creek. Local residents have observed a decline in water quality as logging has progressed in several woodlot areas on the lower southern slopes of Blue Mountain.