UPPER GOAT RIVER - Stop Logging the Inland Jewel
Goat River
Goat River Trail - Originally cleared in 1886
Craggy peaks, imposing stands of oldgrowth balsam fir and spruce, azure blue alpine lakes, grizzly bears and chinook salmon, and a wild river that runs crystal clear year-round is what you will experience if you visit the majestic upper Goat River in the interior of British Columbia.
Lying just west of the small town of McBride, the upper Goat River watershed is the second largest undeveloped, unprotected watershed in the entire Fraser headwaters region. At 35,000 hectares, this area is an important wildlife corridor and provides core habitat for fish, grizzly bears, pileated woodpeckers, wolverines and BC’s critically endangered mountain caribou.
Where many rivers in North America have been degraded through industrial activities, pollution and dams, the Goat River still runs wild — providing important refuge for chinook salmon and BC’s threatened bull trout. Feeding into the Fraser River, the world’s greatest salmon river, the Goat River is considered by the BC government to be Class “A” fish habitat.
Despite the provincial government's acknowledgement of its environmental importance, the intact and unprotected upper Goat River watershed is slated to be logged.
High in both wildlife and fish values, the pristine upper Goat River also boasts an historic gold rush trail that winds for nearly 100 kilometres from Crescent Spur to Bowron Lake Provincial Park. Abandoned by the BC Forest Service in the 1970s, the Goat River Trail has recently been reactivated by a local conservation group, the Fraser Headwaters Alliance. The Alliance has carefully restored the upper portion of the trail that has not been logged, from the confluence of the Goat and Milk Rivers to Bowron Lake Provincial Park, and has seen their hard work pay off with the trail recently being adopted by the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC and Hike Canada en Marche.
As an important tributary to the mighty Fraser River, the high ecological and recreational values of the upper Goat River watershed make this unfragmented ecosystem a top area for preservation, particularly as the upper Goat River serves as an important connectivity corridor between two important protected areas: Bowron Lake and West Twin Provincial Parks. The proposed upper Goat River protected area would connect 830,000 hectares of existing parklands, helping to ensure the survival of this majestic wilderness.
Grizzly bear tracks in the Goat River Valley
Although the lower Goat River is partially protected, years ago it was logged and contains several large clearcuts : it’s the upper Goat watershed with its untouched oldgrowth forests that is targeted by logging companies.
The provincial government admits that logging will cause bio-diversity to decline, will damage tourism and will negatively impact critical salmon habitat. However, they are still allowing this ecological jewel to be liquidated into veneer and two-by-fours under a short-term economic agenda which ignores the value of intact, fully-functioning ecosystems.
Logging in the upper Goat will destroy a significant portion of the historic gold rush trail and important areas of mountain caribou, grizzly and salmon habitat. McBride Forest Industries is also planning to build a logging road directly into the Goat River. In direct contravention of provincial and federal environmental laws, the proposal would see a road taking over 150 metres of the river, seriously damaging chinook salmon and bull trout spawning and rearing grounds.
Because fish habitat falls under federal jurisdiction, the road proposal must be formally screened under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. This process will be triggered when McBride Forest Industries submits their final road plans for approval. Currently, logging in the upper Goat has stopped while this process is unfolding. However, road building begun by the logging company in 2001 has already destroyed one kilometre of the historic trail, despite the fact that timber harvesting plans were supposed to address “manage for the historic Goat River trail.”
Recognized annually for three years by the Outdoor Recreation Council as one of BC’s most endangered rivers because of imminent logging threats, the fate of this magnificent river and watershed hangs in the balance.
If we value intact watersheds, clean rivers, wild salmon-bearing streams, endangered species
habitat, pristine old-growth forests and the intrinsic value of a functioning and intact ecosystem,
we must make sure the upper Goat watershed is protected.
More info at www.savethegoat.ca
Goat River Map (click on image for detail.
