Lucero González

Stop West Fraser destroying Quesnel Lake caribou habitat

Unlike our usual campaigns, where we call on governments to change course, this time we're taking our demands directly to a corporation. West Fraser Timber Company holds numerous timber permits in some of the most magnificent old-growth forests left in B.C., including in the north arm of Quesnel Lake and unceded territories of many First Nations, including Xatśūll and Williams Lakes.

Why this matters

These cutblocks, under the cutting permit CP095, not only threaten to wipe out critical habitat for endangered southern mountain caribou, but could also pose flooding and landslide risks to the houses below them. Drinking water supply may be impacted or even cut off by logging operations and has previously happened to these properties.

What you can do

Help us hold corporations accountable and ask West Fraser to permanently abandon cutting permit 095 and leave the north arm of Quesnel Lake out of future logging operations. Endangered southern mountain caribou and local property owners need our help! West Fraser needs to respond to them, not only to their shareholders.

There is a pre-written email template on this page, but we encourage you to write your own letter or modify the template using the suggested points.

⚠️ Please note that West Fraser Co. is a private company and your letters will be sent directly to the company and some of its executive team members. This action tool is NOT going to government representatives.

Points to consider

(Copy to add or edit to your email)

  • West Fraser needs to permanently abandon cutting permit 095 and to leave the north arm of Quesnel Lake out of future logging operations. 
  • The Chief of Xatśūll First Nation sent a letter to the Ministry of Forests asking them not to approve the logging permits, including CP095, proposed in that area. It is time that West Fraser listens to First Nations when they say no and truly respects their sovereignty. 
  • B.C.'s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship has asked the Ministry of Forests to deny logging permits in the area, including CP095, due to concerns over caribou conservation. 
  • The Ministry rated the watershed “high risk” for sediment — yet no professional hydrology or slope-stability assessments were performed on CP054 or the neighbouring CP092, both cut directly above private homes and the licensed drinking water they depend on.
  • The blocks sit on critical habitat for the Wells Gray North herd, with fewer than 200 individuals of the endangered southern mountain caribou, and the blocks are part of an essential corridor to their calving grounds.
  • B.C. itself moved to protect this critical southern mountain caribou habitat when it created Long Creek Provincial Park in 2013.
  • Proceeding with CP095 in the North Arm of Quesnel Lake would drive more than 500 hectares of clearcut and some 93.7 kilometres of new road straight through migration corridor for the endangered southern mountain caribou — an effective loss of more than 1,200 hectares of core and matrix habitat. A bridge over Marten Creek would erase the natural barrier that has kept predators off their calving grounds.
  • The proposed blocks in CP095, could pose forseeable public safety risks for the properties directly below them. This could include soil erosion, debris damage to the properties and cutting them off from their only source of drinking water. Logging could also create conditions for flooding or landslides.
  • Property owners have been petitioning West Fraser to address their concerns and withdraw these permits for months. You must listen to the people whose lives and homes are at risk.
Points to consider

(Copy to add or edit to your email)

  • West Fraser needs to permanently abandon cutting permit 095 and to leave the north arm of Quesnel Lake out of future logging operations. 
  • The Chief of Xatśūll First Nation sent a letter to the Ministry of Forests asking them not to approve the logging permits, including CP095, proposed in that area. It is time that West Fraser listens to First Nations when they say no and truly respects their sovereignty. 
  • B.C.'s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship has asked the Ministry of Forests to deny logging permits in the area, including CP095, due to concerns over caribou conservation. 
  • The Ministry rated the watershed “high risk” for sediment — yet no professional hydrology or slope-stability assessments were performed on CP054 or the neighbouring CP092, both cut directly above private homes and the licensed drinking water they depend on.
  • The blocks sit on critical habitat for the Wells Gray North herd, with fewer than 200 individuals of the endangered southern mountain caribou, and the blocks are part of an essential corridor to their calving grounds.
  • B.C. itself moved to protect this critical southern mountain caribou habitat when it created Long Creek Provincial Park in 2013.
  • Proceeding with CP095 in the North Arm of Quesnel Lake would drive more than 500 hectares of clearcut and some 93.7 kilometres of new road straight through migration corridor for the endangered southern mountain caribou — an effective loss of more than 1,200 hectares of core and matrix habitat. A bridge over Marten Creek would erase the natural barrier that has kept predators off their calving grounds.
  • The proposed blocks in CP095, could pose forseeable public safety risks for the properties directly below them. This could include soil erosion, debris damage to the properties and cutting them off from their only source of drinking water. Logging could also create conditions for flooding or landslides.
  • Property owners have been petitioning West Fraser to address their concerns and withdraw these permits for months. You must listen to the people whose lives and homes are at risk.