Representatives of a number of interests met with Sustainable Resource Development Minister, Ted Morton on June 29, 2007. They included, tourism & economic development, the environment, business & community, recreation, water resources and municipal issues.
Tag A Tree grew out of frustration over a lack of consultation on plans to log Kananaskis. We were pleased that Dr. Morton found time to meet with us. A meeting like this provides an opportunity to discuss issues of concern that can't be addressed properly in an Open House.
Dr. Morton generally agreed with economic and social issues raised. Although we agreed to disagree on environmental issues, they formed a large part of the discussion. In the end Dr. Morton said they would proceed with planned logging, but they are clearly looking for a way to address our concerns. Our chairperson suggested that we need to find a compromise. Tag A Tree says stop logging and create a park. At the meeting, the group said delay logging. Dr. Morton says proceed with logging. A possible compromise could be selective logging to combat the pine beetle and to create fire breaks around residential communities. There are three problems with this.
-
Can the government be trusted to do as little logging as possible?
- Some people don't want to compromise.
-
Agreement to compromise would mean an end to the Tag A Tree campaign and an end to the public awareness it brings.
We’ll let Ralph Cartar, a biologist and President of the Bragg Creek Environmental Coalition comment first.
“We proposed that K-Country forests return to a natural disturbance regime (fire, insects, disease, weather), one that has shaped them in their present (and desirable) form over the evolutionary past. Dr. Morton doesn't accept the proposal to let nature take its course. We asked that his department use peer-reviewed science in making management decisions, a request that was rebuffed in favour of in-house “expertise”. There will be no directive to his staff requiring their use of peer-reviewed science. A meeting between the environmental scientist and SRD technologists will be set up to discuss the science behind their policy decisions.
Ted showed us aerial photos of the Waterton beetle infestation - it looked like a giant's game of pick-up-sticks. He admitted that he selected the photos to prove his point. The trouble is, they’re not representative of most of the Waterton pine beetle infestation. That begs the question – what value can be derived from them in assessing how to combat the beetle in Kananaskis? He implied that these aerial photos represented typical post-beetle Waterton forests, which tells us that he cannot be trusted to collect unbiased evidence.
We don't have Ted's close-up photos, but this Google Earth image shows the worst affected area of Waterton. As you can see there is fairly dense forest cover. Click the image to see an enlargement.
See more Waterton Lakes photos and read about their infestation
He compared a high-altitude unlogged area to a lowland logged one, implying that the difference in vegetation lushness between the areas were caused by logging (when the real difference in the contrast was between lowland habitat of gentle slope & high, sloped habitat). Our concern is that reforestation takes a very long time; longer than we have to live. And that a beetle-attacked forest is at no point not a functioning forest.
Morton was informed at this meeting that peer-reviewed science shows that K-Country pine forests do not present an increasing fire risk. Despite this, throughout the meeting, he continued to repeat his assertion that they do. Clearly, belief matters more than science with this minister. His use of anecdotal photographs to support his argument bolsters this conclusion of extreme ministerial scientific naivety.”
The rest of this article was written buy Doug Sephton (with a few corrections from the people involved).
An executive in the energy industry said that industry takes pains to consult and incorporate concerns from affected people. Spray Lakes hasn't. Open Houses are not meaningful consultations. He asked for a delay until the Land Use Framework report is released. Morton agreed that the LUF was an important review and that land use could reflect regional concerns. He even seemed to recognize that logging in advance of the LUF report might be inappropriate.
The recreation representative said there are hundreds of thousands of people who participate in outdoor pursuits in Alberta alone. Ninety per cent of them want areas like Kananaskis protected. Most of them recreate within 45 minutes of their home at least once a week. He was concerned about the effect environmental factors have on the suitability of recreation areas.
The water resources specialist said he didn't know enough about the effect logging would have on the Elbow River water supply and what seasonal changes in rate of flow could occur in the event of logging the area. Dr. Morton agreed to have their hydrologist work with the City of Calgary and that a meeting will be scheduled to perform seasonal water availability modeling as a result of logging. Dr. Morton also mentioned (a few times) that water is of highest priority in this part of the province. The city’s water specialist thought that Dr. Morton showed flexibility and interpreted that to mean that if the beetle had limited impact on the forest then, they might consider harvesting less trees.
Our municipal councillor didn't get a chance to speak as we ran out of time, but seemed pleased to hear what we had to say. He is looking for practical solutions to an issue of great concern to his constituents. That is, ways to provide funding to compensate the sawmill for lost revenue.
I suggested that the Parks Canada policy called “ecological integrity”, was the best way to manage the Kananaskis forest. If need be, why not replant beetle ravaged forests? I suggested Spray be reconstituted as a kind of gardener; pruning and planting where necessary. Logging will have wide ranging impacts on tourism, recreation, residents and the business owners and professionals who work from offices in the foothills. In the last 10-15 years economic activity has developed here (more should be done to encourage this). Logging would put this economic diversity at risk and real estate values will decline. I suggested that we are subsidizing Spray to cut our forest – Dr. Morton agreed. I referred to the 84% of the people, surveyed by Alberta Forest Products, who want areas like Kananaskis protected, even at the expense of revenues and jobs.
The socio-economic demographic has changed over the 60 years Spray has been logging the area. Now, there is a Kananaskis where 1/2-million people recreate in the Elbow Valley alone - the most popular recreation area in the province. This area is accessible both in terrain and in proximity to the 1-million people that live in Calgary. There are now hundreds of businesses serving people that use the area.
Dr. Morton seemed impressed by water supply concerns and by the socio-economic arguments, but not so much by environmental arguments. He said, as a Minister, he was constrained by a load of pressures and ultimately by a need to find consensus with the cabinet. He said that 56% of Kananaskis is protected, that another 16% is inaccessible so only 28% would be logged over 100 years. He seemed quite offended by what he deemed to be my misrepresentation of the situation.
Representatives of a number of interests met with Sustainable Resource Development Minister, Ted Morton on June 29, 2007. They included, tourism & economic development, the environment, business & community, recreation, water resources and municipal issues.
Tag A Tree grew out of frustration over a lack of consultation on plans to log Kananaskis. We were pleased that Dr. Morton found time to meet with us. A meeting like this provides an opportunity to discuss issues of concern that can't be addressed properly in an Open House.
Dr. Morton generally agreed with economic and social issues raised. Although we agreed to disagree on environmental issues, they formed a large part of the discussion. In the end Dr. Morton said they would proceed with planned logging, but they are clearly looking for a way to address our concerns. Our chairperson suggested that we need to find a compromise. Tag A Tree says stop logging and create a park. At the meeting, the group said delay logging. Dr. Morton says proceed with logging. A possible compromise could be selective logging to combat the pine beetle and to create fire breaks around residential communities. There are three problems with this.
-
Can the government be trusted to do as little logging as possible?
- Some people don't want to compromise.
-
Agreement to compromise would mean an end to the Tag A Tree campaign and an end to the public awareness it brings.
We’ll let Ralph Cartar, a biologist and President of the Bragg Creek Environmental Coalition comment first.
“We proposed that K-Country forests return to a natural disturbance regime (fire, insects, disease, weather), one that has shaped them in their present (and desirable) form over the evolutionary past. Dr. Morton doesn't accept the proposal to let nature take its course. We asked that his department use peer-reviewed science in making management decisions, a request that was rebuffed in favour of in-house “expertise”. There will be no directive to his staff requiring their use of peer-reviewed science. A meeting between the environmental scientist and SRD technologists will be set up to discuss the science behind their policy decisions.
Ted showed us aerial photos of the Waterton beetle infestation - it looked like a giant's game of pick-up-sticks. He admitted that he selected the photos to prove his point. The trouble is, they’re not representative of most of the Waterton pine beetle infestation. That begs the question – what value can be derived from them in assessing how to combat the beetle in Kananaskis? He implied that these aerial photos represented typical post-beetle Waterton forests, which tells us that he cannot be trusted to collect unbiased evidence.
We don't have Ted's close-up photos, but this Google Earth image shows the worst affected area of Waterton. As you can see there is fairly dense forest cover. Click the image to see an enlargement.
See more Waterton Lakes photos and read about their infestation
He compared a high-altitude unlogged area to a lowland logged one, implying that the difference in vegetation lushness between the areas were caused by logging (when the real difference in the contrast was between lowland habitat of gentle slope & high, sloped habitat). Our concern is that reforestation takes a very long time; longer than we have to live. And that a beetle-attacked forest is at no point not a functioning forest.
Morton was informed at this meeting that peer-reviewed science shows that K-Country pine forests do not present an increasing fire risk. Despite this, throughout the meeting, he continued to repeat his assertion that they do. Clearly, belief matters more than science with this minister. His use of anecdotal photographs to support his argument bolsters this conclusion of extreme ministerial scientific naivety.”
The rest of this article was written buy Doug Sephton (with a few corrections from the people involved).
An executive in the energy industry said that industry takes pains to consult and incorporate concerns from affected people. Spray Lakes hasn't. Open Houses are not meaningful consultations. He asked for a delay until the Land Use Framework report is released. Morton agreed that the LUF was an important review and that land use could reflect regional concerns. He even seemed to recognize that logging in advance of the LUF report might be inappropriate.
The recreation representative said there are hundreds of thousands of people who participate in outdoor pursuits in Alberta alone. Ninety per cent of them want areas like Kananaskis protected. Most of them recreate within 45 minutes of their home at least once a week. He was concerned about the effect environmental factors have on the suitability of recreation areas.
The water resources specialist said he didn't know enough about the effect logging would have on the Elbow River water supply and what seasonal changes in rate of flow could occur in the event of logging the area. Dr. Morton agreed to have their hydrologist work with the City of Calgary and that a meeting will be scheduled to perform seasonal water availability modeling as a result of logging. Dr. Morton also mentioned (a few times) that water is of highest priority in this part of the province. The city’s water specialist thought that Dr. Morton showed flexibility and interpreted that to mean that if the beetle had limited impact on the forest then, they might consider harvesting less trees.
Our municipal councillor didn't get a chance to speak as we ran out of time, but seemed pleased to hear what we had to say. He is looking for practical solutions to an issue of great concern to his constituents. That is, ways to provide funding to compensate the sawmill for lost revenue.
I suggested that the Parks Canada policy called “ecological integrity”, was the best way to manage the Kananaskis forest. If need be, why not replant beetle ravaged forests? I suggested Spray be reconstituted as a kind of gardener; pruning and planting where necessary. Logging will have wide ranging impacts on tourism, recreation, residents and the business owners and professionals who work from offices in the foothills. In the last 10-15 years economic activity has developed here (more should be done to encourage this). Logging would put this economic diversity at risk and real estate values will decline. I suggested that we are subsidizing Spray to cut our forest – Dr. Morton agreed. I referred to the 84% of the people, surveyed by Alberta Forest Products, who want areas like Kananaskis protected, even at the expense of revenues and jobs.
The socio-economic demographic has changed over the 60 years Spray has been logging the area. Now, there is a Kananaskis where 1/2-million people recreate in the Elbow Valley alone - the most popular recreation area in the province. This area is accessible both in terrain and in proximity to the 1-million people that live in Calgary. There are now hundreds of businesses serving people that use the area.
Dr. Morton seemed impressed by water supply concerns and by the socio-economic arguments, but not so much by environmental arguments. He said, as a Minister, he was constrained by a load of pressures and ultimately by a need to find consensus with the cabinet. He said that 56% of Kananaskis is protected, that another 16% is inaccessible so only 28% would be logged over 100 years. He seemed quite offended by what he deemed to be my misrepresentation of the situation.
What I didn't get a chance to say
Tourism attracts people who relocate and bring skills and wealth, creating a more diverse economy.
Most businesses in Bragg Creek depend on people who are drawn to the area because of Kananaskis. Also affected are guides, outfitters, trappers, hotels, motels, the film industry, event organizers, equipment rentals and outdoor retailers in Calgary.
Resource development in residential areas is a disinsentive to growth. If the net return to Albertans from logging in Kananaskis is zero, or more likely subsidized by them, why are we killing the goose that lays the golden eggs? Government should stimulate opportunities for growth in services that provide high quality jobs, wealth creation and a diverse economy.
The Elbow Valley is suffering from neglect - Allen Bill Pond is now part of the river, the Ranger Station has been abandoned, access to the ice caves is locked, trails are deteriorating, signage is unreadable and the interpretive program has been stopped. At the same time, increased industrial activity has brought new access roads, pipelines, well sites and a significant clearcut logging operation is about to begin.
From a Sonoran Institute report on foothills in the U.S.A.
. . . nearly three-fourths of the net growth in personal income in the last 30 years has been from retirement funds, money from past investments, and other "non-labor" sources.
. . . retirement and investment income are rising rapidly. So is personal income from those who work in a variety of service related industries, from business and financial services, to hotels and retail stores.
From an Alberta Wilderness Association article on Alberta’s Southern Eastern Slopes in the Wild Lands Advocate in February 2007 In a section titled, “Unraveling the costs and benefits of forest use”:
Alberta Forest Products 2006 Alberta Forest Usage Survey
Of 2881 people surveyed, 90% were “concerned” or “very concerned” about management of Alberta’s forests.
Significantly, 84% agreed with the statement “Access and use of forests should be based firstly on preserving and protecting the environment and sustaining wildlife habitat at the expense of sustained economic benefits and jobs.”
More than 85% of the South Saskatchewan River basin’s water comes from the 12% of its landbase that is Alberta’s mountains and foothills.
Costs and Benefits of Forest Use to the Alberta taxpayer
$116 million - Timber royalties and fees, 2004
$197 million - Expenditures for the Wildfire Management Core Business, 2004-05
$30.9 million – Alberta SRD Forest management expenditure, 2004-05
$10 million – Pine beetle control, 2005-06
$22 million – Projected pine beetle control, 2006-07
(Sources: Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Government of Alberta)
In 2004 the cost to the taxpayer was $228-million, the benefit was $116-million.
$150-million allocated for pine beetle State of Emergency in 2007
Stumpage rate in British Columbia of $25 per cubic metre. The “holding and forest protection charges” paid by Spray Lake Sawmills to the Alberta government rose to $0.20 per cubic metre in 2006, still less than 1 percent of the B.C. figure.
These figures obviously don’t include the economic value of other services that healthy forests provide, including clean water, clean air and wildlife habitat.