BRAGG CREEK – Opponents of a planned forest clearcut in the areas of West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain voiced their dissent at an Alberta Wilderness Association-sponsored talk with West Fraser Timber
West Fraser – formerly Spray Lake Sawmills – has proposed plans to clearcut 900 hectares near West Bragg Creek and another 450 hectares in the Moose Mountain Trail network.
Detailed maps released by West Fraser in April show the locations for the proposed clearcut as well as the biking, hiking and horseback trails affected, prompting anti-logging groups like Bragg Creek and Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation (BCKOR) to declare their “worst fears realized”.
Shaun Peter of BCKOR was not reassured or impressed after the meeting in the AWA’s Calgary office.
He said West Fraser talked far too long – more than an hour before the moderator interrupted to go to pre-submitted questions.
Peter said more than 15,000 people had signed a petition started by Guardians of Recreational Opportunities in Wilderness (GROW), intending to stop clearcutting in West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain.
“We’re very disappointed (with West Fraser)," he said. "Rather than choosing to maximize their time to illicit public feedback, listen to expert concerns and discuss how they can appease those concerns, they chose instead to simply tell the participants what will happen and why."
West Fraser holds Forest Management Agreements (FMAs) on 475,000 hectares in Alberta from Waterton to Sundre. An FMA is a document that enshrines the company’s right to log. The proposed roughly 900-hectare clearcut covers 0.19 per cent of SLS's FMAs.
“Input from folks like you can really be helpful,” West Fraser’s Chief Forester Richard Briand told the crowd.
Opponents to the clearcut say it will remove the majority of remaining old growth in the West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain areas and will have an irreversible effect on local businesses and the tourism Industry.
BCKOR estimates volunteers from the Bragg Creek Trails Association and Moose Mountain Bike Trail Society have invested more than $6.5 million and 100,000 hours to create trail networks in the two areas, and the trails are now attracting 1,000 visitors per day on average.
A plan to clearcut 1,100 hectares in the Upper Highwood area of Kananaskis Country by West Fraser was paused earlier this year for further public consultation but also after the Department of Fisheries and Oceans began an investigation into construction of a bridge over the Highwood River without a Fisheries Act or Species at Risk permit.
Environmental and conservation groups have said if the logging were to go ahead, there are concerns for at-risk bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout in the region.
A study spearheaded by Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society found the two species were in the area where logging was planned to move forward and is a critical habitat for both.
GROW, an anti-logging group, launched the online petition last year to oppose West Fraser’s plans to clearcut in West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain.
The initiative was created to educate trail users about what is going on and serve as an advocacy group to stop the planned harvest in West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain from happening in 2025/2026.
An open house held by West Fraser for the proposed clearcutting will take place in Cochrane at the Cochrane RancheHouse on May 8 from 3-8 pm.
