Carmanah Forestry Society
March 15, 2005
News Release
Cathedral Grove Park Additions …Woefully Inadequate…Protest
Continues.
Nature Trust, Weyerhaeuser and the Province of British Columbia
announced an expansion of Cathedral Grove by 140 hectares at
a cost of $2Million dollars to the province. The Nature Trust
committing to raising $500,000 towards the purchase from Weyerhaeuser,
who were also seeking a tax receipt from the Federal Government
for the $3.Million balance of the $5.5Million appraisal.
No
maps were available of the new park area, or statistics itemizing
the amount of old growth forest and second growth, allowing
activist Ingmar Lee to challenged both Weyerhaeuser’s Tom
Holmes and Doug Walker of the Land Trust in settling for a “steaming
stump farm.”
When questioned by Syd Haskell of Carmanah Forestry Society,
Weyerhaeuser’s Holmes assured the audience that the remaining
500 hectares of old growth forest were still available for negotiation.
“The present purchase provides some comfort for the elk,
but is woefully inadequate and doesn’t begin to address
the unanimous desire from the surrounding communities to have
the remaining old growth adjacent to Cathedral Grove added to
the park”, Haskell commented.
When questioned by Haskell, Minister Barisoff refused to confirm
or deny whether May 18th would be an arrest day at Cathedral
Grove should his government be re-elected. CFS was responsible
for retaining Cameron Ward and Associates who defeated the government’s
injunction application before the Supreme Court of BC, thereby
allowing the record breaking 13 month old protest to continue.
When asked by Haskell, if his government was willing to provide
a “Carmanah-Like” public process where Vancouver Islanders’
would be given an opportunity to provide input to the government’s
plan, Barisoff deflected the question, commenting that they
had received “plenty of input” from Gillian Trumpers’
meeting in Port Alberni last winter. He also inferred that the
Horne Lake connector might be a possibility in the future.
“Mr. Barisoff has refused to provide the public with
a full open and meaningful process and appears to be content
to build a parking lot over an active flood plain, likely to
wash away each year. It’s time to drop this foolish plan
and allow the protesters to get back to having normal lives,
Haskell concluded .”
For further information please contact
Syd Haskell, 361-1141
Annette Tanner WCWC mid Island 250-752-6585
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