Cathedral Grove faces chainsaws and bulldozers...arrests almost certain
By Syd Haskell, CFS
February 16, 2004

Shangri-La is where you find it, but in British Columbia Canada, most Shangri-Las are only seen once by a man carrying a heavy chainsaw. A few months later they resemble a wasteland. Despite letters in the past from our government officials, little has changed in what happens on the ground, and like the Amazon Basin, our rainforests are equally valuable for the diversity of life that they hold...in this way they might be considered a world resource, not unlike the life of coral reefs or the art in a museum.

My purpose is to inform readers and encourage them to write to our local newspapers and our radical right wing government to let them know that people across the world value original forests--rich in biological diversity, and that they abhor the extinction of species, which comes with the death of a thousand cuts. One of those cuts is about to take place at Cathedral Grove, named over a hundred years ago to reflect the spiritual feeling that overcame early visitors, who likened it to St. Pauls' Cathedral in London England. Joni Mitchell fans remembering Yellow Taxi will appreciate the irony that the most popular park in our western coastal province is to have 350 year old giant towering Douglas Fir trees cut along with second growth trees used by Roosevelt Elk winter habitat, (a blue-listed, almost endangered species), all to provide an oversized parking lot. Details at www.cathedralgrove.com .

Government did not hold any public process in their procedure to ram this plan down the public's throat, and will be seeking an injunction very soon, which we will argue against, with little chance of success. These suits are never successful, as British Columbia does not have enforceable environmental laws, endangered species protection, or avenues whereby citizens or registered groups are provided with a legal remedy to affect change. This is partially due to the unwieldy power of multi-national corporations, which over the past few decades have seen Canada as a resource colony and influenced politicians to think and legislate likewise.

Assuming that our legal attempts fail, a few handfuls of people will likely be arrested and under the strong handed route that government has deliberately taken, these people will be sentenced to at least six months in jail, as courts are obliged to increase the penalty in circumstances of Supreme Court defiance. The last 70+ year old grandmother was sentenced to 6 months for a similar action of defiance. Our request to government...simple stop work order and meaningful full and open public review so that the best of planning takes place.

Our website directs readers to what they might do if they wished to learn more and possibly help. We encourage them to visit Cathedral Grove and other wonderful places in British Columbia, but beware as, visiting Shangri-La might be addictive, and if they have social conscience, a difficult place to leave. Nature is a fragile gift to mankind, and taking any action in the world to prolong its' magnificence has spiritual rewards. Please help.

Syd Haskell, President
Carmanah Forestry Society
250-381-1141
www.carmanah.bc.ca
www.cathedralgrove.com
Cathedral Grove -- Save what's left!
Rainforest Tours and Advocacy