I'm appalled by the lack of common sense the provincial government has shown on the issue of logging a former portion of the Waterton National Park, the Castle Region of southwestern Alberta. After reading recent comments in the news regarding logging in one of the designated "Special Places" of Alberta, ostensibly set aside for the use and enjoyment of future generations, I was compelled to write.
There are a number of questions that remain unanswered. Does the government have a rational explanation for the people of Alberta why this area is not protected in legislation as are the other Special Places in Alberta? Why has a green light been given to log in the Castle Region at a time when bears are in their dens, giving birth to cubs, and no documents are available to show where the "at risk" grizzly bear dens are in the area, as outlined in the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan 2008-2013 document?
Why is the government allowing logging when the trees felled will generate only a handful of contract (not permanent) jobs. According to the information available there will be eight feller/buncher and one caterpillar operator in addition to a handful of truckers. Based on usual clearing rates, the work is expected to be completed by spring so this is temporary employment for fewer than 20 people. The logs will keep the handful of employees at the mill in Cochrane busy for how long? And that employment is in exchange for 90-plus years for those trees to regenerate.
The government will gain about $250,000 in revenues based on a rate of $1.90/m3 and the expected take of about 4,737 truckloads, carrying about 30 m3/load. This doesn't make economic sense. How many local jobs and business in the Castle Region will be affected and over how many decades in exchange? Who will want to visit a forest that has been block cut?
How will the government ensure species diversity will be maintained once the cuts have regrown. How will this vital north-south corridor for wildlife, a narrow pinchpoint of about 10 kilometres of forest between the prairie and the mountains be affected by habitat fragmentation and for how long? Why is logging permitted in the headwater region of a major water source for the prairies?
How is it there is so little regard for the communities in southern Alberta who rely on this forest when they have consistently supported the present government in election after election? Why don't we have the answers to these questions before the logging commences Premier Redford?
Ann-Lise Norman
Calgary