British Columbia has faced floods and landslides for the past decade, which communities are still trying to recover from. With disasters at this scale occurring frequently, such as the landslide that wiped out parts of the Coquihalla, the Bush Creek wildfire, and the tragic flooding of Merritt and Princeton, many of these communities have begun searching for a solution.
Residents of Turtle Valley, near Chase, created the Watershed Protectors after concerns arose about the Chum Creek watershed. They noticed BC Timber Sales (BCTS) starting to take truckloads of trees out of their backyards, threatening their ecosystem and their clean drinking water.
According to the Province of British Columbia, watersheds have many important characteristics that help shape local ecosystems. For example, they collect water downstream that is filtered through trees where the proposed cut blocks sit. The slow distribution of water combined with an old forest creates a diverse, beautiful, and natural fire-resistant forest.
The forests around the Chum Creek watershed are also home to a variety of wildlife, including several endangered species such as the flammulated owl, western painted turtle, pine grosbeak and American badger.
“Endangered species don’t have traction in our legal system, but water and natural disasters do,” President and Treasurer of Watershed Protectors Alisoun Payne said.
On Feb. 25, the TRUSU Wildlife Club hosted an event on protecting watersheds in B.C. with Payne as the guest speaker. Describing the process as an uphill battle with BCTS due to inconveniently scheduled meetings, Payne told the audience during her presentation that BCTS allegedly stated “…that the community is not allowed to discuss the topic amongst themselves.”
“In order for us to speak out as citizens, we need to learn,” Payne said.
Framing the conflict as a “David versus Goliath battle,” Payne said she desires to help protect her neighbours and the forest by educating people. While acknowledging that the forest’s monetary value is substantial, she reminded the audience that their biome is priceless.
“The first step BCTS needs to take is to change their policies when assessing land they are planning to cut and the process of how they cut,” Payne said. “Aside from floods and landslides, BC is also rampant with forest fires which leave tonnes of burnt trees, which are all still salvageable for two years after a fire.”
On Jan. 6, Watershed Protectors filed a judicial review petition and notice of civil claim in the B.C. Supreme Court, demanding the halting of the planned BC Timber Sales auction of four cut blocks in the Skimikin and Ptarmigan regions and protecting their drinking water supply.
“BCTS put the cut blocks up for bid in December over the Christmas break and subsequently awarded the contract to Richwood Fencing Ltd. They then rushed the permitting through, presumably to get the trees out before any action [could] be taken on our part,” Payne alleged in an email. “But thanks to the hard work of our lawyer, Ben Isitt and neighbour Chris Adderson, we managed to stay ahead of them.”
“We are calling on the Province of B.C. to halt the planned timber sale,” said Ben Isitt, the lawyer for the Upper Chum Creek Water Users Association and impacted farmers Christine Adderson, Scott Adderson, Hillary McNolty and John McNolty.
“BC Timber Sales is recklessly proposing large-scale clearcut logging 450 metres uphill from the Adderson and McNolty farms and drinking-water sources. The Minister of Forests and the court need to step in, do the right thing, and protect these licensed water sources,” Isitt said in a January press release.
Information on the Watershed Protectors, including how to donate, connect and learn more, can be found on the organizations website.