Timber West Land Access

(Include any information you have. Please limit information to actual situations, or well substantiated rumours at the most)

Recreational Access to Timber West lands

For general information or discussions on Timber West, their environmental stewardship or lack there of, and general community stewardship, please go to TimberWest

Historic perspective

Present situation

Corporate Perspective

Based on their statement posted on Private Forest Landowners Association site ( June 7, 2007)

"TimberWest supports responsible public recreational use of our lands" (see TimberWest or the PFLA site for the full statement).

• Neighbours_Fall06.pdf: Timberwest Community PR newsletter - Fall 2006

Recreation Clubs and User Groups Perspective

Contrary to the above statement, TimberWest has moved in the last year to systematically eliminate recreational users from its forest lands. In general, TimberWest uses the liability card as the main reason for eliminating public access on and/or through their lands. In 1996, the BC Government passed the Occupiers Liability Act. Section 3.2b specifically excludes the land occupier (owner) from obligation to provide duty of care for recreational users. So this is a red herring used against all recreationalists wishing to access TimberWest lands.

Comox District Mountaineering Club

Comox District Mountaineering Club website

Victoria Motorcycle Club

Case Studies

Comox Glacier Trail

This leads into Strathcona Provincial Park, the oldest provincial park in B.C. Timber West is in the process of logging adjoining lands, so access to Comox Glacier and trail may be limited. The park boundary isn't where the trail crosses the creek, where the Parks sign is, but halfway up the hill to the ridge. The post-logging fate of the trail seems uncertain. (from Climbers Access Society of BC - Regional News & Issues: Vancouver Island & Powell River)

See Coming to a frozen giant's defence (sic) March 2007 Globe & Mail Article. In summary, TimberWest has no interest in accommodating the needs of the hiking/mountaineering community to preserve this classic trail. They have no interest in creating a buffer around the trail to preserve it, but offer to spray paint markers through the slash. Claim creating the buffer would not be profitable for them. We are talking about a couple of hectares of land here. That is all that is required for the buffer. They will swap land, but for land already in the Park, obviously a no-go with Parks.

See ComoxGlacierTrail for current news from CDMC negoitations with TimberWest

VIPMA (Vancouver Island Placer Miners Association)

Timberwest has made it increasingly difficult to access their land (land that we as prospectors have special licence rights to access) We support fire season shut down times but we are not happy with the gate access ($500 key deposit) and the severe restrictions put on our movements inside their timberlands.

Boyd's Pit Area

Fishing

For the 2007 fishing season, TimberWest did not allow any restocking of lakes on their lands by the BC Government Fisheries Department employees.

Timber West Sustainable Forest Initiative Certification

• Tri_Fold.pdf: SFI Certification brochure
• SFBStandard2005-2009.pdf: Sustainable Forestry Initiative Certification Standards 2005-2009
• Interested_Stakeholders.pdf: Comparision between FSC and SFI Certifications

SFI Objective 12: Recreational, Community, and Social use of the Forest

Under Objective 12: Objective for Public and Landowner Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry

Objective 12. To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry by encouraging the public and forestry community to participate in the commitment to sustainable forestry and publicly report progress.

Performance Measure 12.2 states:

Program Participants shall support and promote, at the state, provincial or other appropriate levels, mechanisms for public outreach, education, and involvement related to forest management. Indicators:

• 1. Support for the SFI Implementation Committee program to address outreach, education, and technical assistance (e.g., toll-free numbers, public sector technical assistance programs).
• 2. Periodic educational opportunities promoting sustainable forestry, such as
  • a. field tours, seminars, or workshops;
  • b. educational trips;
  • c. self-guided forest management trails; or
  • d. publication of articles, educational pamphlets, or newsletters.
  • e. Support for state, provincial, and local forestry organizations and soil and water conservation districts.
• 3. Recreation opportunities for the public, where consistent with forest management objectives.

-- PeterSprague - 29 May 2007 From my discussion with SFI and TimberWest KPMG auditors, my interpretation is that TimberWest is not properly observing this clause. They attempt to use the "consistent with good forest management practices" escape clause as a way out.

SFI was no help, and seems to be protecting the corporate here, not acting as a 3rd party. My discussion with the Chief Auditor was much more fruitful, and he felt that TimberWest is required to respect recreational/social use of the forest. Exceptions to this would be temporary closures for fire safety around recent slash piles and the like.

Auditor reports and process

TimberWest comes up for re-certification in 2008. There is a window of opportunity here for us to file formal complaints to Timberwest and their Auditors under Objective 12, Performance Measure 3. Under their audit requirements, they have to retain all letters, and show due diligence in taking care of the complaint.

Auditor Reports

• Timberwest_SA_July2005.PDF: Timberwest Forest Corp. SFI Surveillance Audit - July 2005
• TimberwestVancouverMay2006.pdf: Timberwest Forest Corp. SFI Surveillance Audit - May 2006

Audit Process

Solutions

Direct Negotiations with Timber West

Market-Driven

Many of the major home improvement centres buy wood as green certified. Timber West is not upholding itself to the SFI standards in our opinion. A well documented case should be made to the customers' of Timber West's timber and sawn lumber. The cost of turbulence in these markets could cost TimberWest enough that they will change their attitude as Weyerhauser has at Vedder Mountain.

Political

Community and Social Protest

• Write your letters to the newspaper, your MLA, and anyone else that will listen.
• Keep the topic hot and out there in the media and public discourse.
• Organize and protest at their corporate offices. Invite the media, and explain what you are protesting about.
• Add to this site any information you have, so it is out there and accessible by the public and media.
• Enlist others to join VIORC and help us fight this.
• Don't give up and Opossum. For everyone of us willing to fight, there are hundreds, if not thousands that will pay the price if we don't succeed.