Logging resumes in Clayoquot Sound
Copyright 2000, CBC News
August 23, 2000
Kathy Tomlinson reports for CBC TV
CLAYOQUOT SOUND, B.C. - A tree fell in the forest in Clayoquot Sound on Tuesday – to the sound of applause from natives, loggers and environmentalists.
It was the first old-growth tree to be cut in the undisturbed area in years. A forestry company, owned 51 per cent by local First Nations and 49 per cent by forestry giant Weyerhaeuser, is going into business in Clayoquot Sound.
That's the same region where 800 people were arrested seven years ago for trying to stop logging – the biggest show of civil disobedience in Canadian history.This time, the environmentalists are on side, as long as the logging is selective.
"They were brought to their knees and had to change. If we hadn't done the protesting and made impact in Europe, we wouldn't be here today," said Paul George of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee.
The plan is to log in pockets of the forest and mimic nature, taking down the big trees just like a winter storm or disease would. It's the only kind of logging the company will do. It's expensive and dangerous.
One local environmental group did not sign on and will be watching from the sidelines. "We'll be watching. That's a good thing, to have someone from the outside to monitor it," said Valerie Lager of the Friends of Clayoquot Sound.
The company hopes to get the wood certified as environmentally friendly, so it can be sold at a premium. The First Nations aim to eventually take over the whole operation – hoping to keep jobs for their children and maintain this fragile peace in the woods.