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More than 1,400 people have now signed a petition opposed to planned logging within a recreation area just outside Penticton frequented by cross-country skiers and mountain bikers.
Several cut blocks have been laid out amongst a network of trails about four kilometres up the Carmi Forest Service Road, slated to be logged sometime in 2019. The plan will convert several kilometres of trails into industrial logging roads.
A group of several dozen opposed to the plan gathered at the Penticton Lakeside Resort Monday evening for a meeting on the project, which is being managed by BC Timber Sales under the purview of the Ministry of Forests.
“Our big push right now is to just get people to start writing letters to Ministry of Forests and BCTS in opposition to this,” Neda Joss, opposition organizer.
The Upper Carmi Neighbourhood Association and South Okanagan Trails Alliance have both now formally opposed the logging plans, she said.
The provincial government told Castanet last month it had met its obligation to consult with local stakeholders and received no negative feedback, but Joss called that consultation “the bare minimum.”
BCTS bought a small ad in the newspaper and reached out to the South Okanagan Trails Alliance, who posted notice of the project in their regular newsletter. While the newsletter goes out to more than 500 recipients, there is no way of knowing how many people actually read it, or how many users of the Carmi trails are actually on the list.
“That’s pretty much what they are obligated to do for government standards,” Joss said. “Reality is, they should have put a bigger post in the newspaper and they should have gotten in touch with more groups.”
Joss said a simple sign in the recreation site’s parking lot would have done a much better way of informing people. Instead, she said the majority of users found out the area was being logged by spotting flagging tape in the forest or from her petition.
Joss said opposition has continued to organize, moving into a letter writing campaign to officials. She is meeting with MLA Dan Ashton later today, and will be presenting the petition to BCTS, in person, in the near future.
A trails day is also being planned to generate more interest and support for the area.
