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Penticton  

Was the public consulted?

Questions are being raised about the extent of B.C. Timber Sales consultation with the public on logging planned for a recreational site just outside Penticton.

More than 1,400 people have signed a petition against the plan to log a network of biking and cross-country skiing trails about four kilometres up the Carmi Forest Service Road.

Those opposed to the plan say they were informed of the project by forestry flagging tape hanging in the recreational area, not by BCTS’s required outreach.

The incident is similar to a recent complaint investigated by B.C.’s forestry watchdog, the Forest Practices Board, earlier this year that involved a pair of cutblocks proposed for recreational sites near Rock Creek.

In that case, the Board found BCTS erred in starting layout of the blocks prior to consulting with the public. In Penticton, layout work started around the same time BCTS reached out to the South Okanagan Trails Alliance for input.

SOTA did not offer any opposition at the time, because executive director Andrew Drouin felt he did not have the support to pick a fight with BCTS over the issue — something that has changed with the group's opposition to the plans.

Neda Joss, the organizer of the group against the work, called the BCTS outreach effort “the bare minimum,” suggesting they should have got in touch with more than just SOTA, or even erected a sign near the site's parking area with information on the plans.

The Forest Practices Board tabled a report last year calling for changes to the Forest and Range Practices Act that would see public engagement improved on cutblocks and logging roads. The Ministry of Forests rejected the recommendation, citing the desire for technology-based solutions to support “meaningful sharing of information" rather than legislative changes. 

A statutory single advertisement in a local newspaper with limited readership may not go far enough, suggested the board.

“A lot of the complaints that come in are from people who haven't read the newspaper ad, and then they’ll go out… and find ribbon hanging up,” said FPB director of investigation Sam Coggins, speaking generally about complaints involving recreation sites, which he said are not all that common.

Often, by the time people complain, the wheels are in motion for the project and “it’s difficult to change the process.”

“The issue with what we have here at the board, is we can make a recommendation about a forest practice, or forest planning — but they are not legally enforceable recommendations. We’ve got no authority to stop work or hand out penalties.”

Coggins said the board has not received a formal complaint about the Penticton cutblocks at this point. The organization is already in the process of developing a special report on how recreation sites are managed in B.C., and recommendations may be made to smooth conflicts between forestry companies and those using the area recreationally.

Following a meeting with Dan Ashton Tuesday, opponents of the project said on Facebook said the local MLA agreed to present the petition opposed to the logging directly to the minister of forests next week.

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