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Harvesting of Block 13 in West Bragg Creek upsets some residents

Harvesting is well underway in West Bragg Creek, and an area of contention — Block 13 — is causing some in the region to cry foul.

Harvesting is well underway in West Bragg Creek, and an area of contention — Block 13 — is causing some in the region to cry foul.

Initially removed from Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development’s (ESRD) FireSmart plan, Block 13 was put back on the chopping block at a reduced scale, according to Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) woodlands manager Gord Lehn.

“Block 13 was reduced in size by 45 per cent to address concerns over recreation trails and visual concerns by the community,” Lehn said in an email.

Some, however, are not as pleased with the results.

A workshop was held in Bragg Creek to outline SLS’s logging plan and, according to some, the plan had been changed to include Block 13.

“A small group of us, including SLS, met after the meeting to discuss this and thought we had come to an agreement that there would be minimal logging there,” said Peter Tucker, a spokesperson for Sustain Kananaskis (SustainK). “The subsequent implementation seemed to indicate that the definition of ‘minimal’ is open to interpretation.”

“Recreational trail use was certainly regarded as a high use value for the area,” indicated Lehn, saying the harvest plan must be looked at as a whole and not on a block-by-block basis. “But this also had to be balanced off against grazing interests, wildfire risk assessments and our own needs to manage our tenure for a wood supply for the mill.”

Tucker did say he was pleased that ESRD and SLS held public consultations on this matter, but that it took a lot of convincing to get them to the table.

“The length of time it took reduced the time available to consult stakeholders and the public,” he said, “so, ultimately, the influence was way less than it could/should have been.”

Lehn said SLS will continue its logging project for the next month, with log haul running through March and reclamation and reforestation occurring through the summer and fall.

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