CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C.-Campbell River City council is asking the province to push pause on the latest round of proposed logging in the Snowden Demonstration Forest. That’s because for the first time BC Timber Sales wants to log in the area’s interior.
The Snowden Demonstration Forest was first established in the 1980s for both logging and recreational use. Amber Zirnhelt is Campbell River’s Manager of Long Range Planning and Sustainability. She says that while the province has the final say in the logging proposal, the recreational use of the forest is important:
One of the activities Snowden offers, mountain biking, has been a big boon to the economies of other communities in British Columbia.
Zirnhelt says over a two month period it added $150,000 to Cumberland’s economy, while economic impact studies for Rossland, Golden, Pemberton and Squamish showed that mountain biking added between $600,000 and $10 million to the local economies. Zirnhelt says mountain biking is just one thing Snowden offers:
Council is asking for more information from BC Timber Sales and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development on its plans for the interior harvesting. It’s also asking that any further activity be put on hold until the city gets that information.
