Information about the Resource Committee

2018

Dear Gun Lake Residents,

Over the last year and a half, the Gun Lake Forestry Coalition has been meeting with Aspen Planers regarding the development of a cutting permit on the west side of Gun Lake.

The Coalition consists of myself, Norman Gladstone, Michelle Nortje, Troy Van Loon, Norah Ashmore ,Dave Sharpe, Irene Calbick.  This has been an involved and committed group and we all owe them thanks for their thoughtfulness, cooperative approach and as well their toughness.  Two of these folks are also on the GLRA Forestry Committee.

We are getting closer to the final development stages so we wanted to share information with you.

Screenshot of current block layouts.  Keep in mind this is not an accurate depiction of the visual impacts.  Aspen Planers has the visual renderings but they will not allow us to share them in any way – you can go to their office or they will show you in a meeting, so this is all that we can show you.

Click here:  http://brvca.ca/committees/forestry/forestry-info/

Our May 12, 2017 letter to Aspen Planers which summarizes our concerns in a Block/Block fashion:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz7I-wF0Bw5ROFhNd2FQZlFmNXc/view?usp=sharing

As you will see in the May 12 letter, hydrology was a key concern.  Aspen Planers completed a hydrology report, however they consider that report proprietary and will not share digitally.  You need to go into their office to review it. As a result, the Gun Lake Forestry Coalition decided our best bang for the buck was to hire another Hydrologist to review the other Hydrologists report.  Really lay people would certainly have a hard time, in someone’s office in a short time to get anything out of reviewing the AP report.  Thanks to funding from the Gun Lake Ratepayer’s Association and SLRD Area A Select Funds, the hydrologist we hired produced a review report.  It is really well done and highly recommend that you read it – won’t take long.  While our reviewer found that generally Aspen Planer’s hydrologist had done the required work, there were a number of missing blocks he had not reviewed and a number of areas without the required measurements.

Read the report here:   https://drive.google.com/file/d/15FAZJheG3wHOty3ON-HDQq3tZU_V2TBO/view?usp=sharing

On July 13, 2018 we met with Aspen Planers to review:

–          The visual renderings they have (as previously mentioned they will not release these so we can show you online etc).

–          Hydrology report/issues

The minutes of that meeting are here and we recommend you read them, it will give you the full picture:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12xYm-I2NnP6DHu4IbEuUT8qXKAVtq26b/view?usp=sharing

–           The GLFC requested that items from the hydrology report be followed up on (as you can see in the minutes)

–          We have also subsequently asked for a lower scale visual rendering for three blocks that have visual impacts

–          The GLFC have also requested an explanation as to how they are within the 7% of total watershed visually impacted at any given time.

This logging will likely occur sometime this winter and we will be looking for volunteers who live here to actively monitor it to ensure it occurs as they have indicated.  As you may be aware the block on the south west side of Gun Lake two years ago did not go as planned and turned out to have a HUGE visual impact.

Let me say the GLFC members are working within the system required by legislation which really gives NO role to community in forestry operational planning.  That’s the reality so this group is doing the best they can with “a hand” dealt that is really not full of aces and kings and queens….please be kind to us we are doing the best we can.  As recently shown by a cutting permit at Tyaughton Lake, the TLRA chose to fight almost exclusively politically to the highest levels and got nowhere.  At this neighborhood level we have to work with the cards we are dealt…..while on a valley wide /provincial level we are working to change the “deck of cards” so that it includes a role for communities at this operational level of forestry,

Could you please express concerns/ask questions by Sunday, August 12.  Any one of the above mentioned people can answer questions etc or give me a call or email.

Debbie Demare