Photos of logging in Kananaskis
This is a recreation trail. It may look like a road, but last November it was a trail - part of the Trans Canada Trail. This is how the multi-use policy in Kananaskis works. It's a train wreck in the wilderness.
SustainK
As of January 2012 a new initiative was underway to mitigate the damage of commercial logging in Kananaskis. It didn't work. SustainK did win a minor concession, a thin belt of trees along trails, but 35-odd truckloads of trees will be heading to the mill in Cochrane each day through the winter of 2013.
As of December 2012, Spray Lakes Sawmills is conducting a massive deforestration of West Bragg Creek. Spray Lakes is a "bad actor" in the forestry industry. They were refused a "Forest Stewardship Certificate" due to their irresponsible management of the forest.
They have reapplied for an FSC and I'm sure they have made the appropriate contributions to the appropriate people, but you should know they don't desrve the Forest Management Agreement (FMA) they "won" from Alberta Sustainable Resource Manangement.
- Spray Lake Sawmills is planning to clear cut over 700 hectares of trees in the West Bragg Creek area of Kananaskis Country?
- That can also be measured as:
- 1,700 acres
- 7 square kilometers
- 7 million square meters - that’s enough space to easily fit 7 million people!
- 1,300 football fields
- Logging is planned to start this summer (2012) and is expected to take about 9 months to complete.
- These logging cut blocks will be located directly next to or surrounding at least 25 kms of recreational ski, cycling, equestrian, hiking and snowshoeing trails.
Slideshow overview of the issues involved in logging Kananaskis
Plan for Parks
Tourism Parks and Recreation released a new "blueprint for managing parks" on April 20, 2009. They talk about providing recreational opportunities and protecting the land. Like the LUF these are great words, but do they mean anything? They mean nothing for Northeastern Kananaskis as it isn't a park.
Provincial Recreation Areas Management Plan
Our response to the Draft Management Plan.
More information
Logging the Crowsnest Pass
People in the Crowsnest are facing the same frustration and reacting with the same determination to protect their forest from the government's wanton destruction of our treasured natural landscapes.
Read their story
and see their Christmas Card
If the Trees Could Talk
What do you think they would say?
KanQuiz Results
The Save Kananaskis survey
We got 151 responses from a broad cross-section of people. All agreed with our proposal to create a park in Northeastern Kananaskis. As you will see, there are hard-core mountain bikers, nature lovers, scientists, lots of just plain folks and even a few loggers.
Note: All personal info has been deleted from these documents.
Read the responses- Part 1 & 2 provide a representative summary or get the text or spreadsheet files to see all the data.
Protect it now!
Socioeconomic conditions have changed over the 60 years that Spray Lakes Sawmills has been logging the area. Kananaskis was only created 29 years ago. Over 1/2-million people now visit the Elbow Valley annually. 1-million people live 1/2-hour away. In forty-five years (half the time it will take clearcuts to recover) the suburbs of Calgary will reach the Kananaskis border.
Our Mandate
Our goal is to create a park that provides a rewarding experience for people; it should contribute to a secure water supply and a stable, natural habitat for wildlife. This will protect and promote the social, economic, and environmental interests of Albertans, in particular, the recreation and tourism users of the area, and the businesses that provide them with products and services