Last month I had the pleasure to visit Cortes Island – part of the incredible Discovery Islands, nestled between central Vancouver Island and British Columbia’s mainland. While the island itself perfectly represents the awesome natural appeal of coastal British Columbia, I discovered that the most beautiful part of Cortes was its people: passionate citizens fighting to protect their forests and find better, more responsible ways of operating the forest economy.

Part of my role as the Wilderness Committee’s Vancouver Island Campaigner is to coordinate with and support local communities in their work to protect wilderness in their regions. This takes me up and down the Vancouver Island Area, from Clayoquot Sound to the Comox Valley, and most recently, to Cortes Island.

Island Timberlands land slated for clearcutting on Cortes Island

What I’d learned about Cortes beforehand was a story all too common in coastal British Columbia – one I’ve encountered in many small communities I’ve visited. Cortes Islanders are passionate, proud of, and connected to their forests. And for good reason: the older forest is incredibly healthy, featuring stands of legitimate old-growth, which is extremely rare in the dry western hemlock and coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems. Much of this forest is threatened by industrial logging, as are the countless endangered species and the high recreational value these lands hold.

The proponent, logging giant Island Timberlands, has announced plans to clearcut most of their holdings on Cortes. These holdings total 2,700 acres, roughly straddling the middle of the island. To be fair, Island Timberlands (a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, one of the largest corporations in Canada) has cooperated with the Cortes community to some degree by participating in meetings and town hall events – not required for logging companies operating on privately owned lands. However, Island Timberlands has thus far refused the community’s pleas to set aside the older and old-growth forests in their holdings as permanent conservation areas, or to practice harvest techniques other than clearcutting. The company even turned down an offer by a local land trust and municipal government to purchase a small parcel of forest at fair market value.

The level of community organization on Cortes Island is outstanding, and concerned citizens and grassroots activists have set up several groups that oppose Island Timberlands’ plans for the island, loosely coordinated through a central group called WildStands.

Through highly successful campaigning – including letter writing, petition circulation, and protests at major Brookfield offices – these groups have successfully held off Island Timberlands for the past few years.

In addition to forest activism and a general conservation movement, Cortes is also a hotbed for the development of innovative forestry initiatives, eco-forestry principles and the shift towards more ecologically responsible forest economies. Several small-scale mills undertake limited harvesting and high value-added operations, selling their products primarily on the island. The Cortes Forestry General Partnership, a joint venture between the Cortes Community Forest Cooperative (a non-indigenous community group) and Cortes’ Klahoose First Nation, is in the midst of acquiring rights to the island’s crown land, and are in the process of developing an ecosystem-based management plan for the community forest.

This diversity – this balance – is what makes Cortes Island unique. The island’s strength comes from the variety of views, strategies and philosophies regarding how best to conserve the most ecologically significant areas (primarily the old-growth Douglas-fir stands), and how to manage the second growth in a more environmentally responsible manner to make forestry work.

Hanging out in a giant red cedar in Cortes’ Whaletown Commons, a proposed park

On Island Timberland’s holdings, plans remain steadfast to begin clearcutting this September – a grim prospect for the community and all those concerned with the fate of the remaining old-growth Douglas-fir ecosystem in this province.

WildStands is gearing up to host the inaugural Forestfest, an activist convergence and music festival to be held August 24th to 26th. The gathering will serve to reflect on the past successes of the groups involved, but also to share ideas about forest conservation and organize efforts to stop the clearcutting slated for this fall. I will be presenting at the festival, reflecting on my experiences on Cortes and providing information on our new Doubling Vancouver Island’s Protected Areas campaign.

Check out www.wildstands.wordpress.com for more information on Forestfest and the efforts to protect Cortes Island’s old-growth forests. Visit the Wilderness Committee’s website for more information on old-growth logging and the need to double Vancouver Island’s protected areas.

For the wild,

Torrance Coste
Vancouver Island Campaigner

Top photo: Island Timberlands' land slated for clearcutting on Cortes Island, BC. All photos by Torrance Coste.