Re: Tembec unveils annual plan, Jan. 26

Logging giant Tembec has control over nearly 9,000 square kilometers of Manitoba public land.

At the Lac du Bonnet open house soliciting public input of their yearly cutting plans Tembec told the Leader: "There's certainly been a lot of questions, but that's what we're doing this for."

The Wilderness Committee posed specific questions about Tembec's operations at their open house in Winnipeg the night before, all to do with Nopiming Provincial Park, and we are still waiting for some answers.

The Wilderness Committee asked why Tembec planned to log in Nopiming park near the Manigotagan River, a favoured recreational canoeing river, after Manitobans had asked that the river be protected. We received no answer at the Winnipeg open house. At the Lac du Bonnet event the Leader was told by Tembec that the Manigotagan cut area was "only a contingency for the company." A very questionable response from Tembec, as in this statement contains questionable truth.

In fact, Tembec specifically lists areas on their annual maps as either "Active" or "Contingency." The Manigotagan River harvest areas are clearly marked as "Active."

In Winnipeg we asked Tembec why they were planning logging operations in the calving grounds of woodland caribou in and around Nopiming park when this herd is considered at high-risk and protected in Manitoba as a Threatened species. We were told that Tembec wasn't planning to go into the area. Again this seemed questionable. The map posted at the open house clearly showed the calving grounds labeled "Contingency (No Harvest Block Summary)."

We presented Tembec with a copy of their Operating Areas and Road Construction 2006-2008 Map, which had been downloaded from Tembec's website that very day.

The map shows the caribou calving grounds as a Proposed Development Area, and includes harvest data and even the location of the roads they intend to build. Tembec had no answer for this.

These missing truths and unanswered questions are not presented to persecute. They serve to illustrate a pattern of misdirection and mismanagement of our public lands and provincial parks. They also demonstrate Manitoba's shame of not protecting our parks.

These forests are our forests. We, the people of Manitoba, own them, and with ownership comes responsibility. The boreal forest provides us with clean air, clean water, and climate mitigation. Our forests are of global significance. We need them for our future, and we must look after them.

Let's start by ensuring that the provincial parks become real parks--protected areas that preserve recreational area and ecologically important habitat. We can make the decision to protect our future.

Eric Reder
Manitoba Campaign Director
Western Canada Wilderness Committee

Article ID# 2059149