Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson has decided not to accept the winning bid for two woodlots on Gambier Island.

 

In a recent letter to the Gambier Island Conservancy, the Ministry said Thomson was declining the tender so that the province can address community concerns and undertake further consultations with the Squamish Nation.

 

The woodlots were tendered several months before the Supreme Court of Canada’s June 26 decision on Aboriginal title in the landmark Tsilhqot’in (Chilcotin) Nation case, the Ministry noted, saying the high court ruling “provided greater clarity both on Aboriginal title and the province’s responsibilities in relation to both established and asserted Aboriginal title.”

 

After reviewing the consultation record for the two woodlot licence areas, Thomson “concluded that more work needs to be done to ensure that the province properly carries out its constitutional obligations consistent with this new direction, as well as to address the public interest.”

 

The province delayed its decision to select a winning bidder for the two woodlots on June 24, the same day the Conservancy and a private landowner were scheduled to appear in B.C. Supreme Court to request a judicial review, arguing that the public had not been properly consulted.

 

At the time, a provincial official said the delay would last “a few weeks” and allow the Ministry to “organize a local public process to help concerned individuals better understand the woodlot process.”

 

A public information meeting, held in West Vancouver in late July, was “too little too late,” said Gambier Island local trustee Kate-Louise Stamford, adding the community’s reaction was “strong and united” at the meeting.

 

Stamford called Thomson’s decision “a huge relief.”

 

“I’m really excited to see that they’ve taken the residents’ concerns and landowners’ concerns into consideration,” she said.

 

The two woodlots comprise 1,325 hectares in the northeast part of the island and encompass the community watershed, a large chunk of the island’s recreational trail network and areas around Gambier Lake. With an existing woodlot on Gambier spanning 400 acres, the Conservancy pointed out the approval of the new woodlots would mean about 25 per cent of the island was dedicated to long-term clear-cut logging.