Voices raised against plans to clear-cut popular recreation area near Bragg Creek
Author of the article:Bill Kaufmann
Published May 27, 2023 •
Published May 27, 2023 •
Fat biking in the West Bragg Creek and Kananaskis areas.
Courtesy Travel Alberta Kyle Hamilton
A proposal to clear-cut log two areas laced with popular hiking and cycling trails west of Bragg Creek should be axed or significantly altered, say critics.
Spray Lakes Sawmills (SLS) plans to begin logging areas amounting to 900 hectares in the West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain areas in 2026, a prospect that would severely denigrate the popular recreational areas, said Shaun Peter, who promotes tourism in the Kananaskis playground.
“This is the most popular recreation area in Alberta,” said Peter, noting using its trails is subject to a $90 annual fee implemented by the UCP government.
“To take that fee, then to turn around and allow logging is disappointing.”
He acknowledged SLS has a right to log the area following the adoption of a Forest Management Plan (FMP) it signed with the province two years ago.
But given the impact it would have on outdoor recreation and the tourism industry, it’s economically short-sighted, said Peter, who operates Bragg Creek & Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation.
“It’s really asinine of the government to ignore that and the economic benefits that come with that, to allow that be decimated by industrial activity,” he said.
Peter said that, contrary to SLS’s claim the clear cut will reduce the potential for wildfires, the company plans a logging process that will leave debris and be re-planted in way conducive to feeding blazes.
An open house held May 3 in Cochrane by SLS, he said, only heightened his fears of the logging’s impact and that only public pressure on the provincial government led lawmakers to ensure the company cut more responsibly in West Bragg Creek a decade ago.
SLS’s logging plans in the area could change and will be subject to public consultation several times between now and 2026, said Ed Kulcsar, the company’s vice-president woodlands.
The FMP for the Rockies’ eastern slopes region was approved in 2021 with the understanding the Bragg Creek-area timber be harvested in the next 10 years, part of a two-decade agreement based on tree age, said Kulcsar.
“It’s tentative for 2026 … we’ll start to refine that area to allow the general public to be engaged,” he said.
“We’ve been in communication with active trail groups and we’ve demonstrated a good record in being able to integrate our harvests around trails.”
He said trail use actually increased in the areas harvested in West Bragg Creek a decade ago.
“People don’t recognize them as harvested,” he said of some of the zones clear cut in the region 30 years ago.
“SLS works with the government and we recognize it is Crown land — they approve of our operations.”
The company, he said, adheres to “the highest standards of forestry management as verified through our annual Sustainable Forestry Initiative audits.”
A map showing a logging footprint covering trails with names like Fullerton Loop, Race of Spades and Strange Brew “is part of the consultation process,” said Kulcsar.
At the time the agreement was signed, the province said it would ultimately bring $32 million into its coffers and add $225 million to Alberta’s GDP.
The provincial government has yet to sign off on the SLS plan to log the two timber blocks, said a spokesman in the premier’s office.
“It is important to note that timber disposition holders like Spray Lake Sawmills are required to submit annual operating plans to receive authority to harvest timber on Crown land,” Colin Aitchison said in an email.
“As the proposed harvesting in the West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain areas would not occur for several years, an annual operating plan has not been received and permission to harvest has not been granted.”
That government approval is the problem, said Devon Earl, conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association.
The FMA and other logging regulations overly favour industry over the public and environmental good, partly by reducing the significance of public consultation, she said.
“There’s very little opportunity for input before the important decisions are made and there’s absolutely no requirement for (companies) to make any changes that have been requested,” said Earl.
“It becomes sort of a waste of time for people who care about these areas and want to see changes in logging plans.”
Too many logging practices in Alberta hide behind sustainable practices qualifications, she said, that are largely meaningless because outcomes aren’t measured.
Stands of timber left unharvested for environmental purposes in Alberta are often too puny to ensure biodiversity and environmental sustainability, said Earl.
“It really boils down to greenwashing,” she said.
A proposal to clear-cut log two areas laced with popular hiking and cycling trails west of Bragg Creek should be axed or significantly altered, say critics.
Spray Lakes Sawmills (SLS) plans to begin logging areas amounting to 900 hectares in the West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain areas in 2026, a prospect that would severely denigrate the popular recreational areas, said Shaun Peter, who promotes tourism in the Kananaskis playground.
“This is the most popular recreation area in Alberta,” said Peter, noting using its trails is subject to a $90 annual fee implemented by the UCP government.
“To take that fee, then to turn around and allow logging is disappointing.”
He acknowledged SLS has a right to log the area following the adoption of a Forest Management Plan (FMP) it signed with the province two years ago.
But given the impact it would have on outdoor recreation and the tourism industry, it’s economically short-sighted, said Peter, who operates Bragg Creek & Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation.
“It’s really asinine of the government to ignore that and the economic benefits that come with that, to allow that be decimated by industrial activity,” he said.
Peter said that, contrary to SLS’s claim the clear cut will reduce the potential for wildfires, the company plans a logging process that will leave debris and be re-planted in way conducive to feeding blazes.
An open house held May 3 in Cochrane by SLS, he said, only heightened his fears of the logging’s impact and that only public pressure on the provincial government led lawmakers to ensure the company cut more responsibly in West Bragg Creek a decade ago.
SLS’s logging plans in the area could change and will be subject to public consultation several times between now and 2026, said Ed Kulcsar, the company’s vice-president woodlands.
The FMP for the Rockies’ eastern slopes region was approved in 2021 with the understanding the Bragg Creek-area timber be harvested in the next 10 years, part of a two-decade agreement based on tree age, said Kulcsar.
“It’s tentative for 2026 … we’ll start to refine that area to allow the general public to be engaged,” he said.
“We’ve been in communication with active trail groups and we’ve demonstrated a good record in being able to integrate our harvests around trails.”
He said trail use actually increased in the areas harvested in West Bragg Creek a decade ago.
“People don’t recognize them as harvested,” he said of some of the zones clear cut in the region 30 years ago.
“SLS works with the government and we recognize it is Crown land — they approve of our operations.”
The company, he said, adheres to “the highest standards of forestry management as verified through our annual Sustainable Forestry Initiative audits.”
A map showing a logging footprint covering trails with names like Fullerton Loop, Race of Spades and Strange Brew “is part of the consultation process,” said Kulcsar.
At the time the agreement was signed, the province said it would ultimately bring $32 million into its coffers and add $225 million to Alberta’s GDP.
The provincial government has yet to sign off on the SLS plan to log the two timber blocks, said a spokesman in the premier’s office.
“It is important to note that timber disposition holders like Spray Lake Sawmills are required to submit annual operating plans to receive authority to harvest timber on Crown land,” Colin Aitchison said in an email.
“As the proposed harvesting in the West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain areas would not occur for several years, an annual operating plan has not been received and permission to harvest has not been granted.”
That government approval is the problem, said Devon Earl, conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association.
The FMA and other logging regulations overly favour industry over the public and environmental good, partly by reducing the significance of public consultation, she said.
“There’s very little opportunity for input before the important decisions are made and there’s absolutely no requirement for (companies) to make any changes that have been requested,” said Earl.
“It becomes sort of a waste of time for people who care about these areas and want to see changes in logging plans.”
Too many logging practices in Alberta hide behind sustainable practices qualifications, she said, that are largely meaningless because outcomes aren’t measured.
Stands of timber left unharvested for environmental purposes in Alberta are often too puny to ensure biodiversity and environmental sustainability, said Earl.
“It really boils down to greenwashing,” she said.
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