Spray Lake Sawmills is in hot water again with environmental and recreational groups concerned about logging in Kananaskis, as the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has launched an investigation into the forest products company surrounding the construction of a bridge this summer.
The Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) says the bridge Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) built over the Highwood River to access forests they plan to clearcut this winter requires a permit from the federal fisheries department, as do all activities that may negatively impact threatened trout and their habitat. However, SLS did not receive such authorization.
SLS insists they have followed all the rules.
The AWA sent letters to SLS, the DFO, and Alberta Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen last week, and are encouraging the public to join in the writing campaign aimed at convincing someone to change their minds, or at least call a meeting before it’s too late.
It represents the latest ramping-up of public calls for the province and/or the logging company to hold meaningful consultations to hear concerns of those opposed to logging in the Highwood and West Bragg Creek areas.
While some groups are calling for an outright ban on logging in Kananaskis, or in the Highwood and West Bragg Creek areas in particular, others are just asking for a public meeting to talk about their concerns.
A common theme is the hypocrisy involved in charging visitors $90 to enjoy and protect the recreational activities in Kananaskis, while the province washes its hands of any responsibility to mitigate damage from, or even monitor clearcutting.
To date, (as outlined in a previous Eagle story Sep. 21) the logging company and the province are passing the buck on any responsibility to call a public meeting. A spokesperson for Loewen said then that SLS is responsible for consultations with local communities and organizations, and SLS said calling a new meeting as requested would be “beyond our scope as a forest company.”
The AWA letter sent this week states, in part:
“The Upper Highwood forests are public lands and resources that are highly valued by Albertans for low impact recreation opportunities.
“The Highwood River contains critical habitat for bull trout and west slope cutthroat trout, which are both listed as threatened on Schedule 1 of Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) and in the provincial Wildlife Act . . . the construction and logging activities planned for 2023 and 2024 in the Upper Highwood watershed are likely to destroy or damage SARA-listed critical habitat for endangered native trout.”
The letter continues, “Bull trout, Alberta’s provincial fish, have experienced a reduction in their historic range and populations, mirroring the timing and pattern of development in the Eastern Slopes. Any activities that damage or destroy individual bull trout or their remaining habitat are inherently unsustainable.”
Devon Earl, a conservation specialist with AWA, said a number of groups were involved in discovering the logging company had no DFO permit for the bridge. It was only after someone did a web search that it was discovered SLS had not applied for a permit.
“We had kind of assumed they must have,” she said.
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and Take A Stand Kananaskis (TASK) are two other groups involved in pressuring SLS and the provincial and federal governments to take some action before the trees start falling this winter. All three groups are encouraging Albertans to participate in letter writing campaigns.
There are bull trout in the Highwood River and nearby Loomis Creek. Earl said its range has already been dramatically reduced due to human activity.
“There’s no room left, really, to compromise on their remaining habitat,” she said.
She added that plans for logging in West Bragg Creek are just as concerning, in terms of other forest values.
“I would argue that both recreational and environmental values are not valued highly at all,” she said.
The AWA argues the over 1,100 hectares (2,718 acres) of forests slated for the axe are more valuable for recreation and ecological purposes than what the trees are worth as timber.
Adding insult to injury, according to many local recreational users, is the forested area slated for clearcutting is adjacent to one of the most popular tourist attractions in southern Alberta – The Highwood Pass. Visitors to the area would have a completely different vista to take in after the clear cut.
The parking area for the pass, just minutes down the highway, was packed with vehicles enjoying the fall colours on Friday, when members of Take a Stand Kananaskis (TASK) met with The Eagle at the controversial bridge.
They said the heavy equipment used to construct the bridge has already damaged habitat for the species-at-risk, and more will happen once logging starts up full speed this winter, when sedimentation inevitably occurs.
"We are seriously concerned by the apparent regulatory and enforcement finger-pointing that's going on here. Which agency is going to step up and actually enforce regulations that protect our headwaters and species at risk?" asked TASK’s Erick Dow.
"In Alberta, sometimes we act like this is the only way to log, and if you are opposed to it, that means you are opposed to all logging. But in fact there are better, more sustainable and inclusive ways of managing forests, and I think it's time we started exploring those new ways in southern Alberta."
Josh Killeen of the southern Alberta chapter of CPAWS said they received confirmation on Sep.18 from the DFO that there was an investigation underway about the bridge.
He said the flouting of the rules is a serious one, as damage has already been done.
“It’s very clear to us there’s an infraction here,” he said. “It’s not just the river itself, it’s a 30-metre buffer, so it’s clear there’s destruction of critical habitat.”
He added the lack of required permitting appears to be a pattern for SLS, going back to previous logging operations, and that they also have shown a historical reluctance to respond to requests for more significant consultations.
“More widely, there’s a lot of frustration in local communities and from environmental and recreational groups active in the area, that when concerns are raised there’s very little willingness to have meaningful engagement,” he said.
“The response is ‘we had an open house and you make your comments there’ and then Spray Lake takes those away and does whatever they’re going to do,” Killeen said.
He said the provincial government is equally culpable for the lack of public consultation on logging, engaging as they do in the finger-pointing as described above. He explained that the inter-agency passing of the buck extends to the provincial and federal governments as well. The feds will sometimes say protecting endangered species is subject to provincial regulations, which, according to Killeen, simply isn’t the case.
“Those regulations don’t meet the requirements of the Species at Risk Act,” he said. “The issue is falling through the gaps in the system.”
In their monthly newsletter, the AWA further outlines their opposition.
“The social and economic impact of recreation and tourism and the environmental values of the Upper Highwood forests have been overlooked to allow SLS to profit from logging this area.
“Alberta cannot continue to assert that our forestry industry is inclusive and follows the practices of sustainable forest management while allowing logging in recreationally important areas and tolerating the destruction of habitat for species at risk.”
On the economic side, the Kananaskis region attracted 3.4 million visitors from January to September 2022, and the required visitor fee of $15 daily or $90 annually is promised to advance environmental conservation in the area.
The AWA has also written to Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Diane Lebouthillier, asking her for a stop work order pending the completion of the investigation.
Craig Macartney of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Ottawa told The Eagle:
“If a project is taking place in or near water, the proponent is responsible for understanding the risks to fish and fish habitat associated with their project; taking measures to avoid and mitigate risks to fish and fish habitat, and, requesting an authorization from the Minister and abiding by the conditions of their authorization when it is not possible to avoid and mitigate risks to fish and fish habitat.”
The DFO concluded with “As this is an active investigation, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”
Vice-president of Woodlands at SLS Ed Kulcsar said they were unable to comment specifically on the Highwood bridge, adding, "In general, DFO permits are only required if a project proponent is unable to protect fish and fish habitat while conducting their works. At SLS, we follow all approval processes and implement all measures and best management practices to ensure the protection of fish and fish habitat on all our bridge installations."
Requests for a response from Loewen’s office went unanswered this week,
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