The group has written three letters to the CRD without getting a response, which Campbell said is extremely discouraging.

During the last eight years, five planners have occupied the sole planning position, including two part-time contractors.

The latest planner left last month and, although the position will be filled in September, it means his replacement will be starting from scratch on the complicated files, Campbell said.

"Major developments, such as the one being proposed by Western Forest Products, continue to place a tremendous workload on a small staff," says the latest letter to the CRD.

"This, combined with the consequences of the recent zoning changes, has resulted in numerous other important planning projects being delayed or abandoned."

Delays include reviews of official community plans, a review of zoning bylaws and completion of the parks plan.

Fallout from the constant turnover in planners includes the two "accidental subdivisions" west of Jordan River, which were approved despite a bylaw limiting lot size to 120 hectares.

They have now added roughly 200 residential lots to an area that was supposed to remain forestland, the letter says.

Also, if settlement areas around the communities had been redrawn to represent areas where development was welcome, it is unlikely WFP would have been able to apply for the 319 lots it now wants to develop, Campbell said.

The CRD board should be considering the land-use implications for the whole region, and an extra planner should be brought in to work on delayed projects, the letter says.

That should be done "before we see further unnecessary delays resulting in accidental subdivisions, court challenges of the land-use decision process, unfair treatment of some property owners and generally an unproductive and unsupported approach to the important task of planning for the future of the communities west of Sooke," it says.

The association, in consultation with residents, has come up with its own strategic vision for the area, which goes beyond a community plan and looks at issues such as the environment and economic development.

But that does not take away from the CRD's responsibility, according to Campbell.

"There are big-picture things which need to be dealt with," he said

Bob Lapham, CRD general manager of planning, said a new planner has been hired, so there will be no disruption in service at the Juan de Fuca office.

A planning assistant was added to the staff recently, he said.

"There's more resources there than before and we are maintaining a continuity of staff," he said.

Juan de Fuca electoral area director Erik Lund said the major problem has been the difficulty in getting planners. "We have not been able to retain a permanent person. We need about one-and-a-half people," he said.

There is a need to review the rezoning bylaw "but we haven't been able to do it because we haven't had the staff," Lund said.

However, it is extremely unlikely the WFP problem could have been avoided with more planning, Lund said.

"I really don't think the CRD dropped the ball."

"We're not clearcutting and Miss Carr can get all the pictures she wants, but she needs to be true on where those pictures are -- that's not in our territory," said Joe Tom, chief councillor of the Hesquiaht First Nation yesterday.

Carr said yesterday she'd been told by the Friends of Clayoquot Sound before the rally that the photo was taken within the sound and Hesquiaht territory.

She feels badly about the misrepresentation "because I pride myself on accuracy.

"I went ahead and used that as an example of the kind of logging that we don't want to see happening in a biosphere reserve."

The flap over the photo is the latest exchange that pits environmentalists on one side, and First Nations and the Coulson Group of Companies -- who are working together on logging in the Hesquiaht Point Creek watershed -- on the other. The environmentalists had threatened to take action if old-growth trees were cut.

Despite the error, Carr said she can't assume that clearcut logging isn't happening in Clayoquot. "There just may not be photos available of logging in that region by Coulson. I'm not prepared to say that's not happening."

The First Nations are logging the area to help get its people out of poverty, said Tom.

A truce was called two weeks ago so both sides could discuss issues, but no meetings have taken place, said Tom. "We've offered two meetings and we've had a number of different excuses," he said.

The clearcut in the photograph "is one or two valleys over" from Clayoquot Sound, acknowledged Kevin Bruce, spokesman for the Friends of Clayoquot Sound, yesterday.

"Everything is so torn up out there. Yes, this is the logging that's still happening within five kilometres, I suppose.

"When you're up in the air, there's very little left of anything except Clayoquot Sound," Bruce said.

The aerial photo was taken the second week of July by members of the Friends of Clayoquot Sound, Bruce said.

The boundaries of Hesquiaht territory may not be visible from the air, but they are well known by the people struggling to make a living there, said Tom.

"We're still below the poverty line and we also have 14 years of environmentalists coming in and saying 'Please don't cut the trees down,'" said Tom.

"If they say there's a war of the woods, then they're going to war with the First Nations because we're connected to mother nature and our territories are there for us to utilize the resources without harm, without destroying it."

Our camping trip on miracle beach was not so much explorative as it is what we would call a big outdoor feast. It was late summer last year, 10 of us spent four leisure days on a quiet beach in the northeast shore of Vancouver Island. Half the time it rained, but never dampened our mood and desires for more food; so much food and drinks that could've fed a small army troop on a month term. 

The trip was quite nicely documented on video. Uncountable pranks and jokes, moments of joy. I happened to watch these videos again earlier this week, thought I must post them in my blog. If you wish to kill time with some lame videos that contain moments of stupidity, excitements, pranks, dirty jokes, elephants engulfing a whole chicken, love advice (Dr. Gumbing), outdoor cooking recipes... you are in the right place. (cantonese)

montage - part I - part II

Forests Minister Pat Bell says there's nothing he can do about the timberland, which was deleted from the company's licence on Jan. 31, 2007. Western Forest Products has found a potential buyer and is awaiting approval of a proposed subdivision of the area. But local residents, environmental groups and the regional government fear real estate development could turn the massive wilderness area into suburban sprawl.

Western Forest Products chief operating officer Duncan Kerr said the company is acting by the book, and had to log the land, or sell it.

The Capital Regional District threw down the gauntlet in earnest on July 15, when it sent a letter informing Mr. Kerr he needed a permit from the regional government to go through with construction on areas proposed for subdivision. Mr. Kerr's reply on July 28 countered that the company disagreed, and that "Western's forest management activities are protected from CRD's bylaws. ..." Now, says Capital Regional District corporate communications manager Andy Orr, the regional government may take the matter to court.

"It is unclear exactly what our rights are," he said. "We haven't reached that decision yet, but we may be testing that in court."

Part of the disagreement centres on who has jurisdiction over land no longer regulated under tree-farm licence.

"What happens on private lands when they are not forestry lands any more?" he asked.

Mr. Kerr said that as far as he's concerned, Western doesn't need any district permits and is just awaiting approval of its applications from the province. Then, he said, the company plans to sell the land, and has a "tentative purchase agreement" with Ilkay Developments.

Mr. Kerr said he would have been happy to discuss setting aside part of the area as parkland, but the Capital Regional District cut those negotiations short when it passed bylaws that would have prevented Western from proceeding with the subdivision had it tried to change the application it put forward in April.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt Society have submitted a letter to Premier Gordon Campbell's office demanding he veto Western's subdivision application. It comes on the heels of calls from the NDP opposition and an association representing 48 local governments for the Premier to reverse the timberland's removal from the tree-farm licence system.

A spokesman for Mr. Campbell said the Premier's office has received the Greenbelt Society's request and will consider it, but couldn't say how it would factor into the subdivision approval process.

It is high time the province stepped in and took some responsibility, especially considering its response to the auditor general's report, which stated that the Ministry of Forests was committed to "ensure local governments are better-positioned to exercise their zoning authority ... when private land deletions occur."
What's more, the province has the power to quash WFP's subdivision application under section 90 (2) of the Land Title Act, which would restore zoning power to the region and local communities battling the development. Many organizations and community groups have already asked the province for this.

I hope people also continue to put pressure on their local representatives. Ida Chong (who has done little, except stall signing off on progressive bylaws) and Murray Coell could also make this all go away by utilizing the Land Title Act.

The lawyers might eventually sort it out. But the dispute is the latest result of the mess the provincial government made by allowing WFP to remove 70,000 acres of protected land from tree farm licences, clearing the way for massive unplanned development.

That decision, which ended protected status for vast tracts of oceanfront land and forested hills adjacent to parks, enriched the company's shareholders by some $200 million.

A scathing report from the auditor general last month said that Rich Coleman, the forests minister at the time, acted "without sufficient regard for the public interest." The auditor general found the government didn't consult with the CRD, communities or other stakeholders. It failed to consider the effect of the massive change on the region.

The government then compounded the problems. When the CRD introduced bylaws to allow controls on development on the released land, former municipal affairs minister Ida Chong failed to provide the required approval for six weeks. That delay allowed WFP to apply to the province for development approval under the old rules. The decision is to be made by a single Transportation Ministry manager -- who is not an elected person.

The result has been acrimony, chaos, mounting legal bills and the undermining of decades of planning on southern Vancouver Island.

It's a basic principle. Municipalities and regional districts have the right and the responsibility to ensure development is planned and co-ordinated, after consulting with residents and other stakeholders. That prevents sprawl, protects green space, ensures roads are adequate and avoids damage to watersheds and the environment.

The CRD's plans were built on the basis that tree farm licence agreements protected the WFP lands as working forests. The lands formed part of the Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt that has been a great regional achievement; they buffer Sooke Potholes Provincial Park and the Juan de Fuca Trail; and they ensured public access to areas like the Jordan River waterfront, much used by tourists and locals for 40 years.

With no consultation, the provincial government trashed years of regional planning and created a confusing development free-for-all. WFP's insistence on its right to go ahead with subdivision road building is just one of the consequences.

The Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities, an alliance of mayors and councillors from 49 municipalities, has asked Premier Gordon Campbell to review both this tree farm licence decision and an earlier decision that freed 190,000 acres of Island forest lands for development.Both decisions, the association says, were made "without adequate consultation with all stakeholders and affected communities." They have stripped away the ability of local governments to manage growth.

Campbell is unlikely to reverse the decisions. But the government's actions and inactions have created a mess that threatens the region's future.

It has an obligation to do everything possible to minimize the damage already done -- from pressuring the companies to accept their obligations to buying land for parks to assisting municipal governments with extraordinary expenses created by the province's abandonment of its responsibilities to the public.

A severe ticket shortage forced us to take an indirect flight (via Tokyo) and pay a bit over the odds, but after a long and uncomfortable flight (on a double-decker plane though) we touched down in Vancouver two hours before we'd set off from Seoul and made immediate tracks for the pleasant seaside town of White Rock to drop in on Amy's grandfather. We spent the next couple of days walking around the area, investigating the profusion of wildlife on the sand-and-mud shore and marvelling at the many food choices open to us. We also called in at the excellent Grey Haven Hobbies again and, after suitable research, placed a triple-figure order for board games (notoriously difficult to get hold of in Korea).

One of our first wildlife experiences turned out to be a slightly crazy young squirrel. We came across him scampering about in the middle of the road, and decided to shoo him away before he got run over (despite White Rock's courteous drivers, who stop for you even when there's no crossing walk). He ignored our noises and gentle prods, and then climbed on Amy's foot. She scooped him up and deposited him on a lawn, where he proceeded to sniff and tear at the grass (possibly looking for buried nuts, but unlikely in the middle of summer). Despite deliberately walking down the same road a few times, we haven't seen him since.

Before heading offshore, we spent a night in central Vancouver on the hospitality of Amy's friend Laura who, coincidentally, was throwing a small party in her back garden. We arrived to find a disproportionate number of ex-ESL teachers from Korea, a friendly cat and poodle and lots of delicious food. We were due to catch a ferry out to Vancouver Island around noon, spent a couple of hours trundling across the city and made it on board with minutes to spare. We had expected to arrive in central Nanaimo, but quickly discovered that we would dock at Duke Point, miles from anywhere. To add insult to injury, the ferry that we should have been on departed from a different port, right near where we'd been staying. We absorbed this information with good grace, and disembarked in front of a row of taxis; the drivers assuring us that there was no bus into town and that the fare would be $35. Fortunately, the helpful ferry staff had previously told us about a shuttle bus and we drove into the city centre with some other budget travellers and the remonstrations of one particularly persistent taxi driver ringing in our ears.

Safely booked in at the excellent Painted Turtle Guesthouse in Nanaimo, we had enough time for a short walk along the waterfront and to pick up some supplies before taking the morning bus to the west coast and Tofino, our first outdoors-y destination. The roads wound through endless old-growth forest and lakes, and eventually ended at a small peninsula harbour town surrounded by sea and islands. We'd opted to stay at the Clayoquot Field Station, a working botanical garden and research facility, and found ourselves surrounded by pristine rainforest and climate-suitable plants plus a few hostellers and WWOOFers.

Eager to get into the thick of things, we booked ourselves on back-to-back wildlife watching excursions for our first full day and started a little early when a beautiful setter-type dog started following us about halfway into town. He was keen to play, but we had places to be and tried to shake him off as he went to explore interesting smells down side roads. He always reappeared within a few minutes, though, and we eventually deposited him at the local municipal office for owner tracing (having being directed there by the disappointingly non-mounted RCMP) before presenting ourselves at the thoroughly recommended West Coast Aquatic Safaris for a flavour of the local fauna.

Out first trip was designated as bear watching, but we paused just out of Tofino to see a young bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) hanging out on the shore - juveniles are completely brown, the white head and tail feathers coming in at around four or five years. Our boat meandered around the innumerable bays and inlets, avoiding a rival (less comfortable) tour boat and stopping again to check out some harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) basking on a bear-less rock in the middle of a channel. Around thirty minutes after leaving Tofino, we cruised into a long, sheltered bay with four distinct black shapes wandering around - I assumed that we were looking at a family of bears, but apparently the Vancouver Island black bear (Ursus americanus vancouveri) is smaller that its mainland cousins and the four adults were each pretending that the others weren't there.

After a very loud commentary, the other tour boat in the bay departed and we were free to drift right up to the shore and take a closer look at our bear. He spent a lot of time turning over rocks to look for crabs and other small seafood, then switched to crunching mussels for a while. He seemed pretty uninterested in the huge boat only a few feet away, possibly because none of us had any food out. Eventually he caught a big crab and sneaked off to some long grass to eat in peace. On our way back, we stopped off at another small bay and, after frightening a duck, briefly saw another bear before a passing helicopter annoyed it into leaving.

Next on the agenda was whale watching, and we set sail for the open ocean - but not before visiting a bald eagle nesting site just outside the harbour where a young eaglet was contemplating his first flight. Once we ventured out of the sheltered island area, the sea began to once again assert its influence over my inner ear- though thankfully I was able to avoid any major sickness. Aided by other tour boats on similar trips (much like spotting wildlife by looking for clusters of safari vehicles), we tracked down a gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) feeding near the shore, and spent some time scanning the water for any surfacing. By a huge stroke of luck we ran into a sea otter (Enhydra lutris) on our way back, but only got a quick look before wariness won out and it disappeared.

We rounded off the day with some local wine and organic bakery fare, and took a short walk down to the beach to see the fabled sands of Tofino (much like other sands, as it turned out). On the following afternoon, we got ourselves on a guided tour of the botanical gardens and spent an entertaining hour or so learning about the local ecosystem and catching crabs on the nearby mudflats. In the evening, we walked down to the friendly Gull Cottage (the first B&B we'd ever stayed in), met the existing residents (young professional couples, not unlike ourselves) and investigated a new and interesting locality (consisting of a pleasant beach and a cluster of businesses, including a luxury chocolate maker and cookie-tastic organic grocery).

The plan for our last full day in Tofino had been to rent some bikes and cycle out to Wickaninnish (around 20 km), but after talking to the bike rental people we decided against it due to the lack of bike lanes and quantity of poor drivers. Instead we went out to the same area by bus and took a wander around a well-self-guided swamp park, stomping on the boardwalks to scare bears away. We had then intended to take a clifftop forest path out to the local interpretive centre, but a bridge was out and we ended up trudging back along the roads to the southern end of Long Beach (a fairly long beach), belatedly paying our national park fee (for the swamp area), watching part of a film about sea otters and taking the bus back into Tofino for some refreshments.

Our time on the west coast of Vancouver Island came to a close all too soon, and with our next destination looming we took a couple of long bus rides out to Campbell River and the short ferry ride over to Quadra, nestled in the Discovery Islands. We'd arranged a WWOOF / Help Exchange homestay and would spend the next week living with a family, working in exchange for our food and board. The current big project was extensive preparation for an anniversary, and so our duties consisted mostly of cleaning, tidying, gardening, repairing and child-watching to get the place shipshape and give the parents time to organise before the guests arrived.

One of the most exciting things about our area of Quadra was the profusion of wildlife - within a few days, we'd seen snakes, kingfishers, more eagles, a salamander, many interesting insects and arachnids, a hummingbird, seals and even a mouse - mostly in the garden, but also down at the beaches. As the house and garden slowly started to resemble those pictures in Canadian Living, we got time to explore our immediate surroundings a bit more and, on various occasions, cycled out to Rebecca Spit, took the family dog (Oliver, a large black labrador) out for walks in the woods, made supply runs to the store (quite a long way away) and hit the beach with the family. As soon as everyone had assembled on the pebbles, Oliver would start collecting driftwood and challenge all comers to take it away from him. On a few occasions, he went after full-sized tree logs and managed to drag a couple into shallow water, where he proceeded to gnaw on them until someone produced another stick. One time we took Oliver's tennis ball out with us to play fetch, threw it in the water and watched aghast as it sank with only a few bubbles to mark the spot. Unable to dive, Oliver began swimming in circles around where the ball used to be and refused to come ashore. We tried enticing him with sticks, but he was adamant and I eventually waded out hip-deep and kicked the ball back to shallow water.

Our various projects included carrying and reconstructing a greenhouse frame (currently awaiting plastic sheeting in the garden), rescuing timber offcuts from sawmill burn piles and turning them into fence slats (the fence is currently about five feet high and looks pretty good), making the overgrown garden paths passable (we went a bit too far here and cut back vegetation the family would rather have kept) and myriad small tasks to help with the big party. The subsequent cleansing operation went very quickly due to the bright idea of having a separate clean-up party complete with waffles and plenty of helpers.

On our final full day on Quadra, Amy and I took the day off and borrowed the family canoe to explore the Heriot Bay area a little. While I consider myself a reasonably competent kayaker, my open (Canadian) canoe experience is pretty limited and I found the open ocean a little daunting. A fresh breeze was blowing across the harbour as we launched, and it took thirty minutes of hard paddling against the wind to traverse the few hundred metres to the tip of Rebecca Spit. We paused to let the ferry to Cortes go by, and then struck back inland in an effort to avoid the worst of the wind. We'd initially planned to visit the Breton Islands just offshore, but I was quite deterred by the choppiness of the water and seeming instability of our craft and we opted for the more sheltered Hyacinth Bay instead. A bald eagle sat in a tree and watched us as we ate lunch (mostly leftover party desserts), and we gratefully felt the wind behind us as we headed back (passing a large jellyfish), landing to find a huge purple starfish eating a clam and a huge crab trying unsuccessfully to hide under the rocks.

Back in Vancouver, we rested for a night in the city centre and spent the following day shopping and hanging out with Laura, who introduced us to La Casa Gelato, a 218-flavour gelato emporium including convention-challenging tastes such as rice, corn, balsamic vinegar, garlic, durian and (allegedly) kimchi. Everyone comes to try many outlandish flavours (they offer unlimited free samples, and at $4 a cone one tends to try a lot of things to offset the cost a little) and ends up buying something reasonably familiar, which is what we all did. We then made tracks back to White Rock, and I made an uncharacteristic error by leaving our shopping bag on the bus (weeks later, it still hadn't turned up at lost property).

After a quick reunion with Amy's grandfather, we took the Skytrain to Metrotown (a big shopping complex) to meet Amy's sister Kate, who was in town for a conference (staying at the Hilton, which has a great outdoor hot tub and a perplexingly narrow pool). We stumbled upon a Chinese market area right next door, stocked up on tropical fruits for breakfast and then hit the mall to get Amy some pretty snappy clothes that aren't really available in Korea (for reasons of both size and taste). The following day, we went back for more gelato, saw Kate onto a bus going to the conference venue (UBC) and walked over to Deer Lake Park, a huge expanse of meadow and wetland (presumably harbouring countless animals, of which we saw only a few).

The next day was Kate's presentation and so we all trundled out west, arriving in the nick of time due to the bus not going all the way up to UBC on weekends, and also to the driver stopping about halfway because his shift was over, failing to find a replacement driver and then kicking us all off to wait for the next bus (after which he drove off in the direction we needed to go). Amy and I had the morning free, so we took a two-hour walk out to the nearest board game store to augment our order waiting in White Rock before returning to cheer Kate on and doze through the final paper. On Sunday, we did some last-minute shopping and then made the trip back out to White Rock where Kate thoroughly beat us at Dutch Blitz (a card game we acquired at the mall).

I'd earmarked Monday for making the long trip back into Vancouver to replace the items I'd left on the bus (daily calls to BC Transit lost property resulted in them telling that if my stuff was going to be handed in they'd have it by now and not to call them anymore), but we took the morning to go and meet Sean (who I'd met during my first trip to Canada), who was in town for a wedding. He and Amy caught up over an early lunch (some of White Rock's rather good veggie burgers), we explored rock pools on the beach and then called in at Grey Haven to collect a huge pile of board games. I got bonus Sean time as we were both going into Vancouver, was dropped off on Commercial Drive and quickly and efficiently found everything I'd previously lost.

Kate flew out the following morning, leaving Amy and I to potter around doing some cleaning and breaking out a few of our new games. We decided to spend some more time in central Vancouver (principally to give Amy's grandfather a break from having us around all the time), and met up with Laura again just in time for a mini-barbecue. Over the next couple of days, I spent quite a bit of my time in the library at UBC (the University of British Columbia) trying to figure out which of the books were also available at Ewha so I could get some lecture planning done (our initial timetable had us back in Korea already, and I was pretty keen not to fall behind on work due to flight unavailability). I didn't see much of campus, but there was a clock tower (essential for any decent university), plenty of space (compared to a British or Korean institution, there's an incredible amount of sprawl) and friendly staff.

For the last few days of our holiday, we returned to White Rock in time for the the Spirit of the Sea festival. This was principally a family-focused celebration of the history of living on the Semiahmoo Peninsula, but also a showcase for local businesses. We were there on Sunday for the sandcastle competition and interpretive walk, and it was well worth the (limited, as we'd learned our lesson on Quadra) sunburn. The tide was well out and still receding when we arrived, and the castle builders were mostly busy piling up mounds to be later shaped down. We left them to create while we checked out the stalls (there really are are a lot of local jewellery makers) and got ourselves on the interpretive walk (possibly the only people there not escorting kids). A park ranger took us along the pier, explaining about barnacles, how to tell male crabs from female ones, how the larger dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) hide under eelgrass when the tide goes out, what those things that squirt water at you are (horse clams, Tresus spp.) and starfish dining habits. When we got back up to the sandcastle zone, the various sculptures were well underway - we saw a few actual castles (some with additional sea creatures), several giant corporate advertisements (businesses are allowed to field teams, and from 2009 will also be able to hand out promotional material), a few animals and one mound that we though would become Skull Island (from King Kong) due to a guy in a gorilla costume jumping around, but turned out to be a huge bowl of fruit.

The next couple of days passed in a pleasant blur of board gaming, film watching, baking, shopping and visiting more of Amy's relatives (who had us over for tea and biscuits). Almost before we knew it we were packed and on the way to the airport, five weeks having evaporated seemingly overnight. There were no issues at check-in this time (but then we weren't flying Air Canada), and the return flight was every bit as uncomfortable as I'd feared. We touched down in Korea the next evening, and collapsed in our respective apartments to sleep off the worst of the jet lag before rousing ourselves to get back to work.

That does not mean the roads are being built for forestry purposes, Kerr said in an interview.

"If the subdivision application is not approved, then we will likely use these roads for part of our future logging operations, but there's no question that the preparation work underway now is absolutely for subdivision purposes," he said.

Bob Lapham, CRD general manager of planning, said the regional district is getting legal advice on whether the road-building violates development permit rules.

It is a tricky question, as the company is claiming exemption because the land is still classified as private managed forest land, even though it has applied to subdivide.

"There's not a lot of case law testing this," Lapham said. "The legislation was not developed with the idea that forest companies would become land developers."

The relationship between the CRD and Western has been strained since the regional district rezoned forestry land in the southwest corner of Vancouver Island to 120-hectare-minimum lot sizes. That move restricts the number of houses that can be built.

The land was formerly private forest land included in a tree farm licence, but last year the company was given provincial permission to pull it out of the TFL. Western then put the land on the market and conditionally sold it to developer Ender Ilkay.

After a public outcry, the CRD responded by rezoning. Western then applied, under the old rules, to the province for subdivision, which would allow 319 acreages. Western has one year, which is up in April, to get approvals and preliminary layout work in place.

Meanwhile, Premier Gordon Campbell has been asked by Vancouver Island and Sunshine Coast local governments to review decisions that have allowed large tracts of private lands to be removed from tree farm licences.

"Local governments on Vancouver Island have expressed profound concerns that these lands were removed without adequate consultation with all stakeholders and affected communities," says a letter sent to Campbell from the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities, an organization that represents 49 municipalities and regional districts, including those in Greater Victoria.

In light of a report by auditor general John Doyle -- which said the Western decision was made without adequate community consultation or sufficient regard for the public interest -- the decisions should be reviewed, says the letter, signed by coastal communities association president Barry Janyk.

In an interview, Janyk said the province's actions strip away the ability of local governments to manage growth.

"This tears up official community plans of regional districts and forces them to accept growth," he said.

Since 1999, about 180,000 hectares of private land have been removed from tree farm licences, as a result of four decisions by the province, and all have been on Vancouver Island, according to Doyle's report. That leaves only 17,165 hectares of private land under tree farm licences.

This stretch of coastline has been the focus of protests over the B.C. government’s decision in January to let the company remove its private lands from tree farm licences dating back to the 1940s. Stickers on road signs demand a halt to log exports, which are possible under federal rules for private land.

Bealing, executive director of the Private Forest Landowners Association, is on his way to his own 80-hectare private forest near Port Renfrew. He says the public and government should be focused on the deep problems of the 95 per cent of B.C. forest that is Crown owned, not the two per cent that’s private.

On one of the earlier private land releases is now Port Renfrew Marina, packed with pricy fishing boats at the peak of the salmon season. Old concrete blocks dot the shore of the marina, echoes of the site’s previous life as a log sort.

“You can see there are some glimmers of economic potential here, but there’s no real critical mass yet,” says Bealing. “A marina here, a resort there, it can make a big difference.”

Development proposals for the Jordan River area would leave most of the land in forest production, he says, while diversifying a local economy that has depended on one resource and often one company for decades. Land in tree farm licences can only be used for forestry.

Other signs along the highway note the years when Western Forest Products land was replanted: 1961, 1963. Some cutblocks are Crown land, some private, but it’s difficult to see the difference. With the lumber market the way it is, there isn’t much moving from either source this summer.

Forests Minister Pat Bell was in the region this week to attend a meeting of the government’s forest roundtable. He also planned aerial tours of logging areas to compare the state of private and Crown forest lands.

B.C. Auditor General John Doyle recently issued a report on the Western Forest Products land release that criticized it as hasty and poorly researched. Bell has rejected calls from a group of municipal leaders to attempt to reverse the land releases, but he has promised to study the issue and give local governments more of a say in any future land releases.

Doyle’s report noted that most private land that was in tree farm licences has already been released. One decision still pending is an application to release private lands in the Kootenays formerly owned by bankrupt Pope & Talbot.

As with the Jordan River land, the private properties include waterfront ideal for log yards and also desirable as development property.

My sister invited us to Ralph River, in Strathcona Provincial Park, on Vancouver Island for a long-weekend camping trip.  We packed up the tent and camping gear into Mr. Plum, our Chrysler PT Cruiser.  In order for us to fit everything into Mr. Plum, we took out one of the rear seats, leaving one of them, for our little Jack Russell, Rosie.

Here is Mr. Plum at the entrance to Strathcona Park, proud as purple punch after 4hrs of driving, plus a 2hr ferry ride, all starting at 3:30AM in the morning.

The drive from the park entrance to the campsite consisted of many tight curves and I wondered how an RV trailer would handle the tight curves and the bumpy road.  

We arrived at the campsite, and I discovered that it was an even mix of tenters and RVrs, with a wide range of units, from A-Class motorhomes (I wonder how much money those things burn with fuel prices being so high) to tiny vintage travel trailers.   

There are no services at this campsite.  Water is accessed through a hand-pump only, and as the park ranger told us, is very clean and safe to drink.  However, she added that sometimes, a know-it-all city slicker who needs thier water full of clorine freaks out and complains that the water tastes "off." (the water here is crystal clear, and fresh glacier water).  The park then must post do not drink signs and get the water tested before removing the signs.  So to play it safe, bring drinking water in case this happens.

We started to unload our gear, and I thought about how easy it would be to just back up our trailer into the site, unhook it, and take off right away to the many hiking trails in the area.  My husband started to swear at the tent pegs, as the ground was hard as rock, and he kept bending the pegs. 

The sites at Ralph River is $15CDN per nite, regardless if you have a tent, or a huge A-Class RV.  You pull in, and pay the ranger when he/she drives around.  Reservations to this campsite are unavailable, and is on a first come, first served basis.  But because it is at the "end-of-the-road" it doesn't usually fill-up fast.  However, rumor is, if it does fill up, there is more spots hidden away for overflow.

You get a nice pic-nic table, and a fire pit.  The ranger comes around and sells firewood for $7.00CDN a bundle, if there are no fire restrictions in place.

Our site was surrounded with old growth fir trees, and was mostly shaded from the hot sun, keeping the tent cool. 

The main draw to this park, is it's spectacular scenery and it's many hiking trails.  The water in the lake and rivers is ice cold, and we didn't see anyone swimming.  It's a great spot to get away from the city, sit around the campfire under old-growth trees and just simply relax.

We can't wait until our next trip, hopefully in an RV.

Blind Channel Resort www.blindchannel.com is a small resort run by 3 generations of the Richter family on West Thurlow Island.  There is a marina, restaurant, general store, post office, rental cottages, laundromat and throughout the property are incredibly beautiful mosaics and artwork created by Annemarie Richter the matriarch of the family who passed away in 2003.  Megan gave us the grand tour starting with her room in the staff house – very tidy and homey with family photos on the desk.  On to the bakery to see where Megan helps Jennifer create THE BEST EVER cinnamon buns.  We took a few of those home that’s for sure !! We sat on the sunny patio overlooking the marina where Laura serves up bbq for lunch everyday.  After lunch we had a quick tour of the huge vegetable & fruit gardens before ending up at the general store to buy some of those great salsito chips Laura serves with the burgers.

It was hard to say goodbye after such a short visit but the wind was picking up and we had a long ride home.  Sadly no orcas on the way back but we did pass by a cruise ship -- one of my favourites the Norwegian Sun.   The perfect end to a perfect North Island summer day.  Blessings from the beach...

Sunshine Coast

Vancouver Island

Bella Coola

Rob's friend and his wife are not a lot older than Rob and I. Not more than ten years. In certain respects though they are more his contemporaries than mine due to the adult children and grandchildren (no neither of the girls is in the "family" way but it is something we have braced for - Rob more than me as he has a real horror about it which is funny in someone who made his own mother a grandma at 41).

We talk a lot about the retirement. But in generalities. We have no idea where. Or what he will be doing (me being a writer seems decided). It's not realistic to think we will do the traveling and hobby thing. Our generation will be the first to not retire that way. Not many retirees will have a high schooler and then university to factor in as we will, but there are more of us than one would think.

I watched more than I spoke at the gathering. Later Rob asked me if I had survived not knowing anyone and honestly I didn't find it much of a trial. I have spent a year not really knowing anyone and before that I had spent about 3 years being a visible ghost. I am quite comfortable in my role as wall flora.

No one expected me to talk anyway. One woman gave me hard looks when she thought I wasn't looking. Another dismissed me once she discovered I didn't have a job and just talked to Rob. The host's son and his wife were quite nice and of course Best Man was there.

Best Man was just that a year plus ago at our wedding. He is about the age of my late husband, a French-Canadian with a wicked sense of humor, he spent the night before our wedding fighting off the attention of Rob's mother and ElderDaughter. Were it not too personal I would launch into the awkward tale of how Rob's Best Man and his oldest daughter hooked up for a time, but enough has been said.

Fortunately, we still have Best Man in our life. Sometimes things don't work out and yet they still do.

Best Man lamented that he is not the story-teller that his dad and younger brother were not being gifted with the gene necessary.

"I got the hamburger eating gene."

He really does have the gene. Actually, both. And he went on to tell the tale of nearly rolling a golf cart off the side of a mountain while Rob and his brother-in-law watched to see which way he would tip before intervening.

As we were leaving the host couple reminded us that we are always welcome to visit them. Funny but we have more standing invitations awaiting us on Vancouver Island than anywhere else.

A sign perhaps.

The plan for 319 lots of about seven hectares met the zoning conditions current when the subdivision application was filed. Since then the Capital Regional District, under pressure from anti-development advocates, has changed its rules to allow only 120-hectare lots. But it’s a case of closing the barn door after the horse has filed its application. The CRD hasn’t given up: it’s threatening WFP with a court order to stop it building roads into the area.

The appeal to Cabinet to quash the proposed WFP subdivision request comes from a different source, the same Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt Society that instigated the auditor general’s report. The society contends the development would “blast a massive hole in the western side of the CRD Regional Growth Strategy, ensure urban sprawl for the wild coasts and forests between Sooke and Jordan River, exacerbate climate change, fence the general public out of the region’s Wild Coast and forests, and ignore legitimate First Nations rights.”

The society’s Ray Zimmerman says the WFP application is only going ahead because of a gap created between TFL regulation and CRD regulation of the lands when the provincial government failed to consult with the CRD about the upcoming TFL deletion decision. It urged Cabinet to act under Section 90 of the Land Title Act to order the registrar not to receive WFP’s subdivision plans for deposit because it is against the public interest.

WFP says its subdivision application process is “quite active” and follows the lawful deletion of the lands from tree farm licences it holds on the Island.

“We are entitled to delete lands from the TFL and there has been no hint that we have done anything wrong in this,” says Duncan Kerr, WFP’s Chief Operating Officer.

Kerr said the company had been clear throughout the controversy that it wanted to gain greater operational flexibility not only to sell some land to pay down its debt (WFP reported a $17-million loss in the Q1 of 2008) but also to gain flexibility in its forestry operations. By including its own lands in a government tree farm licence, it gained guaranteed, long-term access to specific Crown lands, but had to subject its entire operation to costly Ministry of Forests management priorities.

“There is no notion of turning the clock back,” says Kerr. “This chapter is closed and it’s time to move forward.”

The removal of the entire parcel of 28,000 hectares from the TFL in January, 2007 needed the approval of the then-minister of forests and range, Rich Coleman. His decision to approve this and other removals were soundly condemned by Auditor General John Doyle because it failed to show proper regard for public interest or adequate consultation.

Doyle also asserted the impacts of previous land removal decisions were not monitored to help inform future decisions and that the government should have reaped some of the financial benefit from the removal bestowed on WFP.

The AG’s report led to a barrage of criticism. At least one First Nations group has reportedly taken legal action and there have been calls for a judicial review while yet others want the straight-out reversal of the TFL private lands removal. The Conflict of Interest Commissioner has started an investigation of the Coleman brothers angle.

Environmentalist Vicky Husband claimed the public interest was “totally betrayed by the actions of this government; there was absolutely no consultation”—all in order to prop up a company on the verge of collapse. “We are losing our wild lands to a company on life support,” she told the Times-Colonist.

Calvin Sandborn of the University of Victoria Environmental Law Clinic, the man who submission (on behalf of the Sea-to-Sea group) the auditor general instigated the latter’s investigation, hopes the report will save Vancouver Island from the urban sprawl that pervades California.

Lands zoned for forestry “have kept our cities fairly compact,” he says. “But all these deletions from TFLs are taking place next to cities like Nanaimo, Victoria, Comox-Courtenay and Campbell River.” With the increased level of consultation, Sandborn hopes the public will let government know that sprawling and diffuse settlement patterns are not in the public interest.

The Forests Ministry acknowledged that the ministry could have done a better job of public consultation and said the ministry will work to improve documentation.

“The ministry appreciates the controversial nature of the decision to permit the removal of private land from TFLs 6, 19, and 25,” the response said.

The ministry said it had followed the same process it used in previous deletions of private land from TFLs, looking at access, wildlife habitat, old growth management, research, water management, and a number of other resource management-related issues. In the past, it noted, 97 percent of private lands removed from tree farms continued to be managed as forest land.

And the ministry response pointed out that its decision was conditional on WFP transferring over 85 roads and statutory rights-of-way within the private lands to maintain public access to Crown lands and provincial parks.

The ministry response went on disagree with “key aspects” of the auditor general’s report. It lamented the lack of specific recommendations and complained of “a tone that is neither neutral nor factual.” It challenged the AG’s belief that the Crown should share in the increased value of WFP’s land that resulted from its removal from the TFL.

“Ultimately, the Minister decided that any subsequent increase in value should be retained by the company and that this provided the highest public good by promoting investor confidence, helping maintain a viable operation which pays taxes, employs thousands of individuals in coastal communities, and increases the likelihood of investment and modernization.”

The ministry complained that the AG raised the issue of possible insider trading prior to the announcement of the severance decision but failed to note that the BC Securities Commission had decided not to pursue the same allegations. “Such allegations cast a pall over the entire Ministry of Forests and Range and the more than 3,500 dedicated public servants who work here.”

Similarly, the ministry complains about how the report itemizes political donations to the Liberal party by forest companies “but fails to draw any conclusions,” tainting “the integrity of all public servants in the Ministry of Forests and Range.”

For his part, Western Forest Products CEO Reynold Hert, in an open letter to company staff July 17, was critical of Doyle for raising matters that were beside the point at best, spurious at worst.

Hert complains of “incomplete and inaccurate statements” and “inappropriate opinions” about the possibility of insider trading. These cast an unjustified pall over WFP people, he wrote. He added that a large trade that occurred before the decision to remove the private lands from the TFLs was “between outside institutional investors in their normal course of business.”

Hert also assured his staff that there had been no conflict of interest involving Stan Coleman, Western’s Manager of Strategic Planning, who joined the company two years after WFP filed its request for removal of its private lands. Coleman played no role in the request.

Less upset at the auditor general’s report than at the environmentalist reaction was Rod Bealing, executive director of the Private Forest Landowners Association of B.C. Bealing deplores what he terms “the misinformation being put out there by certain parties” about how forestry is practiced on private lands. “They are trying to say there is a problem with private land but there is no problem at all.”

About half the private forest land on Vancouver Island falls under the Private Managed Forest Land Act, he notes, including the land Western Forest Products has removed from tree farm licences. “Owners still have to manage it to provincial standards for water quality, fish habitat, reforestation, critical wildlife, and soil conservation.”

Bealing claims that forestry conducted under Forest Act regulations is a financial failure. “There’s so much regulation for non-business values that they’ve driven the cost of operating way up.”

Crown land must now be managed for biodiversity, wildlife habitat, scenic and social values.”Productivity has been much eroded. They say the private landowners are trying to change the rules, but it is the government that has changed the rules over the past 40 years.” BE

"Is this what we want in our pristine valleys of Clayoquot Sound?" asked Husband. "I would say no. I would absolutely say no. So, I think we have to oppose all of these projects."

Only Ahousaht First Nation deputy chief councillor John Frank openly challenged the environmentalists' calls.

He said aboriginals should have the right to make a living.

Environmental groups have threatened blockades if cutting continues in the northern reaches of Clayoquot Sound, and say any resolution of the impasse must address conservation and First Nations economic development.

Clayoquot Sound was ground zero for the logging protests of the 1990s, which saw blockades, confrontations and mass arrests on both sides.

It was the first major victory for anti-logging protesters.

Currently, Coulson Forest Products, of Port Alberni, and First-Nations owned MaMook Natural Resources Ltd. have plans to log an untouched watershed north of Tofino.

As well, Selkirk Metals Corp. and the Ahousaht First Nation are exploring Catface Mountain, located 13 kilometres northwest of Tofino, for copper.

And, Synex Energy Resources Ltd., of Vancouver, plans to apply for a licence of occupation for a water project on Bulson Creek, located northeast of Tofino.

Frank said until a treaty is settled, Ahousaht's traditional territory still belongs to the hereditary chiefs.

"I never go to Europe. I never go to the Queen and tell her how to be in her territory. What gives the right of any other society to come here and say that to me and my chiefs?"

"Give us a chance to do what we need to do on our own," Frank said.

And, while Carr and Husband support aboriginal rights and title in the area, Carr said if development must take place in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, it must respect nature.

Holding up a photo of a clearcut near Hesquiat Point Creek, Carr questioned current logging practices.

"This is not world-class forestry standards," she said. "This is a clearcut, like the old-fashioned clearcuts that everybody knew would destroy watersheds, would lead to erosion, would lead to the siltation in our oceans, in our rivers."

"Those precious places like Clayoquot Sound are getting fewer and fewer."

Husband said runoff from acid rock collected in large tailing ponds should the Catface mine go ahead could leach into and poison rivers.

And she called Synex Energy Resources Ltd.'s hydroelectric plans "scary," and said they were part of a larger plan to privatize rivers.

"We need to find better ways of looking for economic development that doesn't threaten the natural beauty of Clayoquot Sound, the ecosystems of Clayoquot Sound, the salmon of Clayoquot Sound," Husband said.

Is that powerful partnership now over?

On the surface it might appear so. But nothing is ever as it seems in Clayoquot Sound, where dense fog banks can suddenly drift in from the Pacific to completely obscure the rugged, green mountains on Vancouver Island's west coast, near the resort town of Tofino.

The split between environmentalists and natives emerged two years ago when ForestEthics, Greenpeace and other groups attacked two logging companies - native-owned Iisaak Forest Resources Ltd. and Coulson Forest Products, of Port Alberni - for cutting in pristine areas.

The dispute has simmered in backroom negotiations since then, but last week it boiled over as environmentalists threatened blockades and international market boycotts if logging isn't stopped.

"The situation is very serious, and very sensitive," said Valerie Langer, spokeswoman for ForestEthics and a veteran of the 1993 blockades, which resulted in more than 800 people arrested and saw the band Midnight Oil playing to a dancing crowd in a clear-cut.

Ms. Langer refused to comment on the dispute, saying several environmental groups, Clayoquot Sound chiefs and forest company heads have agreed to a news blackout for 10 days, while talks proceed.

But Vicky Husband, an independent environmental advocate and one of B.C.'s leading conservation voices, said environmental organizations were on the verge last week of pulling out "the big clubs" - blockades and international boycotts - they used in the past against industry giants.

That the target this time would have been a small, native-owned company is not surprising, she said, because native bands all over B.C. are getting increased control over land and resources, leading to inevitable conflict with environmentalists.

Ms. Husband said environmental groups continue to work with native groups, as they are now in northern B.C. in a fight against coal-bed methane gas development north of Smithers and Terrace, and hope to get things back on track in Clayoquot Sound.

"People say to me, 'Why would you trust first nations?' And I reply, 'Well, they are like all communities. There are people who are very conservation-minded and some who aren't, and we will challenge the ones who aren't and we'll work with the ones who are,' " Ms. Husband said.

Joe Foy, a director of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, said he isn't upset by the spectre of environmental groups clashing with natives. He noted that WCWC recently fought against a Tsawwassen First Nation plan to withdraw farmland from an agricultural reserve to facilitate a Vancouver port development, and against a proposed hydropower development on the Pitt River supported by the Katzie First Nation.

"I think it's a healthy thing to see environmental groups involved and speaking out and negotiating, whether it's with a first nations government, a federal government, a provincial government or even a government of another country," Mr. Foy said.

"We want a place where ideas are spoken about and we collectively try to get to a good place. That's why the prospect of disagreeing with a first nations government doesn't concern me. ... I'm not freaked out at all. I think this is a healthy situation."

DIVERGING AGENDAS

One of the ironies in Clayoquot Sound is that the native company now fighting environmentalists was saved from financial collapse two years ago by Ecotrust Canada - a leading environmental group.

Ian Gill, president of Ecotrust, said a 20-month management agreement with Iisaak ended just this week, with the company now financially strong enough to go it alone. Like the others, he is not surprised by the enviro-native clash.

"The allegiance of first nations and environmental organizations over the past 25 to 30 years has frankly been a bit of an uneasy one," he said. "You know it hasn't always been one where there is an absolute congruent goal. I think what that relationship has been historically based on is a common agenda ... of [seeking] environmental justice and social justice."

Mr. Gill said environmental groups and native bands often joined forces with different end objectives, with one seeking to stop logging to save the forest and the other wanting to stop logging to preserve future options on land subject to treaty claim.

"It's probably up to academics to peel apart whether environmentalists have piggybacked on a set of communities that have had no power, and now that they have power the worm has sort of turned," Mr. Gill said.

"There is something changing. ... There's definitely a power shift that's occurred," he said. "But I don't think that's the death knell for environmentalism, and I don't think it means there aren't agendas in common between environmentalists and first nations."

Mr. Gill's organization favours some logging in Clayoquot Sound, but he openly admits he doesn't know how much is sustainable.

Finding agreement on logging in Clayoquot is difficult because the forest that is left is the last 7 per cent of old growth remaining on Vancouver Island. For Steve Lawson, that forest is a sacred trust, and increasingly he has come to believe the only logging allowed should follow native tradition, where falling even one tree is a rare and special event.

Mr. Lawson is native, though not a member of any local tribe, and national co-ordinator of the First Nations Environmental Network, an organization linking indigenous people nationally and internationally on conservation issues.

From his home on Wickaninnish Island, just off Tofino, he sees the Clayoquot conflict not as non-native versus native but as a clash of values. "[It's] this conflict between economic development that is sound and has a future, and the short-term destructive approach," Mr. Lawson said.

He thinks there is too much cutting in Clayoquot Sound, and that a scientific logging plan that was drawn up following the big protests in 1993 is badly flawed.

"I honestly didn't support the science panel [report] because I read it as soon as it came out and I don't think the environmentalists read the whole thing. There were holes in there big enough to drive 1,000 logging trucks through ... and we're seeing the result of that now," he said.

Mr. Lawson said no matter who wields the saw, it can't be right when swaths of 800-year-old cedar trees are cut down. Many native people feel the same way, he said.

"There is a split within the native communities. ... Everyone isn't on the same page," he said, although that internal conflict hasn't emerged publicly. "It takes a lot in a native community for people to stand up and go against their leadership."

But he thinks that may happen because Clayoquot, a UN biosphere reserve, is facing increased development pressure with a proposed open-pit copper mine on Catface Mountain, a proliferation of salmon farms in the protected inlets, and proposed dams on two rivers.

"Things are going to hell right now. ... This biosphere thing is not working. It's been hijacked [by development interests]," he said.

Mr. Lawson would like to see natives, environmentalists, government and industry working together on a vision for Clayoquot.

"People have to look into their hearts to make it really work," he said. "It's not about political manoeuvring or ego or crusading. It's about making a connection with the land itself, the way the old people did. Communicating with the land and creating a long-term vision. If it can't happen here, it's hard to say where or how it could ever happen."

Few people would disagree with that. But the path to the future may yet be marked by anti-logging protests in which there will be natives and non-natives on both sides of the barricades.

Environmentalists have said it's a pristine valley and one they're determined to protect. They've threatened a resumption of the protests of the past.

Harcourt said he hopes it doesn't come to that.

"When you threaten to put on a worldwide boycott of these small, vulnerable communities, I think that's as close to being a bully as you can get."

In 1993, when Harcourt was premier, the NDP government introduced a land-use plan known as the Clayoquot Compromise. It expanded the park system, but still allowed logging on more than half of the land base around Clayoquot Sound.

That year, protestors set up camp amid blackened stumps in a huge clearcut known as the black hole.

More than 800 people were arrested for blocking logging roads in violation of a court injunction obtained by forest giant MacMillan Bloedel.

But Harcourt said Thursday the current logging plans are consistent with the principles his government endorsed in the 1990s.

In 1994, the NDP government signed an interim measures agreement with First Nations in Clayoquot Sound that gave aboriginal people far greater control over land-use planning and logging. At the time, the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal council said it hoped to use its new-found clout as a way to end the huge industrial clearcuts of the past.

Harcourt said Thursday his government never intended to end all logging in the old growth forest, just that it be done in a sustainable way that allows First Nations to have a better economic future.

Last Monday, environmental groups announced a truce so they could try to resolve their differences with First Nations over the plan to log at Hesquiat Point Creek.

Groups such as Greenpeace and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee released a statement saying they're hopeful about the outcome.

"Because we want to ensure that a resolution addressing both First Nations economic development and forest conservation is given every opportunity to emerge, we will reserve further comment at this time," the statement said.

The former premier said he, too, hopes those talks will result in an agreement.

"I hope that through these negotiations the bottom line isn't that the First Nations are going to end up unemployed and being given phoney promises about other economic opportunities," Harcourt said.

Reynold Hert, Western's president and CEO, told an investor conference call Friday that it has no indication the province plans to take any action against the company as a result of the report that would impact its ability " to market any of the private lands or otherwise affect the company."

Hert said in an interview later that the decision cannot be reversed, but he expects the process of having private lands removed in the future will change as a result of the controversy with his company.

"I suspect that the next time we go through, if we ever do ...that there would be some changes in that process based on what they learned this time," Hert said.

The company also has about 6,000 hectares of land with tree farm licences near Woss, B.C., north of Campbell River. He said the company has no plans to withdraw them in the foreseeable future.

Hert said the process his company went through to have the licences removed was different than previous companies, and included more extensive consultations with First Nation groups.

"It's a constantly evolving process," he said.

The company has so far sold about $50 million in "non-core" assets as of June 30, which is about one-third of its goal to sell between $150 million and $180 million.

The most controversial lands the company is trying to sell are on the north and south portions of Vancouver Island.

It said the Capital Regional District on Vancouver Island recently changed certain zoning bylaws to increase the minimum permitted lot size of the lands in the Jordan River area, "which could reduce the land value"

The company has responded with a petition before B.C. Supreme Court seeking to cancel those zoning changes. The case is expected to be heard by the court next month.

Western said the Kwakiutl First Nation has also filed a lawsuit against it, as well as the B.C. and federal governments, asking for the tree licence removal decision be reversed for lands near Port Hardy, based on alleged infringements of their treaty rights.

Western said in its earnings release that it is "unable to predict the outcome of this lawsuit on Western's ongoing operations or the sale or management of its private forestry lands."

Kevin Mason, an analyst at Equity Research Associates, said Western's survival depends on the land sales.

"They are in a really difficult situation," said Mason. "They need these land sales ... . It will help them buy time until the (lumber) market returns."

Western said it has also hired advisers to assess if it can sell another 26,500 hectares of private forestry lands in various regions throughout Vancouver Island.

Any proceeds from the land sales will go towards reducing Western's long-term debt.

On Wednesday, Western reported a loss of $19.3 million or 10 cents per share in the quarter ended June 30. That compared to a profit of $17.6 million or eight cents per share for the same period last year.

The company said the loss is due to the continuing decline in U.S. housing starts compounded by a strong Canadian dollar.

Sales in the quarter totalled $237.8 million, down from $301.1 million.

Last month, Western said it would cut production in half this summer due to weak markets in the United States and Japan.

The cuts related to operations on Vancouver Island, the Queen Charlotte Islands and the Sunshine Coast in July and August and affected about 650 of Western's hourly employees and 1,200 contractors.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange Friday, Western's shares closed unchanged at 80 cents, with a 52-week range of 67 cents to $2.45.

The company, the restructured successor to the former Doman Industries, saw its stock trade above $10 in 2004, but has fallen since.

But even if they avert confrontation on that old battleground, there are plenty of other environmental hot spots that appear ready to flare up as fights between First Nations and the green brigade.

The issue in Clayoquot Sound is a familiar one -- economic activity in a cherished eco-system -- and the players are essentially the same as well: forest companies, First Nations and environmental activists.

But the alliances are completely different from the War of the Woods days of the early 1990s. This time, the First Nations are the ones wanting to chop down the trees (albeit in an environmentally sensitive way).

This time, it is the First Nations that have signed a memorandum of understanding with a mining company to allow it to begin exploratory drilling for a planned open-pit copper mine in the area.

The local First Nations bands say their members are grossly impoverished, and suffer from extremely high unemployment levels. Forestry and mining would provide them with work, and a desperately needed boost to their local economy.

But the fact that environmentalists are taking on First Nations provides a dynamic that makes this potential conflict completely different from the one that took place back then.

If the environmentalists intend to take this fight to the international stage, I suspect they may encounter obstacles that weren't there last time. In Europe, for example, the plight of North American First Nations is seen in almost romantic terms, and it can be hard to turn public sentiment against them.

I got a first-hand glimpse of this almost 17 years ago, during a town hall meeting in Hamburg, Germany about B.C. forestry practices, which were the subject of intense opposition and protests by environmental organizations such as Greenpeace.

The meeting was packed with residents and activists, but it was the words of a prominent B.C. aboriginal leader that stole the show.

George Watts, of the Nuu-chah-Nulth band on Vancouver Island, stood up and essentially said no one was going to tell his people what to do or what not to do when it came to activities on land they claimed as their own.

He received a storm of applause, as the environmental activists sank glumly in their chairs.

They offered no rebuttal, knowing this was an argument they weren't going to win on that particular night. (I still have a hemp T-shirt Greenpeace Germany gave me back then -- it has a picture of then-premier Mike Harcourt on the front, under the caption "Welcome Mr. Clearcut" written in German!)

The controversy in Clayoquot Sound is not the only potential battleground for First Nations and environmentalists either. There are a host of private power projects, for example, that have the backing of local aboriginal bands but which have also been identified by green activists as projects that must be halted because of the threat they allegedly pose to the environment.

For example, the Kleana power generation project in Knight Inlet has strong First Nations support but is gathering opposition from those worried about what impact it will have on the Klinaklini River eco-system.

The Haida First Nation generally supports the giant windfarm proposal by Naikun Power in Hecate Strait, and the Haisla are a partner in a project in Europa Creek. And there are others.

Interestingly enough, if you check websites dedicated to raising the alarm about these power projects, they make little or no mention of First Nations support for them. Rather, environmentalists are trying to frame this debate as being between greedy multi-national companies and guardians of the environment.

They know they're on much tougher ground if they're seen as taking on First Nations, because that's the kind of fight they may not win this time around.

Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global B.C.

Following widespread media coverage predicting a "war in the woods" reminiscent of the Clayoquot logging protests of the 1990s, the groups are not commenting in the media until talks are complete.

"Because we want to ensure that a resolution addressing both First Nations economic development and forest conservation is given every opportunity to emerge, we will reserve further comment at this time," their release states.

At issue are the untouched valleys of Clayoquot Sound. In March, Coulson Forest Products, in partnership with Ma-Mook Natural Resources, run by the Central Region First Nations, began to build a logging road to the untouched portion of Hesquiaht Creek.

Previously, the partnership has been logging in developed areas of Clayoquot Sound, but not the intact, undisturbed valleys. Logging in the untouched area of Hesquiaht Point Creek would mark the first such logging in decades.

Clayoquot Sound was thrust into the international spotlight in 1993 when more than 800 protesters were arrested for blocking MacMillan Bloedel's logging roads in the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.

Until now, the forest has been mostly quiet, with logging in the sound being carried out by First Nations-owned Ma-Mook Natural Resources and Iisaak Forest Resources.

The two companies are the product of an extension to the Interim Measures Agreement between the five Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations and the provincial government.

In 1996, the agreement directed MacMillan Bloedel to form a joint venture. The following year, Ma-Mook Development Corporation was formed to represent the economic interests of the five Nuu-chah-nulth nations.

In 1998, Ma-Mook and MacMillan Bloedel signed a shareholders agreement detailing their partnership in a new company named Iisaak Forest Resources Ltd.

In 1999, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Iisaak and Greenpeace, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club of B.C., and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee where the environmental groups committed to supporting Iisaak's operations and developing ongoing mechanisms for cooperation while Iisaak committed to respecting the role of First Nations in resources management activities, achieving certification under the Forest Stewardship Council, and managing precious areas as well as also developing ongoing mechanisms for sustaining cooperation.

In March 2007, Ma-Mook bought Interfor's Tree Farm License in Clayoquot Sound and entered into a partnership with Coulson Forest Products.

According to the Friends of Clayoquot Sound, the companies have stated that after 2009, they will have run out of wood to cut in the developed areas of the sound and will have to log in the intact areas to maintain their provincially mandated levels of harvesting.

In the Friends' most recent newsletter, they are predicting provincial involvement will be required to avoid conflict and to reach a conservation solution that is acceptable to local First Nations and environmental organizations.

This Sat., August 2 the Friends of Clayoquot Sound are hosting an information rally to raise the profile of the industrial threats they say are facing the sound's intact valley's including logging, a potential run-of-river power project, fish farms, and exploratory drilling for copper and other metals currently taking place on Catface Mountain.

"Certainly we have heard lots of concerns from communities about the management regime on some private lands -- not all -- and we want to understand those," he said.

The on-the-ground visit will help with forestry recommendations likely to go to cabinet this fall, he said.

Around areas such as Port Alberni there have been bitter complaints about logging practices on private land affecting water supplies and causing landslides.

Less-stringent rules on private land have also added fuel to the outcry over the province's decision to allow private lands to be taken out of tree farm licences -- something which the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities has asked Premier Gordon Campbell to review.

Weyerhaeuser took 87,725 hectares from tree farm licences around Port Alberni in 2004 and Western Forest Products withdrew 28,283 hectares last year, including high-profile land around Jordan River.

The TimberWest forestry areas being toured by Bell have never been part of a tree farm licence.

Bell said he intends to try to make sure the voices of local communities are heard when forestry decisions are made, but he does not think the TFL decisions are likely to be changed.

"A review could be very challenging at this point and I'm not sure it's even legally possible," he said.

"But that's not to say there isn't a way to improve the environment and respect the needs of local communities and look at water-management standards. I'm going to do what I can," he said.

Port Alberni Mayor Ken McRae said communities were left out of the decisions to withdraw private lands from TFLs.

However, despite problems in the past, forest companies and the ministry seem to be changing their attitudes, he said.

"It is changing -- but, it couldn't have been worse," he said.

But the plan to log there is only one example of potential threats, said Kevin Bruce of the Friends of Clayoquot Sound.

Exploratory drilling has started on Catface Mountain, a prominent feature of the Tofino viewscape, as Selkirk Metals of Vancouver tries to establish whether there is enough metal to start a copper mine. The mountain is in Ahousaht traditional territory and the band has given the go-ahead, citing a desperate need for jobs.

There is also concern over a proposed Synex Energy run-of-the-river hydro project on Bulson Creek, Bruce said.

The projects are all potentially damaging and will not provide a fraction of the jobs that are needed, he said.

"The total number of jobs for all these projects is between 12 and 14," he said.

"The B.C. government needs to step up and help create a long-term, sustainable economy in Clayoquot Sound."

That means value added projects, such as a small sawmill or manufacturing plant, Bruce said.

"The government needs to diversify the economy and this rally is to increase awareness of what needs to happen."

Forests Minister Pat Bell said yesterday it is encouraging the environmental community has stepped away from its threat to disrupt logging at Hesquiat Point.

"The only way you get through this is by having in-depth, quiet consultative discussions," he said. "But, I don't think anyone should think MaMook and Coulson were going to go in and start clearcutting Clayoquot. In fact it was exactly the opposite.

"It was probably the lightest footprint log harvesting that would ever take place in any region around the world," he said.

Effective processes were set up in Clayoquot in the 1990s, with large tracts of land protected and controls in the hands of First Nations and communities through the Central Region Board, Bell said, adding that he felt they should now be allowed to do their work.

The rally is scheduled to start at noon at the junction of Third and Main Street in Tofino, organizers said.

Shades of bridge collapse ! Large chunks of concrete have dropped off, and cracks have now been spotted in the braces of the Skytrain bridge that goes over the Fraser river from Delta to New Westminster.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/07/29/bc-skytrain-bridge-cement.html

Apparently a business owner underneath the bridge who would not be identified, said large chucks have been falling off the bridge and have been found on the ground below. However,Translink spin whiz Ken Hardie says the bridge is safe and "does not pose a safety hazard " , and officials have asked engineers to inspect the bridge deck.                                                                                                                                        Hmmmm hey Ken, maybe you should save those words until AFTER  the bridge has been inspected? Remember that tragic bridge collapse last year down in the States? Recall the various overpass collapses? While some degeneration is expected over 20 years of time, there is talk now about the fact that the bid submitted to build the bridge was a low-ball, and time is now showing the effects of that under-priced bid.  See this excerpt from the online commentary: " ......How short are our memories, When this Bridge was built there was an outcry of warning from many various groups about the consortium that built it. A lack of quality in the concrete, steel, workmanship and design were all rabidly discussed. Shortly after it was built (within two years) a major retrofit was required due to the center LIM rail coming loose from it's anchors (I was on that Retrofit) The quality of the lowest bidder is now showing it's age. When the rest of the low bid work on the skytrain comes of age it will happen on other sections of the skytrain. Get ready folks, the leaky condo crisis is just the beginning ..."                                                                                                                                                    Just one opinion among many, but it isn't like  province doesn't have a history of accepting low-ball bids now and then. Lets hope this one doesn't come back to bite us, because 1/2 percent saved  back then may mean millions more to be spent now.....  http://www.b-t.com/projects/skytrain.htm

What would you do if you won several million dollars?   Would you tell anyone? Your family? Making the news this week was the young man from Maple Ridge who stashed his $3.6 million winning ticket in a safety deposit box for one year before claiming it, and kept it a secret from everyone except his mom. Why, you ask? He wanted to assess the impact it would have on his life, and get things in order.  Personally, I think he is a pretty smart fellow for 24. So many others would have squandered it all away within a year, and it does lead to some pretty interesting thoughts about what happens after one wins this much money. Do you share it? Do you keep it a secret? Often the expectations of others that suddenly materialize after such a windfall are overwhelming and puts the winners in a hard place with family in particular, who often feel entitled to the cash. This is one dilemma I would LOVE to have..... http://www.cbc.ca/bc/news/yourstory/features/v-080729-lottery.html 

Tasers Tasers and more Tasers. As the debate rages on as to the safety and regulation of the controversial weapon, a new study done in Calgary by the Canadian Police Research Centre shows that batons carry a higher rate of injury than tasers during use on people resisting arrest.  http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=690217  This comes after the Saskatchewan police commission has halted the use of tasers by everyone except the SWAT team, until more research is done. Maybe this is just me, but personally, I would rather be injured than dead . The ongoing problem I see with tasers is  still that lack of uniformity in electrical output, and the inability of any police force to test or maintain them to any kind of standard themselves. Until such time as these issues can be rectified, I believe it should be halted. There is no way any RCMP or municipal police would be allowed to use their sidearms if they could not be tested and maintained- so why is it any different for the taser?  A baton, on the other hand, causes only as much damage as the force used, and the area targeted by the officer wielding it, complete human factor.  Which leads me to ......

....this little bit of funny-ness. My teenage daughter came out of her room in fits of laughter the other day, because my three year old was running around tasering ghosts, just like " Robber  Jucansky"...... Maybe I have talked about this one too many times. 

I find it interesting how the high cost of gas, and the equally outrageous cost of ferry travel is stopping many travellers from heading over Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands this year, leaving  whining residents to bear the brunt of the costs.                 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080725.wbcferries25/BNStory/National/

 Hellooooo islanders,you live on an island, what do you expect - a free ride? What I have noticed though, is that Island travel deals abound , with many hotels paying your return vehicle and two passenger ferry cost if you book two nights with them, just in order to make the summer season profitable. But if hotels can afford to pay for your return ferry cost over (almost a $200 value), doesn't that mean that the rooms are incredibly overpriced to begin with?  One of those things to make you go Hmmmmmm.....   

And as usual - just to leave you laughing, I have for you...

36 Rules For Women - from Men !!!

1. Learn to work the toilet seat: if it's up, put it down.
2. Don't cut your hair. Ever.
3. Don't make us guess.
4. If you ask a question for which you don't want an answer, expect an answer you don't want to hear.
5. Sometimes, we are not thinking about you. Live with it.
6. We are never thinking about "The Relationship."
7. Get rid of your cat. And no, it's not different, it's just like every other cat.
8. Dogs are better than ANY cats. Period.
9. Sunday = Sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the seasons. Let it be.
10. Shopping is not everybody's idea of a good time.
11. Anything you wear is fine. Really.
12. You have enough clothes.
13. You have too many shoes.
14. Crying is blackmail. Use it if you must, but don't expect us to like it.
15. Your exboyfriend is an idiot, and all the other guys you dated are too. 
16. Ask for what you want. Subtle hints don't work.
17. No, we don't know what day it is. We never will. Mark anniversaries on a calendar and leave a note a week before on the bathroom mirror.
18. Share the bathroom.
19. Share the closet.
20. "Yes" and "No" are perfectly acceptable answers.
21. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.
22. Foreign films are best left to foreigners.
23. Check your own oil.
24. Don't give us 50 rules when 25 will do.
25. Don't fake it. We'd rather be ineffective than deceived.
26. It is in neither your interest nor ours to take the quiz together.
27. Anything we said 6 or 8 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. All comments become null and void after 7 days.
28. If you don't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap-opera guys.
29. If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
30. Let us ogle. If we don't look at other women, how can we know how much prettier you are?                      31. Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out.
32. You can either ask us to do something OR tell us how you want it done, not both.
33. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
34. Christopher Columbus didn't need directions, and neither do we.
35. Women wearing Wonderbras and low-cut blouses lose their right to complain about having their boobs stared at.
36. When we're turning the wheel and the car is nosing onto the offramp, your saying, "This is our exit," is not strictly necessary.
source: www.thehumorarchives.com

Peace!

Over the past eighteen months I have written and spoken at length about former Forest Minister Rich Coleman’s decision to remove 28,000 hectares of land from three Western Forest Products Tree Farm Licences on Vancouver Island.

I’ve argued in the legislature, in the media and in community meet