Newsletter

Fall 1995

Life After CORE

-- by Richard Allin, CORE Watershed Sector Representative

A year has passed since the West Kootenay and Slocan Valley CORE tables disbanded. The Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance (SVWA) is still actively pursuing an ecologically-responsible land-use plan for the valley, but there appears to be a scramble on the part of the forest industry to get logging plans approved under current guidelines before the constraints that are on the. horizon are put in place.

Under CORE, domestic and agricultural use watersheds in the Slocan Valley were designated Special Management Zones, but the rules for planning and carrying out activities within these zones were not spelled out. A committee was organised by government earlier this year to do this, but the work is unfinished. The SVWA has asked to be involved in this project, but so far has not received a positive response.

What does seem certain is that activities including logging will be more tightly controlled in Special Management Zones. This may be the reason why some water users in the valley have the feeling that Slocan Forest Products (SFP) is scrambling to get into their watersheds before the new rules come down. Residents of the Perry Siding area reported this summer that forestry crews were trespassing through private property and ribbonning off cutblocks in their watersheds. Letters and phone calls from the water licensees have gone unanswered. Read more about this on page 4.

The SVWA, along with other former CORE sectors, has met with Ministry of Forests (MoF) and company personnel over SFP's logging plans for Dennis Creek near Rosebery. These meetings resulted from an agreement at the end of the valley CORE project to recall the table to discuss logging proposals for any area where values besides timber were present. Under this agreement, which was intended to be a temporary arrangement, the sector reps are to make decisions about such proposals and I or give input to the MoF who will make decisions when the table is unable to agree. The sticky point here is that the table, because it has an impossibly wide range of interests, has an impossible time agreeing. The Dennis Creek logging went ahead despite our protest that planning for the area was incomplete.

A similar set of meetings is scheduled for the New Denver Flats area this fall. SFP has planned almost 30 cutblocks for this small plateau between New Denver and Silverton. It is a highly contentious area with a very sensitive watershed, valuable old-growth remnant forest, much historical value, and active commercial and local recreational use.

Both these areas were exempt from logging during CORE, as were most other watersheds in the valley. The notable exception was the Airy Creek watershed near Passmore, which is both a domestic watershed and in the visual corridor of the valley, but happens to be in SFP's tree farm. Between CORE meetings a huge cutblock appeared on Frog Peak which then avalanched into Airy Creek the following winter. This drainage has been so ravaged that SFP this year received over $200,000 to "restore" it under the government's Forest Renewal program. You can read more about this on pages 6 and 7.

The SVWA is committed to working co-operatively with other interests in the valley to continue developing a land-use planning process that will protect water and the other essential parts of our natural systems. Some informal meetings have been held this summer with other groups, focussing on the Silva Forest Foundation's proposal. We're expecting that the government will announce plans to organise a "community resource board" in the valley this fall. We're concerned, however, that such a board will not have real planning power. Over the years, the SVWA has participated in several government-organised "public involvement" programs in which the public has had no real share in the decision-making. We have expended enormous amounts of time, energy' and expertise participating in good faith only to find our input ignored. We are wary of entering into another such situation, and we'll be considering any such proposal very carefully.

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New Denver Flats: 29 Cutblocks Planned

- by Nancy Anderson, Harris Creek Watershed and Sally Hammond, Hasty Creek Watershed

New Denver Flats (known traditionally as the Standard Hartney Flats) is a large area stretching between Silverton and New Denver at the base of Idaho Peak. Slocan Forest Products (SFP) presently plans to clearcut or patch clearcut 29 cutblocks and build or expand roads throughout the Flats beginning this fall. The proposed main haul road from the north is New Denver Road which starts from Highway Six immediately south of Carpenter Creek. There is a possibility the Standard Road, which enters a residential area in Silverton, will be used, as the southern main haul road.

New Denver Flats is a very sensitive area with complex water flows. Spring run-off and winter avalanche melt spills 'down from Idaho Peak to be sponged up" by this natural reservoir. This water is slowly released throughout the rest of the year into Harris Creek, Kopje Brook, Bosun Creek and Lakes, Bartlett Creek (which flows south to join Silverton Creek), Mountain Chief Creek (flowing north into Carpenter Creek), and Levar, Hicks and Humber Springs. These water courses are licensed for domestic and irrigation water and small hydro systems.

In response to the concerns of several New Denver Flats water users regarding the potential reduction of water flow critical to both their irrigation and domestic use, the Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance retained hydrologist Allen Isaacson to study the area in light of SFP's proposed logging and road-building. The Isaacson report strongly states that the proposed roads are poorly located. The main haul road would be stacked on steep slopes and the branch and spur roads would cross fragile wetlands and steep slopes. This could well result in soil erosion leading to increased water sedimentation. Other possible consequences are concentration and rerouting of water flow into ditches, and the bringing of underground seeps and springs to the surface, thereby disrupting natural water flow patterns above and below the ground. These events would compromise quantity and timing of flow of water to the various creeks and springs used by the Flats' licensees.

The proposed Jogging also jeopardises water values. According to the hydrology report the water table in the area' is very high. This concentrates water movement in the top soil layers. Logging activity breaks up and displaces the upper soil layers, thereby altering normal water flows. Several of the cutblocks are located on very steep slopes with unstable soils. Isaacson summarises by stating that the New Denver Flats project area is too wet and fragile to carry out SFP's plans as proposed.

The Silva Forest Foundation's landscape analysis mapping for the New Denver Flats area shows that proposed logging activities are within areas defined as ecologically sensitive terrain and that most cutblocks contain old growth. This is one of the few remaining remnants of lower elevation old growth forest in the main valley corridor. There are stands of age class 9 cedars (250 years or older), disease-resistant white pines two feet across, and old growth black poplar and hemlock. Many of the proposed cutblocks are in areas shown as wildlife corridors on the Silva maps. The area is zoned for use as watershed and for commercial tourism. As well, all proposed cutblocks are within the area designated as high cultural use by the Siniixt people, who need time to complete a study to document cultural significance and possible heritage sites.

The Villages of Silverton and New Denver have both expressed concern with the logging plans for New Denver Flats. Silverton Council passed a resolution stating it is opposed to any logging in the area of the Silverton watershed. Water for their Bartlett Creek and Levar Spring licences originates in New Denver Flats. New Denver Council passed a resolution that it does not support any clearcut logging within the visual limits of the village and it does not support logging in any watershed reserves. Three of the proposed clearcut blocks would be highly visible from the village and two blocks plus a road would be in the Water Reserve of Mountain Chief Creek, which originates in New Denver Flats and flows into Carpenter Creek.

The Slocan Valley CORE Pilot Project was an attempt to allow all interests to be heard and considered in land use planning. New Denver Flats is an excellent example of an area where other values, in addition to timber values, must be considered.

This area supports a significant wildlife population, including deer, elk, moose, bear and old growth dependent species. Logging activities would alter wintering grounds and travel corridors, and would disturb riparian feeding grounds.

The continuing economic expansion of the tourism industry in the upper Slocan Valley depends on maintaining the scenic and natural landscapes that draw tourists and recreationists. New Denver Flats is presently the site of guided horseback-riding tours, as well as mountain bike tours which attract an international clientele. The Standard Hartney Mine Historical Trail has been mapped and signed and provides access to historical artefacts of heritage interest. It is part of a growing network of historic walking trails. The lush vegetation of the wetlands and the old growth forest attract visitors as well as local residents to walk, bike, cross-country ski and snowshoe.

The New Denver Flats area is highly visible from several popular tourist viewpoints: Idaho Peak, Slocan Bluffs, Slocan Lake Viewpoint, the northern section of Slocan Lake and the Valhalla Wilderness Park. The logging would also be obvious from New Denver, the Highway Six hill approaching Silverton and from Silverton itself.

Water and biological issues, along with the many other values present in New Denver Flats, must be seriously considered in land-use planning. The Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance is not convinced that the proposed logging plans are ecologically or socially responsible.

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Elliot-Anderson on the Chopping Block

- Submitted by the Elliot-Anderson-Christian-Trozzo (EACT) Watershed Committee

(Note: The EACT watersheds are located east of Highway Six, south of Lemon Creek.)

While you were enjoying the summer, the Ministry of Forests (MoF) has been moving to secure access to the Elliot-Anderson-Christian-Trozzo (EACT) watershed by threatening private landowners with expropriation "for the public good." The private landowners are opposed to this access acquisition, yet the MoF is proceeding with its agenda. This agenda is in apparent disregard for the ongoing processes that will mandate what and how resource extraction can proceed in special management zones - the domestic watersheds. The question then becomes, if this access is not for the "public good" of the water users, who then is the public for which this is good?

Consider this: although EACT is one of the first domestic watersheds slated for roads and cutblocks, we are far from the last. A number of watersheds in the Slocan Valley - New Denver Flats, Pedro Creek, Perry Ridge (under the MoF's Small Business program), Red Mountain Road and Ringrose Slope are slated for logging in the next two years. Interesting timing, given that the new Forest Practices Code will not be fully enforceable for almost two years.

Today it is the Elliot-Anderson watershed under siege, tomorrow it may very well be yours. Be aware. Be proactive. Express your concerns to the MoF and the media. Let's make sure that the MoF is really representing the public. Support the formation of representative Community Resource Boards with real public decision-making power. Until such time, demand a mora4orium on industrial activities in domestic watersheds. Let's return the power to the true stakeholders, the people that live here.

Watershed Alliance Members Attend Tree-Dating Workshop

- by Marilyn Burgoon

Dendrochronology is the science of determining tree age using tree-ring dating. Recently SVWA members Barry Burgoon and John Herrmann attended a dendrochronology workshop sponsored by the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) and Valhalla Wilderness Society.

During the 1st day Marion Parker, dendrochronologist and archaeologist, Used tree slices to explain how tree-ring dating works. Trees are not aged by size, since growing conditions such as soil, climate and location have a lot to do with tree size. Marilyn James, spokesperson for the Sinixt people, gave a presentation about the history of her people and the traditional uses of this land. Marion Parker also explained Culturally Modified Trees and how to identify and date them.

The second day was held in New Denver Flats, where Marion Parker and his assistant, Ian Parfitt from WCWC in Vancouver, demonstrated to the 18-member group how to use a tool called an increment borer to take core samples from trees and date them. Samples were taken from some large cedars which upon first inspection look to be about 350+ years old, and from some white pine which look to be about 250 years old. WCWC Nelson Chapter will be submitting to the SVWA a report with a map and photographs of the field trips, along with the exact ageing of the many core samples. Thank you to Laura Tiberti for her assistance in collecting and labelling the samples.

A modified tree was identified and a core sample taken. It is possible the modification was done around 100 years ago. David Garrick, a dendrochronologist and Robert Watt, Caretaker for the Sinixt people will be revisiting New Denver Flats to take more samples and date more extensively.

The third day the group took a field trip into Kane Creek in the White Grizzly Wilderness Area. Cedars there were dated at 900-1000 years old! Many of these old giants provide winter dens for black bears. The group also noted bear rubbing trees.

Both our sponsored students will be putting their skills at tree-dating to work, if funding is obtained to expand this dendrochronology work into our watershed areas. They will date some of the old trees to see exactly what age class they fit into, identify any groves that may have been missed by aerial photos, and determine what relation these old-growth pockets have to wildlife, water and Indian culture.

The Slocan Valley was well represented at the tree-dating workshop given by Marion Parker and Ian Parfitt. Wayne McCrory photo.

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Airy-Tindale Watershed Restoration Project:

Forest Renewal Boondoggle?

- Submitted by Jennifer Yeow for the Passmore Water Users Group

The Passmore Water Users Group would like to thank the Slocan Valley community and the Watershed Alliance for their help in writing letters to the Ministry of Forests (MoF) expressing concern about logging practices in the Airy-Tindale watershed.

Our group would also like to give an update on events in Airy-Tindale since the summer of 1993.

At that time, the Passmore Water Users Group held a meeting with a representative from Slocan Forest Products (SFP), in order to become informed about plans for this watershed, which is managed by SFP and located in their Tree Farm License.

We were told by the representative that SFP planned to clearcut six more blocks in the watershed and begin a comprehensive restoration project to correct problems such as deteriorating roads, mass wasting and sedimentation of the creek. A geomorphologist would be in charge of assessing roads and recommending remedial work.

This assessment began in the summer of 1993 and although an interim report was submitted, the final report recommending remedial action was not submitted until July, 1994.

In the spring of 1994, two large slides occurred in the Airy-Tindale watershed. The first one was a snow avalanche. ft occurred at the base of the Frog Peak cutblock and was visible from Highway Six., The other originated from an abandoned road in West Tindale. Both slides started high on the ridges and went into the creeks. The slides brought home the need to be thorough in the assessment of conditions in the watershed, since neither slide was foreseen in SFP's assessment.

In July, 1994 the MoF responded by insisting that restoration take precedence over cutting in Airy-Tindale. Logging operations were halted and permits that had been issued were put on hold pending further study. The MoF also informed the Passmore Water Users Group that funds for the restoration would be available under the F6rest Renewal Program. We later learned the amount scheduled for the project was $204,000.

Two engineering firms were hired by SFP to reassess the restorative work recommended by the geomorphologist. The Passmore Water Users Group was told by an SFP representative that the first report was not acceptable because it didn't give sufficient information to initiate a contract for funding under the Forest Renewal guidelines. The second report is not finished or not available.

In July and August, 1994 forest hydrologist Al Isaacson accompanied the Passmore Water Users Group into the Airy and Tindale watersheds to evaluate the restorative work According to Isaacson, some of the work had been done correctly, some incorrectly, and some areas with potential problems had not been addressed at all.

The road deactivation work done in the headwaters of Airy Creek, which involved lifting the side cast, placing it on the road bed and recontouring the surface to the same angle as the slope, was done correctly.

We also reviewed semi-deactivation work in Upper West Tindale that was initially done incorrectly with water bars (ditches across the road to remove water) placed backwards i.e. the inside ditchline was lower than the outside of the road. Here, water could pool on the inside of the road, causing the soil to become saturated. Wet soil under the road can easily slide, causing the road to wash out.

When we returned to the above area in July of this year we found that the incorrectly constructed water bars had been rebuilt and appeared to have functioned correctly during the 1995 spring runoff.

An example of incorrect work was still apparent on the Camp Five road to Tindale, where an insufficient number and/or poorly spaced water bars on some stretches of the road could lead to excessive erosion and sediment transfer to Tindale Creek.

Areas which still need to be addressed include:

• A stretch of road in Yolanda (West Tindale) to access an old cutblock (71-1) contains slides and blocked culverts.
• A section of road just after the bridge, before the first switchback on West Tindale is unstable and prone to slides. It may need reinforcement.
• The spur road to access proposed cutblock 72-3 has slide potential.
• The mainline West Airy Creek road still has numerous sections that are sliding and depositing sediment directly into Airy Creek.
• Routine maintenance of all semi-deactivated roads is necessary and required twice a year. It has not been performed this year.

The Passmore Water Users acknowledge that most of the recommended restorative work proposed in 1993 is now complete. Also, it appears that most of the work is done correctly. However, we have been informed by SF') that no further work will be done until funding through the Forest Renewal Program is available.

The Airy-Tindale Restoration Project raises the following concerns:

1. The use of taxpayers' dollars to fund a restorative project that includes seasonal deactivation and routine maintenance work normally paid for by the licensee.
2. The apparent lack of restriction on funds paid to engineering firms to assess and reassess roads and damaged terrain when much of the methodology for restorative work has been documented elsewhere.
3. The apparent lack of commitment by the licensee to continue restorative measures in a damaged watershed without large grants from the government.

The Airy-Tindale Restoration Project has also demonstrated how costly and difficult it is to correct damage to the environment. Despite restorative effort, the problems caused by logging and road-building on steep, unstable slopes in the Airy-Tindale watershed may continue for many years.