Robson Bight may be the worldB次元官网网址檚 most famous orca sanctuary.
Orcas have visited the beaches of the small bay located on Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 northeast coast between Port McNeill and Sayward for perhaps thousands of years to rub their bodies against the smooth pebbles of its shores.
But ecologists and at least one Indigenous chief say that logging in a nearby old-growth forest could destroy those B次元官网网址渞ubbing beaches,B次元官网网址� dealing a significant blow to a population thatB次元官网网址檚 already threatened.
Habitat concerns
The major fear among ecologists B次元官网网址� denied by the province and a coalition of area Indigenous groups B次元官网网址� is that logging operations will destabilize the hillsides, especially during periods of heavy rainfall, resulting in landslides of debris into Johnstone Strait.
B次元官网网址淢y concern is that itB次元官网网址檚 a very steep slope, and I think that it could very well suffer from a landslide,B次元官网网址� said longtime whale researcher and ecologist Paul Spong. B次元官网网址淎nd if thereB次元官网网址檚 a serious landslide down Schmidt Creek, it could bring debris and mud and whatnot into the ocean that will end up on the rubbing beaches.B次元官网网址�
The rubbing takes place in the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve, part of what Spong considers B次元官网网址渃ritical habitatB次元官网网址� for northern resident whales. That means itB次元官网网址檚 an area recognized as being very important to a populationB次元官网网址檚 survival.
B次元官网网址淭he ecological reserve is, in a way, the centre of the critical habitat for this population,B次元官网网址� he said.
In an article published by Sierra Club BC, Spong said that orcas entering Johnstone Strait often B次元官网网址渕ake a beeline for the rubbing beaches.B次元官网网址�
And he added that when the ecological reserve was created in 1982, those beaches were included in recognition of their importance to the whales. ItB次元官网网址檚 crucial to what he described as whale culture.
Spong stressed that B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 very well recognized in scientific circles, now, that whales have culture.B次元官网网址� And rubbing is a custom particular to the northern resident populations.
But quite apart from the preservation of the cultural practices of whales, he said, orcas are important for BCB次元官网网址檚 tourism industry, and theyB次元官网网址檙e a threatened species. The government should do everything it can to protect them, he said.
B次元官网网址淭he rubbing beaches and the ecological reserve is one of the key things that brings them back to this area year after year,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚f you take it away from them, youB次元官网网址檒l have real impacts on the whales.B次元官网网址�
Increased sediment in the watershed will worsen conditions on beaches that are already declining, according to Spong, who is co-director of a whale research station based on Hanson Island called OrcaLab.
B次元官网网址淭he quality of the rubbing beach has been deteriorating for a number of years,B次元官网网址� said Spong.
Parks BC was so concerned about changes underway at the beaches that it carried out a study on the matter, according to Spong. That report is now complete but remains unpublished, he said.
B次元官网网址淚 think it really behooves the government to hold off on doing anything about logging in Schmidt Creek until they get that report,B次元官网网址� he said.
A Parks BC official didnB次元官网网址檛 reply to a request for information about the study.
Economic benefits
The Ministry of Forests has dismissed SpongB次元官网网址檚 fears, saying the rubbing beaches arenB次元官网网址檛 at risk. And a coalition of Indigenous groups that sold the land to B.C. has supported logging at Schmidt Creek, saying it poses little hazard and presents economic opportunities for the region.
The controversy comes after the Nanwakolas Council, which represents several First Nations, sold the logging rights for the area to the government-run BC Timber Sales (BCTS) agency.
Nanwakolas Council president Dallas Smith B次元官网网址� a veteran of the movement to protect the forests of the adjacent Tsitika watershed B次元官网网址� said the project is a chance for First Nations people to benefit from resource development and stimulate economic activity in the area.
B次元官网网址淔orestry is a major driver in the economics of Vancouver Island, and First Nations are finally just getting some real shot at being meaningfully involved in it,B次元官网网址� he said, adding that jobs for Indigenous people in the area are at stake.
Smith, whose father is a Tlowitsis chief, participated in the movement to stop logging in the Tsitika Valley when he was still in high school. Later, he played an important role in efforts that led to the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement, which provided the Nanwakolas Council with logging rights at Schmidt Creek.
Smith said that although the council sold those rights to BCTS, theyB次元官网网址檙e still concerned about making sure the logging is managed responsibly.
The council has staff that review the competing claims of environmentalists and forestry companies, he said, and trained stewards known as B次元官网网址済uardiansB次元官网网址� walk the cutblocks and make sure the timber is harvested sustainably. TheyB次元官网网址檙e also making sure the rubbing beaches are unaffected, he said.
And so far, nothing has persuaded Smith that the logging should stop.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e still not concerned enough to halt any logging by whatever group that has rights to it now,B次元官网网址� he said.
Minister of Forests Doug Donaldson reportedly visited the site in March and said that logging there balances resource development and conservation.
Asked if any developments had changed DonaldsonB次元官网网址檚 position since then, a ministry spokesperson said in a June 13 statement that B次元官网网址渘o new information has come to light related to Schmidt Creek.B次元官网网址�
The statement said thereB次元官网网址檚 a B次元官网网址渁 low likelihood of increased sediment entering Schmidt Creek as a result of harvestingB次元官网网址� and that the closest whale rubbing beach is located one kilometre away from the mouth of the creek. According to a government scientist, B次元官网网址渨ave action is a dominant factor in affecting the rubbing beaches,B次元官网网址� the statement read.
Indeed, the government was definitive: B次元官网网址淭here is no risk that the whale rubbing beaches will be impacted by harvesting in Schmidt Creek.B次元官网网址�
Government safeguards
The company thatB次元官网网址檚 logging the area tends to agree.
Super-Cut Lumber Industries made a successful bid on the timber rights for Schmidt Creek in March. The total sale value, roughly $13.2 million, gives the company a three-year window for logging nearly 200,000 cubic metres of timber.
Super-Cut is owned by San Group Inc., a Langley-based firm that describes itself as a B次元官网网址渕ulti-level forest products corporationB次元官网网址� that deals in global export markets.
BCTS is responsible for developing a logging plan to protect the watershed, said Gary Collinge, vice-president of logging and manufacturing with Coulson Manufacturing, which also belongs to San Group. Collinge said the firmB次元官网网址檚 role is to comply with that plan as it carries out the cut.
B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 make the plans,B次元官网网址� Collinge said. B次元官网网址淎t the end of the day, you do it their way or you donB次元官网网址檛 do it.B次元官网网址�
According those plans, B次元官网网址渕ost areas will be clearcut,B次元官网网址� he said, adding that there will be B次元官网网址渞eserves for riparian areas, wildlife features and other environmentally sensitive areas.B次元官网网址�
Even if the government is ultimately responsible, Collinge, who is overseeing the logging operation, said heB次元官网网址檚 confident that enough safeguards are in place.
He said heB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渨alked all the blocksB次元官网网址� at Schmidt Creek, and believes the logging will have little effect on the watershed and Robson Bight.
B次元官网网址淭he impact area, on the Robson Bight side of the valley, itB次元官网网址檚 a minimal risk kind of situation,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭here are no steep slopes.B次元官网网址�
He noted that substantial logging has already taken place in the area over the past 20 years.
B次元官网网址淧ersonally, I donB次元官网网址檛 see the risk,B次元官网网址� he said.
Watchdog skepticism
But such assurances do little to soothe the fears of environmentalists.
Mark Worthing, a campaigner with Sierra Club BC, said that major road-building operations had already begun at the site by the beginning of June, when he visited it for a field assessment with members of the Wilderness Committee.
That construction had already weakened the soil, said Worthing.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e seeing giant old-growth red cedars that have totally given way,B次元官网网址� he said. And trees have B次元官网网址渃areened over the brand-new logging road.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淥nce this valley gets more heavily logged and the soil isnB次元官网网址檛 being held with integrity by the forest, all that soil becomes loose,B次元官网网址� said Worthing. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no such thing as sustainably logging old-growth.B次元官网网址�
Sierra Club BC has said that Schmidt Creek is among the B次元官网网址渇ew remaining relatively intact old-growth areas on Vancouver Island.B次元官网网址�
A map produced by the group indicates that logging and development has reduced old-growth forests on the Island to a few pockets, with the largest section being around Clayquot Sound.
Schmidt Creek is one of the last remaining B次元官网网址渓andscape unitsB次元官网网址� on the North Island with at least 50 percent old-growth. Another is Lower Tsitika River Provincial Park, which is adjacent to the contested watershed. Together, they form the B次元官网网址渓argest remaining relatively intact rainforestB次元官网网址� on the eastern part of the Island, according to Sierra Club BC.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e in a situation on Vancouver Island where we canB次元官网网址檛 log old-growth anymore,B次元官网网址� said Worthing.
He said that Super-Cut appears to be be B次元官网网址渢argeting higher-altitude yellow cedar.B次元官网网址� And he expects clearcutting to occur in spots with a B次元官网网址渞emarkable mixture of Douglas fir, grand fir, spruce, balsam, red cedar.B次元官网网址�
Worthing said he has no concerns about the Tlowitsis, trying to find a revenue source. He put the blame on the shoulders of the province.
B次元官网网址淭he BC government should never put First Nations in a position where theyB次元官网网址檙e forced to find revenue in ways that have a negative impact on the land base,B次元官网网址� he said.
He said itB次元官网网址檚 up to Minister of Forests Doug Donaldson B次元官网网址渢o be able to develop a more diverse and sustainable economy that will allow those nations to develop into the future, not just make money in a quick and fast way.B次元官网网址�
And he noted that First Nations arenB次元官网网址檛 uniform in supporting the logging.
B次元官网网址淢ost of the Tlowitsis friends that I have are pretty shell-shocked at the prospect of this logging,B次元官网网址� he said.
Rande Cook, a MaB次元官网网址檃mtagila chief, also expressed his opposition to the project in a Sierra Club BC media release on June 13.
B次元官网网址淔or too long resource extraction companies have got away with taking from our shared territorial lands and waters,B次元官网网址� said Cook. B次元官网网址淣on-Indigenous governments need to understand that this type of reckless logging is not sustainable or respectful to the land itself.B次元官网网址�
Cook added that the project hadnB次元官网网址檛 been undertaken B次元官网网址渋n the spirit of meaningful consultation with the proper KwakwakaB次元官网网址檞akw nations.B次元官网网址�
As logging plays out over the next few years, Schmidt Creek could become a byword for environmental destruction: the logging of an old-growth forest when so little remains; the ruination of an ancient habitat for the orca, perhaps BCB次元官网网址檚 most iconic animal, in spite of all the warnings; the papering over of concerns by Indigenous people sidelined by process.
Or perhaps the story will vindicate the projectB次元官网网址檚 proponents: an example of sound logging practices backed up by good science; an economic driver that will benefit the region, particularly Indigenous people seeking good jobs in the resource sector; the culmination of decades of efforts towards Indigenous self-government by people like Dallas Smith.
As for the whales and their ancient rubbing grounds, Worthing, a free diver, said heB次元官网网址檚 already observed deterioration first-hand by taking a plunge in Johnstone Strait when he visited the beach at the outflow of Schmidt Creek around the beginning of June. ItB次元官网网址檚 not a primary rubbing beach, he said, but one sometimes visited by the orcas.
B次元官网网址淪ure enough, thereB次元官网网址檚 more seaweed growth, which results from more sediment on the rocks,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淯sually those rubbing beaches are really clean stones, very nice and smooth. When you look at it, you realize why they rub. It looks pretty good to rub on.B次元官网网址�
