Kananaskis clear-cutting to continue into spring

Outdoor enthusiasts and business owners south of Calgary continue to raise concerns with clear cutting already underway in and around Kananaskis Country.

In November, the province approved the harvesting of more than 400 hectares of forest in Kananaskis Country by B.C.-based company Balcaen Consolidated Contracting.

The clear cutting is expected to continue into the spring, but an environmental advocacy group is calling for the project to be put on pause.

“It is a sad day for Kananaskis and all Albertans who love this place,” Neil Williams, spokesman for Take a Stand for Kananaskis and the Upper Highwood, said in a news release.

“The Highwood Junction is a vital wildlife corridor, source of headwaters for flood-prone communities downstream, and a special place to build livelihoods and recreate in.”

Last April, the group started taking action to raise awareness about the clear cutting and a petition with thousands of signatures opposing the logging was presented on the floor of the legislature by MLA David Swann in November.

The municipalities of High River, Okotoks, Longview, Black Diamond and Turner Valley — all affected by the 2013 floods — also wrote the province with their concerns about logging in the headwaters of their communities.

But the province says it has done its due diligence to reduce the project’s environmental footprint, including a watershed assessment last year that “exceeded all government requirements.”

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans also approved the construction of a new road and a bridge crossing the Highwood River to access logging areas.

“I thank and appreciate Albertans who expressed their concerns regarding this harvesting project,” Oneil Carlier, minister of agriculture and forestry, said in a statement.

“Our experts worked hard with the company to address issues raised by Albertans on the matter and the company has agreed to leave more trees than required, to realign the roads, to increase the buffer and to modify cutblocks to minimize visual disruptions.”

Williams said roughly 36 per cent of land is open to industrial logging in K-Country, and about 25 per cent is allotted for oil and gas development.

He says the group is not asking the province to stop all logging in the area, but instead wants a “more inclusive discussion” with citizens and stakeholders around land uses.